Do not be too tidy to attract wildlife

A wide variety of garden creatures have the potential to help combat garden pests such as aphids, snails and slugs.

Online resource iVillage.co.uk explains that helpful garden fauna can be attracted by not being overly tidy, feeding birds and finding space for a pond or other water feature somewhere.

Friendly animals include hedgehogs, slowworms, frogs, toads and hoverflies, the site notes.

Purpose-built products such as ladybird houses, bumblebee next boxes and lacewing chambers can also be purchased to help with the introduction of helpful creatures into a garden.

The presence of such animals can benefit the gardener in a range of ways, the site concludes, explaining that birdsong, the buzz of bees and butterflies provide an excellent way to de-stress at the end of a long day.

Among the Royal Horticultural Societys list of the top ten pests of 2007 are slugs, snails, ants, rabbits, vine weevils and harlequin ladybirds.