Watch out
This is the time of year when you have lovely fresh lilies coming up. So beware - the red lily beetle could be your garden enemy. As its name suggests it is bright red and will destroy your lily before you can turn around. So what can you do? You can spray with soapy water with some olive oil added, you can use a chemical bug killer or you can squash them with your fingers. Make sure you do not merely knock them off the leaf onto the ground so that they escape. Putting some white paper below prevents them from hiding. Ensure you also get rid of the eggs which look like brown slimy bird droppings, and do check under the leaves for beetles and eggs.
They are easy to control providing you look very regularly and get rid of them. That way your lilies will look wonderful when they come into flower later in the summer.
