What's eating my common juniper?

Common Juniper is attacked primarily by juniper scale and juniper aphids, which cause yellowing and dieback. Juniper webber moth caterpillars web together and skeletonise shoots. Cedar-apple rust (where alternate hosts grow nearby) causes orange gelatinous galls. Deer browse heavily in winter when other forage is scarce.

Tiny white or grey armoured scales encrust stems and foliage; infested shoots yellow and die back; severe infestations kill whole branches. Apply horticultural oil in late winter before new growth; use systemic insecticide (imidacloprid) for heavy infestations; prune and bin worst-affected branches.

Dark, waxy-coated aphids cluster on stems; honeydew drips onto foliage causing sticky deposits and sooty mould; ants farm the colonies. Blast with water; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil; control ant access (sticky bands on trunk bases) to remove aphid protection.

Webbed masses of dead needles and silken threads at shoot tips; larvae feed inside the web, stripping foliage brown. Cut out and destroy webbed shoots in autumn/winter before larvae disperse; apply pyrethrin-based spray to actively feeding larvae; birds peck open webs naturally.

Browsing of lower branches and terminal shoots in winter; repeated grazing stunts growth and can kill young specimens. Use tree guards or deer netting around young plants; apply deer repellent sprays (containing putrescent egg solids) and reapply after rain; plant in deer-fenced areas.