Most of the aerial insects have gone sleepy and dwell for longer on the few flowers that have survived through to October.

Beneath stones, leaves and fallen logs, caterpillars and spiders are busy building cocoons in which they lay masses of eggs. Slugs burrow deeper into the soil to stay warm through winter. Turning or hoeing the soil will bring worms and eggs to the surface for birds to take on extra feed before the onset of hard frost and frozen ground.

Insects and worms in the compost heap continue to chew, digest and excrete to make new compost from the rotting material until it gets too hot with bacterial activity. If you have used insecticides or weedkillers on any of your garden I suggest you consider composting the remains for longer and separately.

Tip. When cleaning out potted plants check for the eggs and grubs of vine weevil. This root eating insect causes so much damage I am willing to use chemical treatment like Amazon’s Pbi Provado Vine Weevil treatment, if the squashing of the grubs is not good enough.