Unprecedented hot weather in the UK this summer has led to an "explosion" of pests, a horticulturalist has said. The Met Office recently confirmed summer 2025 was the hottest on record for the UK, and drought conditions are expected to continue through the autumn.
Co-owner of Nottinghamshire-based horticultural firm Floral Media, Steven Routledge, said the conditions had been ideal for microscopic organisms that fed on flowers, such as red spider mites. "It's an explosion in their life-cycle. They are looking for the hot weather because they love it, it's their perfect environment," he said.
"Once the weather changes and becomes consistently hot, their life-cycle goes into overdrive and they breed like crazy, and the next thing they do is feed." Picking up a handful of flowers, he demonstrated the damage such pests can cause - leaves that should be lush and green are now brown and crunchy.
"They suck the sap from the cells and create this dieback, which really weakens the plant and can kill it," Steven said. He and his wife, Paula, have been running their horticultural business, based in Caunton near Newark, for more than 20 years.
Read more at BBC
