Slugs can be a real pain for gardeners, but there are several natural ways to help deter them — including a basic 21p kitchen staple we all have.
Garlic Drench: A Simple Solution
Slugs are thought to be deterred by garlic's scent, so treating the foliage of your treasured plants with a garlic solution is a swift and efficient natural approach to eliminate these pests. To protect your plants from an unwelcome slug invasion, prepare your own garlic drench using this straightforward 3-step technique. A four-pack of garlic costs as little as 87p at supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's, working out at approximately 21p per bulb.
To make your own homemade garlic drench for deterring slugs, BBC Gardeners' World suggests crushing two entire garlic bulbs and boiling them in a couple of pints of water. Next, strain the liquid and allow it to cool. Mix 1 tablespoon of this garlic solution into four litres of water and pour it over your young plants once weekly during the evening. The garlic drench can also be applied directly onto foliage, ensuring thorough coverage. Crucially, reapply the solution frequently, particularly following rainfall.
Pick Them Off After Dark
According to the Gardeners' World survey, the most favoured method for eliminating slugs is venturing into your garden after nightfall armed with a torch, and removing the troublesome creatures from plants with a bucket of salt water prepared. Those preferring a kinder method can gather the slugs in a bucket and release them into the wild at a distance from your garden. The optimal time for removing slugs is two hours following sunset, which means late evenings during peak summer months. Gloves are advisable.
An effective way to deliberately lure slugs to a dark and shady corner to simplify your task is by leaving out something appealing to them, such as dried cat food, old veg, oats, bran, or bread rolls. Once the slugs have gathered, you can readily collect them. Throughout the day, scout your garden for potential hideaways, as these creatures tend to shelter anywhere that's moist, dark, and cool. Checking beneath plant pots, tread boards on your veggie plots, pot saucers, and garden furniture are all worthwhile starting points.
Create Barriers
Establishing barriers is another slug-deterrent that many BBC Gardeners' World reader survey respondents firmly believe in. These gastropods struggle with prickly and abrasive surfaces, so popular deterrents in your battle against slugs include bark, cocoa chips, sawdust, ash, cat litter, horticultural grit, wool pellets, coffee grounds, and sand. It's essential to replenish these barriers on a regular basis, and bear in mind that the majority of slugs don't reside on the surface but within the soil.
Unusual Methods
Some unconventional slug removal techniques endorsed by Gardeners' World include applying petroleum jelly as a greasy barrier smeared generously around the rims of seed trays and pots, fixing double-sided sticky tape around the rim of pots with the outer side doused in salt, and sinking beer traps into the soil using inexpensive beer.
