Garden pests are unwelcome guests in any plot because they can ravage a beautifully cultivated planted border or vegetable patch within hours. But thanks to horticulturist David Domoney we've unearthed a foolproof method to get rid of slugs naturally.
When you take pride in establishing the latest garden trends and nurture the best privacy plants to turn your garden into a serene oasis the last thing you want is slugs to devastate the plants and ruin all your hard work. While you want to get rid of the slimy pests it feels discomforting to use any harmful methods.
Thankfully there are several ways to get rid of slugs naturally, as David Domoney revealed when he was presenting a segment on This Morning entitled 'How to keep pests off your plants'.
How to get rid of slugs naturally: David Domoney's top tips
Follow David's expert advice to eliminate the presence of slugs from your beds, borders and pots without using chemicals - because ike when trying to keep ants away, sometimes the simplest methods are the best...
1. Don't water after the sun has set
"There are different things you can do without using chemicals in the garden, organic ways to protect your plants," says David. "The first thing with slugs is don't use your water last thing at night," he warns.
"They prefer a very damp area, therefore the biggest enemy to slugs is the sunlight and drying out. They come out at night and if you have an area that you've watered that's still damp that's where they move. So never water your plants late enough for the sun not to have a chance to dry it up afterwards is my first big tip."
2. Make a beer trap
David's next suggestion is a tasty trap that slugs find irresistible. "You can use beer traps, which you can buy from garden centres (or pick up a pack of two DIVCHI Beer Slug & Snail Traps for £8.99 at Amazon). Or you can use a coffee cup from the coffee shops."
David explains how you make your DIY beer trap: "I'd bury them in the ground so that there's at least an inch or more above the ground to stop battles falling in my mistake. Then put some beer at the bottom, it's almost like a dinner bell for the slugs as they come in then you can humanely remove them."
3. Wrap your pots in copper tape
"There are barriers you can put around your plants that slugs don't like climbing over," David explains. "You can use copper tape around the containers slugs don't like crawling over the surface. But make sure you check your container first that it hasn't got a slug in otherwise you're locking them in."
4. Dress your soil with rough textures
Explore using wool pellets in your flower beds and patio containers because they help to create a rough terrain that is said to deter the slimy pests, "You know what it's like with an itchy jumper," David jests. 'Slugs don't like that feeling either." Try the Defenders All-Natural Slugs Away Wool Pellets for £7.49 at Amazon.
You can also use eggshells in your garden or utilise dried orange peels in your garden to create a rough texture on topsoil to make it unappealing to the slugs.
The orange also works because of the scent: "Slugs and snails are both repelled by the scent of citrus," explains Dan McCarthy, a sustainable practices expert from Green Olive Firewood. "Place orange peels around plants susceptible to slug and snail damage to help protect them."
Another great natural deterrent for slugs is crushed shells. Simply cover the soil but the whelks work by making the surface terrain harder to navigate.
You may have explored the powerful pest control properties of Irish Spring Soap but when it comes to snails and slugs it might not feel sufficiently strong enough to deter them. You can also try using coffee grounds in your garden as a more successful way to keep them at bay by sprinkling them on your soil.
"Coffee grounds, many old gardeners prefer this trick because it dehydrates the slug."
These are the best ways to get rid of slugs naturally to avoid using hard chemicals around your thriving plants and homegrown produce.
