What's best to keep slugs away? The internet is filled with advice when it comes to getting rid of slugs, but, with so many tips to sift through, it's hard to know what really works (and what doesn't).
Thankfully, the Ideal Home team is here to help! Between us, we've been waging war against these pesky garden critters for as long as we can remember, which means we've tested everything from slug tape to salt... and we each have our favourite method when it comes to slug banishment as a result.
Of course, it's important to remember that slugs and snails are no longer classed as pests by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), as only nine of the 44 recognised species of slug in the UK eat garden plants. In fact, there's one super slug in particular that can actually protect plants.
Still, if those aforementioned nine slugs are wreaking havoc on your hostas, look this way...
What's best to keep slugs away?
It's raining, it's pouring, and all the slugs are swarming – apparently hellbent on gobbling up all the plants in our raised garden beds and garden borders, if you assume the worst of these slimy garden critters.
With that in mind, then, here's the Ideal Home team to share their best ways to keep slugs away. You're very welcome.
1. Copper tape and pots
'My hostas were completely obliterated by slugs last year, so I've tried everything to keep them safe this time around,' says Ideal Home editor, Heather Young.
'I'm literally trying all the hacks at once – gravel and egg shells around the plant, a ring of pine cones around the stem (apparently slugs don't like climbing over them!), and homemade garlic spray. I have some growing in my beds, and some in pots. I've used the same hacks on both, but the pots also have copper tape around the top and those plants are faring much better in the battle against slugs.'
'I don't know whether that's the fact they're in pots or thanks to the tape, but I'll take any win I can get!' she adds frankly.
Gardens editor Sophie King agrees with Heather, noting that 'copper tape has been a hero in my garden'.
'The dahlias in my raised planter were almost completely destroyed by slugs before we lined the outer edge with copper tape – since then, they've been thriving! I've heard that the wider the tape, the more effective it will be at keeping slugs out of your containers.'
2. Coffee grounds
'While my current outdoor space is slug-free (point in favour of a balcony garden), in the past I've used coffee grounds and had good success with it,' says managing editor Thea Babington-Stitt.
'As well as helping keep the slugs away it was handy way to make use of leftover grounds once I'd made my brew. The only downside is I did need to remember to re-add to the soil fairly frequently to have it make much effect.'
3. Pot feet (and water)
Content editor Holly Reaney says that pot feet, combined with a saucer of water, is best to keep slugs away.
'For pots, I used to create a kind of moat,' she says. 'So you have a large saucer of water, then stand your pot on feet or a brick or similar so that the base of the pot isn’t in the water.'
'The slugs won’t pass over the water to get to the pot,' she adds promisingly.
4. Seaweed
@inthecottagegarden How I use seaweed in the garden 👩🌾 There are so many ways you can use seaweed to add extra fertility and minerals to your soil, and it even repels slugs! Here’s how to make your own liquid seaweed feed, and a couple of other ways to use it too 💚
♬ original sound - In The Cottage Garden 🌻
Amy from In The Cottage Garden (@inthecottagegarden) recently went viral when she shared a TikTok video listing off the myriad benefits of using seaweed in the garden – one of which is its ability to ward off slugs.
While she collected hers fresh from the coast, Ideal Home contributor Lauren Bradbury buys hers pre-packaged and dried, and she says it does the trick nicely.
'I've just started using Sarah Raven's Seaweed Slug Repellent, and it seems to be working well so far,' she says. 'You sprinkle it around your plants, and it creates a barrier that slugs cannot cross. It also has the added bonus of enriching your soil with all-important nutrients!'
She adds that 'the only downside is that you have to repeat the process every few weeks, but I'm hoping the slugs will learn that they're not welcome soon enough'.
5. Wildlife and natural predators
While contributor Kayleigh Dray wouldn't call her outdoor space a wildlife garden per se, there's no denying that it's extremely wildlife-friendly.
'We have a dusty area for birds to bath in, upended pots and logs for insects to enjoy (a sort of accidental bug hotel, if you will), climbers and small trees for cover, and some berry-producing plants, too. No wonder so many birds drop by to feast on the slugs that slither into our garden – and my slug-obsessed toddler scares off the rest!'
Try treating your garden birds to safflower seed from Amazon and/or niger seed from Amazon, especially if you don't want to attract squirrels (although, to be fair to our omnivorous bushy-tailed friends, they're just as likely to eat your slugs up for you, too!).
'You could also try planting bedding plants that slugs hate,' adds Kayleigh. 'Our garden is filled with lavender, rosemary, and foxgloves – and they've never once been nibbled!'
6. Natural nematodes
If you're hoping to keep slugs out of your greenhouse, then senior digital editor Jenny McFarlane knows exactly what you need to do.
'We've been using these slug nematodes from Amazon in our greenhouse and they've worked a treat to keep slugs away from our tomatoes and cucumber plants. You apply it with a watering can with a coarse rose like this one or the Miracle Gro applicator fitted to a hose.'
7. And one final resort...
Finally, but by no means least, deputy editor of Style At Home Lisa Fazzani says she's unfortunately discovered that slug pellets are best to keep slugs away.
'I have tried coffee granules, egg shells, and gravel,' she says. 'Copper tape around the top of pots helped, I think, a bit. I've seen that banana peel might help, but haven’t used it. And, while I think beer traps are meant to work, I don’t like the thought of that, so I have resorted to using these Slug Gone Wool Pellets from Amazon.'
If you're not opposed to a little garden upcycling project, however, Lisa does add that you can use your old plastic bottles to ward off slugs.
'When I've planted out runner beans, I've put plastic collars around them (cut out of bottles) which has protected them while they're small,' she says, noting that 'slugs don't touch them when they're bigger'.
Now that you know our thoughts on what's best to keep slugs away, it's time for you to pick one of our these tried-and-tested methods for your own garden. Good luck!
