Slugs are a common problem in UK gardens and can quickly ruin crops and flowers come autumn – but there is a simple way to keep them away for good
Slugs become more prevalent during autumn as they flourish in wet conditions and when there’s plenty of foliage on the ground, but there’s a simple method to get rid of them before they cause any damage.
One gardening expert suggests vigilantly checking beneath plant containers and rotting leaves around this time of year, as slug-breeding season has just ended and they will now seek out dark, moist areas for shelter.
Whilst chemical pellets are amongst the most popular methods for tackling slugs, using them is strongly advised against as they can be dangerous to pets and wildlife like hedgehogs and birds that naturally manage slug populations.
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Instead, Jane, a gardening enthusiast and founder of Snap Dragon Life, has shared how she stumbled upon a natural way to repel slugs by simply growing one stunning flower around her garden.
Jane explained: “I planted out my rows of carefully nurtured seedlings – cornflowers, marigolds, poppies, cosmos, nigella, snapdragons. Within two days the slugs had eaten everything but the snapdragons. Slugs don’t like snapdragons.”
How do snapdragons repel slugs?
Whilst it might appear odd, snapdragons are amongst the most powerful methods for keeping slugs away from gardens as they naturally produce compounds that are poisonous to slugs yet pose no threat to people.
Snapdragons also hold less water than other vegetation and possess a firm, leather-like feel, meaning slugs will assume a garden lacks decent food sources and be more inclined to abandon the area.
Snapdragons are best planted near slug-prone plants like lettuces and cabbages, as well as along garden paths and fences. But what else stops slugs from eating plants?
Beer trap technique
If your garden is plagued by slugs, a clever way to deter them from your plants is to set up a trap they can’t resist but will ultimately prove fatal.
Jane explained: “Slugs love beer, any beer, even the terrible beer that people bring to parties, even failed home-brew. Save small jars or pots (single yoghurt pots work fine) and bury them up to their necks between where the slugs are likely to be living and your plants.”
Fill these containers with beer and the slugs will be drawn to this more than your plants. They’ll also struggle to escape from the container and will drown, making it a simple yet highly effective slug control method.
Cereal trap technique
If you don’t have beer to hand, you can also use cereal. When exposed to outdoor conditions, it starts to ferment slightly, which slugs find irresistible, reports the Express.
Jane added: “The only thing better than beer in the mind of a slug is cereal. They can’t resist it. Rather than using piles of bran which can get messy, I use cheap own-brand Weetabix-type cereal and again place it between the slugs and the crops.”
You can place the cereal in a large container and once the slugs have gathered inside you can pick out the slugs or simply dispose of the container to get rid of them.
Jane shared her unique method of dealing with slugs, saying: “This is the way that I dealt with slugs in my first garden – logging the numbers in a weird serial killer-y garden notebook. I stopped counting when I got past 4,000. It is less messy if you combine it with the Weetabix technique.
“Simply leave the Weetabix for three days and then go out at night and collect up all the Weetabix that should by now be covered with feasting slugs,” she concluded.