Slugs have been having a field day this summer munching their way through gardens up and down the UK but it turns out that coffee grounds can keep them at bay and stop ruining your plants
It’s been a challenging summer for green-fingered Brits with heatwaves followed by thunderstorms – and it’s been great for slugs and snails. While the weather has made it great for plants to bloom, the insatiable creatures will stop at nothing to devour your garden, munching through strawberries, raspberries, tomato plants, potato foliage and all sorts of flowers in their quest to satisfy their seemingly insatiable appetite.
But did you know that inexpensive coffee grounds can do more than just kick-start your day? They could also give your garden a much-needed boost. Caffeine is toxic to slugs and snails, leading some gardening gurus to advocate its use as a form of pest control.
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However, a word of caution: coffee is an extremely painful way for slugs to meet their end, even worse than salt, so avoid applying coffee grounds directly onto any slugs or snails (a swift stamp would be quicker and less cruel).
Instead, simply scatter the coffee grounds onto soil and around raised beds or pots during dry, clear weather, reports the Express. When it does rain, the slugs won’t cross the coffee, thereby safeguarding your precious flowers and crops.
Research has shown that coffee grounds can reduce slug and snail populations by between 50 and 90 per cent. And don’t worry about harming your plants – the coffee won’t have any detrimental effects. In fact, some studies have found that caffeine can actually stimulate plant growth – making it a win for your garden all round.
The gardening blog Tea and Coffee reveals: “Coffee grounds contain a chemical called alkaloid, which is poisonous to slugs. When slugs ingest coffee grounds, they suffer from severe dehydration and eventually die. For these reasons, slugs will avoid areas where coffee grounds have been sprinkled. While coffee grounds may not be the most effective way to keep slugs out of your garden, they can be a helpful tool in deterring these pests.”
However if you want a more natural and kinder way to slug-proof your garden patch, wildlife expert Richard Green from Kennedy Wild Bird Food & Pet Supplies has the inside scoop on slug warfare: enlist the help of our feathered friends.
“Birds can be a great way to naturally deal with slugs and protect your plants,” he shared. Green points out that blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and robins aren’t just pretty faces – they’re slug-munching machines, offering an organic alternative to chemical repellents.
“Blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and robins are some of the birds that eat slugs, becoming a natural source of pest control while reducing the need for harmful chemicals,” he further noted.
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