Slithering, slimy and voracious, slugs can decimate a vegetable garden, wiping out seedlings and eating leaves to the core. Luckily, there are some simple steps to take to get rid of slugs and stop them destroying your plants.
There are a number of ways to go about it, but the key is to be consistent and persistent. It’s also important to remove the welcome mat by eliminating potential slug shelters, such as dense weeds, leafy branches that grow close to the ground, stones and other debris, and dense mulches like shredded leaves or straw. Regularly check the area for slugs and snails (at night or on cloudy days when they are most active) and hand-pick them off, ideally wearing gloves. Then dispose of them in a bucket of soapy water. It is a very time-consuming process but can be effective, especially when carried out on a regular basis.
One way to kill slugs without harming your garden brunsnegler is by covering the soil with an organic material that they dislike, such as crushed egg shells or rotting leaves. Alternatively, you can put out a barrier of diatomaceous earth (DE), a naturally occurring, silica-based powder that they dislike and can’t cross. It has a gritty texture and sucks moisture out of slugs, leaving them to dehydrate and die in the dusty powder. DE is available in food-grade form and can be purchased at most garden centres. It’s best used in dry weather and needs to be replaced regularly, especially when it becomes wet.
Another option is to create simple slug traps throughout your garden. Try burying a flat container with the rim level with the ground and filling it with beer, or simply lay empty grapefruit halves, open side down, around the garden. Slugs and other pests will be drawn to the fruity domes and drown in the beer, a quick and humane death. This is a particularly effective method if you don’t want to use pellets, which are toxic to pets and children.
Some plants act as natural deterrents to slugs and snails, including the flowers astrantia, wormwood, rue and fennel, which all have strong smells that are unpleasant for these pests. Another way to keep them at bay is to encourage their natural predators, such as frogs and toads, hedgehogs, song thrushes and ducks, to visit your garden. It’s also a good idea to encourage natural predators by removing their hideouts, such as weedy areas and hiding places under woodpiles, old bricks and other garden furniture, and exposing them to the sun. You can also discourage slugs and snails by covering the ground with horticultural fleece, which repels them and keeps them away from vulnerable plants. Regularly turning over the soil will expose slugs and their eggs to the sun and help reduce numbers as well. This is especially effective if done on a regular basis, after dusk or in the early morning.