Slug Control In The Garden: Natural Ways To Protect Plants
Slugs are an inevitable part of gardening in the UK. Our damp weather and mild climate provide the perfect conditions for slugs to thrive, and as gardeners, this can be a real issue. But slugs are also a vital part of our ecosystem, and understanding more about what they do can help us decide how best to avoid our crops getting eaten.
What Do Slugs Do?
Slugs are some of nature’s most important recyclers, taking decaying matter and fungi and turning them into good quality, composted material. This makes them an excellent addition to any compost heap. Slugs are also a vital source of protein for many of our favourite garden visitors like hedgehogs, birds, and slow worms. As such, they form an integral part of our ecosystem.
Contrary to popular belief, not all slugs will feast on your precious plants. There are around 40 species of slugs in the UK, but only 9 of these feed on living plants and can be viewed as pests.
Aggressive forms of pest control are indiscriminate when it comes to targeting slugs and removing them all can actually do more damage to your garden in the long run.
So, what do we do about the pesky ones that chomp our seedlings and hard-earned harvest before we get the chance to enjoy them? Here are some helpful tips and methods keep your slug population under control.
Garden Management For Slug Control
Creating a healthy ecosystem and putting a little thought into your garden planning can make a huge difference when it comes to controlling your slug population. Enticing natural predators is a great way to control slug numbers. Create a small hole in your fence to allow hedgehogs into your garden; encourage slow worms with log piles or old corrugated metal sheets; add a birdbath to attract birds to the garden whilst giving them a helping hand. These creatures will not only enhance biodiversity, but they will deal with some of your unwanted visitors for you.
Plant positioning and maintenance can also have a big impact on slug damage. Keeping plants away from hedges or low hanging foliage is a really easy way to help reduce numbers. Slugs are also attracted to old leaves, so clearing the space around your plants regularly and keeping on top of yellowing leaves will make them far less attractive.
Slugs are drawn to succulent seedlings, so an easy way of avoiding this is to grow them until they are sturdier young plants before transplanting them. They will be much more able to cope with a bit of slug damage if it does occur, and slugs will be less inclined to go for them in the first place. Slugs are far more active in the evening and love moist conditions, so making sure you water in the morning can also help.
Hand-Picking Slugs
Although it might not be the most glamorous way of removing slugs from the garden, heading out at dusk with a bucket and a torch can be one of the most effective ways of keeping your slug population low.
Create a damp, sheltered area to lure slugs in the day and it will be easier for you to get rid of them in the evening time.
You can relocate them to your compost heap to give them plenty of food and give your compost a boost, or you can move them out of your garden.
If taking this approach, make sure you take them at least 20 metres away from your plants as they have very strong homing instincts.
Barriers for Slug Prevention
There are mixed reviews on the efficacy of using barrier methods to discourage slugs, but some gardeners swear by them. They work on the principle that slugs don’t want to travel over certain surfaces because they are spiky, dry, or otherwise unpleasant. Common barriers include crushed eggshells, wool pellets, coffee grounds, or horticultural grit that are placed around the plant. These will need replenishing after rain or watering, so keep this in mind.
Copper is considered a very effective repellent to slugs by some gardeners. Copper has a natural charge that reacts with the slug’s mucus to create an unpleasant shock-like feeling that prevents them from going over the metal.
Whilst old, discarded copper can work, try our Slug & Snail No Go Copper Tape for an easy way of protecting your pots and raised beds. Any form of copper is also resistant to rain or watering, making it one less thing to worry about.
