Gardening expert's natural hack stops slugs and snails - and costs just 24p
Slugs and snails are a gardener's worst nightmare, but one cheap trick could keep them at bay.
If you have flowers and other plants in your garden, you'll probably know the pain of seeing their leaves succumb to the seemingly bottomless stomach of a slug or snail. The creatures love nothing more than munching on your plants, and although they are active almost all year, they're mostly known for coming out in large numbers when it rains - making them particularly annoying at this time of year and as we head into spring.
Slugs and snails are not classed as pests as they are recognised as being beneficial to a garden's ecosystem, but many gardeners will be keen to keep their numbers down as much as possible. And thankfully, you can - with one cheap trick recommended by experts.
Garden retailer Thompson's has said you can repel slugs and snails with a natural remedy most of us will already have in our cupboards - garlic. A bulb of garlic costs just 24p from Sainsbury's and is less than £1 in most other supermarkets, and can be used to create a garlic and water spray that slugs and snails hate.
The experts said: "One of the best ways that are backed by some of the most expert breeders and growers is the garlic and water solution. It is a natural way to deter both slugs and snails, which won't do any harm to the environment."
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All you need to do to create the mixture is boil two full bulbs of garlic in a pan of hot water, making sure to get as much "juice" out of the bulbs as possible by squashing them with a spatula or rolling pin. Next, pour the liquid through a sieve and dilute with two tablespoons in five litres of water.
When poured into a spray bottle, this solution can then be sprayed over your plants to keep slugs and snails away. Gardeners are advised to use the spray once a week for the best results, especially after it rains. The spray works because of the allicin present in garlic, which is a defence compound created by garlic bulbs that both repels and kills slugs and snails.
Meanwhile, horticulturist Adam Pasco previously shared his top tip on controlling these garden pests "naturally and without resorting to harmful chemicals". He said slugs and snails love tender new shoots, and if they eat them, gardeners won't get any plants at all.
To combat this, the expert recommended using barrier products like grit or sharp sand to put around the plant to stop the slugs and snails from getting anywhere near the plant. 20kg of grit can be purchased from The Range for just £4.99, working out at 20p for 1kg, which should suffice for numerous plants. If you sprinkle it around the plants it will "stop the slugs and snails crawling over the soil surface and reaching the plants to protect them from attack."
Another more unusual method is to dig a hole, sink a jam jar or plastic yoghurt pot into the ground so the rim of the pot is level with the soil surface, and fill it with beer. Known as 'beer traps', slugs are attracted to the smell, and will crawl along and fall into the drink, drowning them.
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