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Getting rid of slugs is often a time consuming and difficult task for garden lovers. Although the most effective solution is to use slug pellets to rid your garden of these slimy pests, this removal method is not to everyone’s taste. Luckily, gardening experts at Rentokil have shared several home remedies to combat slug problems in the garden.
The experts said: “Fortunately, there is a range of home remedies and natural solutions to help with a slug problem in your garden.
“It’s important to note that home remedies aren’t a guaranteed fix for your slug problem, but they can help reduce their presence in your backyard.”
The first home remedy suggested was to create a “beer trap”.
There’s nothing better than enjoying a cold beer after a long day at work, and slugs seem to enjoy it too.
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For this trap all gardeners need is a plastic cup and a bottle of beer.
The experts said: “It is believed that slugs can’t resist the smell of beer, making it the ideal bait for a trap.
“Half bury the cup in the soil close to your plants and half fill it with beer.
“Tempted by the smell of beer, the slugs will fall into the cup.
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“It is worth noting that this home remedy is only effective for a small slug problem.”
As the beer needs to be replaced daily, for those needing to control a large infestation of slugs, other methods are advised as this can be “quite expensive”.
The use of copper is also believed to be a good remedy for slugs.
The pest control experts said: “Copper is considered to be a natural slug repellent as the mucus they secrete from their body (their slime) reacts with the metal, producing a tiny electric shock.”
The copper tape should be placed around the rim of plant pots to act as a deterrent for slugs.
The experts added: “For copper tape to remain effective against slugs, then it needs to be cleaned regularly with vinegar to avoid tarnishing.”
Crushed egg shells also work as a “great” home remedy of slugs.
Gardeners simply need to break up the empty egg shells into small pieces and place them around the flowers, plants, vegetables, and fruits they want to keep safe from slug damage.
What’s great about this hack is that the calcium from the egg shells helps enrich the soil as they decompose.
Similarly, broken nutshells work in the same way as egg shells when getting rid of slugs.
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