When it comes to gardening, your main job is always going to be protecting plants from predators. Slug and snail protection has become a regular google term for me since taking my allotment plot on nearly 4 years ago! A single snail can munch his way through an entire row of newly sprung seedlings.
I’ve tried so many different methods for stopping the slimy critters. Some work, some don’t and most of them are anything but environmentally friendly. I don’t like killing anything on my plot (least of all my plants!), so hase been searching for a natural way of deterring slugs and snails that actually works.
Here are some of my best finds:
EGG SHELLS
Egg shells are a great way of deterring slugs and snails from munching on your plants. The theory is (like most natural deterrents), slugs and snails don’t like to slither over sharp surfaces. So to do this right, you have to completely dry out your egg shell and crush them up as small as possible.
I feel I should add a warning with this one though, because if you leave any egg residue in the shell, it actually attracts slugs to them! Obviously, this would be the most counter productive thing you could do! So make sure to wash the egg shells, completely dry them out and then crush them!
STRAULCH
You might have seen this stuff in shops. It’s a little pricey, but I find it one of the best slug and snail deterrents. It’s like a wet straw-like material that you use as a mulch around young plants.
It actually has lots of other benefits too. Because it’s all natural and can be piled on thickly, it works well as a way of retaining moisture in your soil. Also, once it begins to rot down into your soil, it adds so much goodness as well as improves the soil structure of your soil.
SCOURING PADS
Someone told me once a long time ago that cutting a hole in scouring pads and placing them around your young plants protects them from slugs. This is because of the rough surface of the pad against the slugs belly.
Well I’m here to tell you it doesn’t work! And I really with it did. Unfortunately, it seems that slugs love to hide underneath the scouring pad as it gives them a perfectly dark, moist little home for them. Then at night, they slither up through the hole and eat your plant before going back to bed under the pad again!
CRUSHED SHELLS
I bought some crushed shells from a company a few weeks ago and put it around some of my early broad beans to see how well they kept the slugs away. They haven’t done too badly and I’ve only had a few casualties.
Shells are great for your soil as they help with the drainage and create a nice open soil texture, perfect for things like carrots of any plant that needs lots of easy drainage. They also smell really good, though that’s not massively relevant here!
BRAMBLES
If you have any brambles lying about, these can work well at deterring slugs and snails. The sharper the spikes the better and for that reason, try to use smaller freshly cut branches. These tend to be the spikiest!
Just make sure to put a good thick layer of them around the entire bed for the best results.
BEER TRAPS
Personally, I hated using beer traps. I used them once in a desperate attempt to stop the slugs from munching on my new broccoli plants. You simply dig an empty bottle of cup into your raised bed and fill with beer. The idea is that the slugs love the taste of the yeast in the beer and will slither down into the pot to have a good drink. The beer will then make them drunk and they will drown and, well die.
I don’t like killing slugs and snails if I can help it. It doesn’t feel nice and I don’t enjoy murdering any creature who is just looking for some breakfast or dinner. But, beer traps are very effective and work wonders at trapping slugs.
OTHER WAYS TO DETER SLUGS AND SNAILS
There are a few other things you can do to help deter slugs and snails from eating all your plants!
- Make sure your plants are strong before planting them outside. The stronger the plant is, the less likely a slug will be able to totally kill it. Most plants can cope with losing just a few leaves.
- Remove any thick wood from raised beds. Slugs and snails love to hide under them and it becomes a sort of slug hotel!
- Encourage in wildlife that will eat slugs and snails, like birds and frogs. Make a wildlife pond or make a hedgehog house. Or both. An allotment plot that has a balanced eco system is the best natural way of deterring slugs and snails. This takes time, but is worth it!
- Plant more than you need of everything. Think, one for me, two for the slugs!
I hope this gives you a few ideas to think about for deterring those annoying slithery critters from munching on all your crops this year. I think ultimately, a multi-layered approach is always going to be best. Don’t just use one method, use a few!
Try to accept that slugs and snails are a part of any good vegetable garden and the more of them there are, the better job you are actually doing at growing some good crops! I know it’s hard and sometimes quite heartbreaking. But stick with it and try not to get so mad with slugs and snails for simply wanting to have a snack!
Happy gardening.
