I’m a gardening guru and thanks to my ‘vampire trick’ you can banish slugs from your garden for good – it only costs 24p
IF you’re fed up with pesky slugs climbing all over your plants, you’ve come to the right place.
There’s nothing more annoying than seeing beautiful flowers bloom in your garden, only for them to be destroyed overnight by creepy crawlies.
Not only do slugs munch on delicate seedlings, but these slimy creatures can quickly wreck havoc on gardens.
As a result, gardening experts at Garden Buildings Direct, have shared a simple trick that can banish slugs from your garden for good.
And don’t worry, not only is this method natural and non-toxic, but if you’re on a budget, this simple, cheap solution is just for you.
Even better, you may even have the secret in your kitchen cupboard already.
A gardening guru has shared that like vampires, slugs detest the smell and taste of garlic, making it an ideal and affordable deterrent.
An expert from Garden Buildings Direct explained: “Forget vampires – slugs are equally repelled by the scent of garlic.
“Spraying garlic solution on plants and around the garden creates a natural barrier that slugs will avoid at all costs.”
By blending garlic cloves with water, you can create a potent solution that can be sprayed around your garden, effectively keeping slugs at bay without using harmful chemicals.
Daniel Scholfield of The Expert Gate Company also said: “A homemade garlic spray can be an effective deterrent to slugs – rather than a pesticide that can kill them – but only if it’s used regularly.”
John Clifford, director of Gardenstone agreed and shared: “Using chemical pesticides is advised against, except in particularly difficult situations, as they’re harmful to the environment as well as human health.
“You can also place garlic cloves around the outside of your plants, either in full pieces or as crushed-up pieces.”
If you fancy giving this trick a try but have used up all your garlic, you can buy some for as little as 24p from Sainsbury’s.
See the instructions below on how to make a homemade garlic spray – and you’ll only need two ingredients.
How to make a homemade garlic spray
ACCORDING to gardening expert Daniel Scholfield, for the best chance of deterring slugs from your garden you will need to reapply after heavy rain or every few days for best results.
You will need:
- A whole head or so of garlic
- Around one cup of water
How to make the mixture:
- Peel the garlic cloves and place them in a food blender with the water and blend until chopped.
- Strain the mixture to remove the solids and then dilute with more water (a ratio of 1 part garlic mixture to 4 parts water will do).
- Fill a spray bottle with the diluted solution and spray directly on the area around your plants, focusing on areas where you see slug activity most.
After making your solution you can store the mixture in a cool, dry place or in the fridge to use throughout the season.
Not only this, but gardeners can also use mulch, such as wood chips, gravel, or bark, to create barriers that slugs will find difficult to cross.
As well as this, petroleum jelly, highly caffeinated coffee beans, and crushed eggshells have been found to have similar repellent effects.
Common garden pests
Common pests in the garden don’t need to be a cause for alarm. If you can identify them, you can work on getting rid of them and preventing them from returning.
Aphids (Greenfly, Blackfly)
Aphids are extremely common and can impact plant growth. They have tiny soft pear-shaped bodies, and are usually green or black. You may spot them clustered on the stem of soft shoots – look under leaves in particular – or may find a sticky substance on your plants that gives away aphids have been there sucking at the sap.
Whitefly
These small white-winged insects are related to aphids, at just 1 or 2 mm in length, and look very much like white moths as adults. They can be found on the underside of leaves, preferring younger, fresher leaves. They fly in clusters when you disturb them. Their lifecycle is only three weeks long, which means an infestation can occur very rapidly.
Slugs
An unmissable, squashy-looking body plus small sensory tentacles on its head. Slugs move along on one muscular foot. They range in scale from surprisingly small to terrifyingly large; limax cinereoniger species can grow comfortably beyond 20 cm in length.
Cabbage Moth Caterpillar
Cabbage moth caterpillars happily make their way into the heart of the vegetables, The caterpillars are distinguished in shades of yellow or browny green with no hair.
Mealy Bug
Mealybugs are tiny oval-shaped insects that have a white, powdery wax coating. There are several different species, many of which have what looks like legs coming from their sides and back end. In their earliest stage of life, it’s entirely possible to mistake them for fungus and not recognise them as insects at all.
The pro from Garden Buildings Direct added: “Eggshells, in particular, make an excellent slug deterrent.
“By crushing up eggshells and sprinkling them over vegetable patches and garden plants, gardeners can create a formidable barrier that slugs will struggle to breach.”
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Tips for keeping pests from your garden
- Plant companion plants such as peppermint to repel rats.
- Place Garden Netting Pest Barrier, over your flowerbeds.
- Fill open-top containers with beer and place in soil to repel slugs.
- Spray plants with Neem Oil, to repel ants, flies, and spiders.
- Dust your flowerbeds with Diatomaceous Earth.
- Mix 1 tablespoon dish soap, 10 drops peppermint oil, and 4 cups water and spray on flowerbeds.
- Place eggshells around your plants to protect from slugs and snails.