2 weeks Ago By Katherine McPhillips
Slugs are often more common in November as they thrive in rainy weather but there is a simple way to keep them out of your garden using one kitchen ingredient. These pesky critters love moisture but can quickly become a large infestation at this time of year as they lay eggs under damp plants and then eat away at them which can make gardens less likely to survive the winter. Gardeners often turn to chemical pellets to remove these pests but it is recommended not to do this as not only can they poison pets but they will kill many natural predators of slugs such as hedgehogs.
Luckily Hannah Weeks, a gardener and founder of Talking of Plants , has shared a quick and easy way to naturally stop slugs by turning grapefruit into a homemade trap. It may sound strange but slugs are extremely attracted to this sweet and moist fruit so you use it to lure them into a concentrated area to keep them away from your beloved plants. They will find it difficult to escape underneath the grapefruit half once they make their way inside the shell so you can simply scoop them up and remove them from your garden.
Hannah explained: “[Use] half a grapefruit (eat the flesh) and cut a small hole in the skin. Place the ‘empty’ halved skin upside down around your garden. “Wait a couple of days and the slugs will be attracted to eat the grapefruit skin and will collect inside it.
Collect them up and dispose of them.” This is a cheap and environmentally friendly gardening method to trap slugs without having to use any harmful chemical solutions. If you wish, you can also use other citrus peels such as oranges or lemons for this trap if you have them in your kitchen.
Another natural yet very effective trap you can use to stop slugs from eating your plants is to place a container filled with beer somewhere in your garden. Slugs are attracted to the smell of fermenting yeast which is why they love beer, and when the container is placed properly the slugs cannot get out so they will drown in it. Hannah said: “Fill a shallow container with beer and place it near the base of your plants.
The slugs will drink the beer and as they do, fall in. The next morning, dispose of the dead slugs.” Make sure the container is buried soil slightly above soil level so the slugs can reach it and any cheap beer can be used for this trap so do not waste anything expensive.
If you use these eco-friendly slug deterrents then you will have a good chance of cutting down the local slug population so your plants stay healthy, strong and intact before winter arrives..
