SLIMY, determined and very unforgiving . . . slugs are a gardener’s greatest foe.
There are 44 species in the UK, with roughly 50 to 100 hiding per square metre of soil in your outside space.
They spend the winter deep underground, but with the getting warmer and wetter, we are facing peak numbers.
Each slug has thousands of teeth in the form of a “radula”;, which is a type of tongue that acts like a backwards cheesegrater to scrape away at the plants.
And it is their secret weapon, along with a tenacity to mercilessly raze your favourite plants and vegetables.
So what can we do? Dr Hayley Jones, from the RHS, says: “Stop seeing them as just an enemy and rather as part of the ecosystem.”;
Here are Hayley’s top tips from her new book, Slugs: Friend or Foe?
WATERING: Do this in the morning instead of the evening. We are often told that later on is the best time to replenish your plants as there is less chance of it evaporating in the sun.
But slugs love wet soil and they come out at night. So, if you are watering in the dark, all you are doing is providing a nice watery film for to move around happily above ground.
MULCH: Providing a layer of mulch around your plants acts as protection and keeps the soil dryer on the surface.
This reduces slugs because they will be less likely to come to the surface through this drier level. In my studies, mulching reduced the slugs by 20 per cent.
PLANT CHOICE: Slugs love fleshy, softer plants so think carefully about how sluggy your garden is and what you really want from it.
There is no point in trying to grow banks of hostas if you’ve got hundreds of slugs, you are just providing dinner.
NIGHT HUNTS: If you go out at night with a head torch, you will find the most slugs out and about. But where to put them once you have picked them off your plants?
Slugs love eating decomposing, rotting material, so if you have a good compost heap or a wilder part to your garden, leave them there.
COPPER: A lot of my studies showed it works as a deterrent in lab conditions as it is uncomfortable for slugs to cross. But it really depends on what you are using and how.
A top tip for copper tape is that after a few days outside, it needs to be showing a green tinge to show it is oxidizing.
Temu’s copper tape is just £1.20.
If it is still shiny, it means there is a layer of plastic protection, so it won’t work. Plus, if the tape is too narrow, slugs will find a way to get over it.
And although copper collars are good, slugs can climb under them. So think carefully about how you are using it.
LEAVE THE LEAVES: Slugs love to eat decomposing matter. Retaining your leaf litter and some dead material instead of raking it all up obsessively gives them an alternative to munch on instead of your plants.
Also, if you have lots of clear soil, they will roam about all over the place looking for food.
SEEDLINGS: It is a simple point but protect your seedlings. They are like starters for the slug, which does not think anything of eating them down to the ground.
Seeds are so vulnerable. If you are going to grow from them, you need to have all your slug strategies in place before they sprout up.
Try to choose -resistant plants first, as that will help, and start them off indoors or on a table.
Earlier sowing indoors will also mean the plants are bigger and stronger by the time slug seasons starts – so less likely to get utterly decimated.
MESH YOUR POT BOTTOMS: will try and try to overcome any kind of resistance if they think there is food available. They will even crawl up the drainage holes of your pots.
So if you are setting up a new pot to plant in, get some very fine mesh in the bottom to stop them coming through.
- RHS: Slugs Friend or Foe? Know Your Slugs And Learn To Live With Them, published by DK Books, price £12.99, is out on Thursday. For more Gardening advice and news, see today’s Sun Gardening on Page 55.
