Monty Don shares three effective methods to get rid of snails without harsh chemicals
Slugs and snails can feel unstoppable in springtime, but luckily Monty Don has a few tied and tested methods to keep these pests away from your prized plants.
Slugs are most active in spring as they thrive in moist and warm conditions, but there is a simple way to keep these pests from destroying your garden.
If left alone, slugs and snails will munch at all plants they can find, which can be great if they are targeting weeds or foliage, but less amusing when they go after prized flowers according to Monty Don.
On his blog, Monty said: “Slugs and snails are widely regarded as the gardener's public enemy number 1, but they are superb at recycling waste vegetative matter but do not discriminate between a fallen leaf and a delicious young seedling.”
It is nearly impossible to completely remove slugs from gardens, but Monty has three natural ways to keep slugs away from your garden plants without having to use harsh chemicals.
He advised: “Avoid slug pellets and any chemicals that can harm other wildlife. Instead, have a small slug-free cold frame or table where you can raise tender young plants [and] check for slugs daily.”
READ MORE: Monty Don’s clever tip to remove lawn moss so grass grows thicker than ever
This is the best method to protect sowing or newly established plants as acts as a physical barrier against these pests as they prefer being ground level.
Plus, cold frames can protect against water which means less moisture surrounds the plants, which makes the environment less ideal for slugs to live in.
Monty has also suggested not feeding or watering garden plants “more than absolutely necessary” to also avoid creating an environment which slugs enjoy.
He said: “This will avoid a spurt of soft, sappy growth that slugs love. Without stressing them with sudden temperature or cultivation changes, grow your plants as ‘hard’ as possible which means do not mollycoddle them.”
DON'T MISS:
Gardeners are using food scrap item to keep pests, rats and cats away [REVEAL]
Tomatoes will ‘provide near-endless fruit’ if gardeners avoid crucial mistake [INSIGHT]
The household product gardeners use to ensure big blooms also keeps pests away [LATEST]
For his final tip, Monty has also said you should encourage “a wide range of predators” which eat slugs in the garden which is a natural way to avoid a pest infestation.
Monty said: “I have masses of thrushes, frogs, toads, beetles, centipedes, shrews, and a few hedgehogs - all of which love eating slugs and snails.
“This needs plenty of cover, an avoidance of toxic chemicals - such as slug pellets - and a degree of tolerance for collateral damage.”
It is common for gardeners to plant ‘bait’ or ‘trap’ plants in near-prized crops or flowers to encourage pests to go after them and divert them to stop them from harming anything else in the garden.
Some plants which slugs absolutely love are basil, dahlias, marigolds, red clover and primroses. Plant a row of these plants at the edge of gardens around 10 feet away from your main plants, and slugs will settle there instead of eating anything else in the garden.
