Stop pesky slugs and snails munching on your garden with a £1 hack that doesn’t require any nasty chemicals or expensive pest repellents. In fact, you’ll probably have everything you need in your fridge already
Keep slugs from munching on your plants and veg with a simple trick that won’t break the bank.
As the miserable British weather starts to slowly improve, many of us are heading back into the garden to try and salvage the havoc caused by months of relentless rain and storms. If your beautiful blooms are looking a little worse for wear with irregular holes, you’ve likely got some hungry pests lurking around.
But, a simple hack hat only costs a quid could banish slugs and snails from your garden for good – and doesn’t require any nasty chemicals or expensive repellents.
Taking to the popular Facebook page Gardening Hints and Tips, which has more than 1.2 million member, one woman showed how she defends her seedlings and plants from any unwanted visitors. She recommends using a plastic milk carton with the ‘top and bottom cut off to make a collar to place over the plant’.
“[It] will stop slugs and snails because they have no scent trail to follow,” the gardener said. “It works for me every time. You can even use it with the bottom still on to protect young plants from heavy rain or cold nights.”
You can buy a litre of milk from Waitrose for just £1. Either decant the liquid into a jug or wait until you’ve finished with the bottle before transforming it into a slug repellent.
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Many other avid gardeners have raved about using a garlic wash to deter pests. Simply boil two garlic bulbs with two litres of water until the garlic has softened. Then, mash the bulbs into the liquid and sieve the solution to get rid of any skin.
Once the garlic wash has cooled down, transfer it into a container and spray it onto the affected areas. “Plants will need spraying again after rainfall,” one gardener wrote on Facebook. “You’ll need to open the windows in your home whilst boiling the garlic because it gives off a strong odour. Please note garlic is toxic if consumed in volume by cats or dogs and this also applies to any other member of the allium family.”
You can pick garlic up from most supermarkets and grocery stores such as Asda, which is currently selling a pack of three bulbs for 75p. This works out at just 25 per bulb.
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