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An expert gardener, who has appeared on Gardeners’ World and also hosts the Let’s Grow, Girls Podcast, explained how she protects her plants from slugs. Nicole Laird is a British gardener, a Peterborough-based cut flower grower, allotmenteer, and dahlia queen.
Nicole, who shares her advice on her Instagram account @nicoleatcherrygarden, told Express.co.uk: “Sadly slugs are just something you have to live with as a gardener.
“If you think about them as one of the important components of a happy ecosystem and a key food of animals we love like hedgehogs and birds, then you might learn to live with them!”
It’s plants of a certain age you need to look out for, in particular, the expert said.
She told Express.co.uk that seedlings are at most risk from slugs, and so protecting them is a high priority.
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A post shared by Nicole | Cherry Garden (@nicoleatcherrygarden)
Nicole said: “They don’t tend to do too much damage to established plants so if you can wait until seedlings are a little bigger before putting them in the ground, they will have a fighting chance.”
However, if your seedlings are already out – or if your established plants are suffering – there are some barriers you can put in place.
Nicole said: “Failing that, I have had some success protecting the most precious seedlings with the sustainable wool packaging that is sometimes included in parcels as padding.
“The slippery little things have trouble crawling across them.”
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Wool fibres are good at keeping slugs away due to their makeup. Wool fibres have small scales with barbs that slugs don’t like to crawl across.
Wool is also thought to absorb moisture from the slug’s slimy tummy, something else the creatures do not like.
Sheep’s wool can be bought in pellet form, which many gardeners use to deter slugs.
There are a number of other slug repellants that work based on their rough texture detering the animals.
Monty Don shares ways to stop slugs eating young plants
Natural slug repellants
Eggshells
Keep your used eggshells, crush them up and sprinkle them around your plants, either in the soil or around pots.
Coffee
Sprinkle coffee grounds around plants to keep slugs away. They are rough but also the caffeine is said to dry out the slug’s bellies, too.
Gravel
Gravel around pots and plants will deter slugs with the sharp and jagged edges of the stone chippings.
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A post shared by Nicole | Cherry Garden (@nicoleatcherrygarden)
Bark
Bark is rough enough to keep slugs away and also works as a good mulch, making the soil moist and smothering weeds.
Ash
A thin ring of wood ash can keep slugs away from plants slugs seem determined to munch. However, make sure to keep it away from leaves as it might damage them
Lime
Garden lime or magnesium lime works as a barrier too. It is very absorbent, so slugs avoid it.
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