Gardening season is upon us and as we spend more time outdoors we might start to notice some not-so-friendly pests also enjoying the greenery. Slugs and snails could be the culprits ruining your garden, but there are several things you can do to deter them from your garden sanctuary.
Gardening expert and royal gardener Jack Stooks revealed that while the two are different, you can catch slugs and snails in the same way with a fermented yeast drink trap with a few minor differences. Speaking in an interview with Betway, Jack said making your own fermented yeast drink traps and placing them in the garden will work for both pests - but will need to be topped up and changed regularly.
The traps, which can be made by pouring a fermented yeast drink into a small dish, jar or bowl, are used as slugs and snails are attracted to the yeasty odours. But while the traps may be an effective solution, the gardener also revealed that one of the best ways to get rid of snails is to go out at night with a torch and pick them up. Jack added that organic gardening will also allow wildlife back into our garden and naturally deter snails and slugs from eating your plants.
Method one: DIY fermented yeast drink trap
Jack said: “With snails and slugs, it is pretty much the same, you can catch both with fermented yeast drink traps, which you can buy ready-made online or make your own. They can be expensive but I would suggest making your own with jam jars. What you do is dig it down into the ground so the top is level with the soil. Into that, you put in a quarter of the jam jar, and fill up with the fermented drink.
"The slugs will be attracted to the yeasty odours, which will make them travel down the jar, which can be covered slightly using a rock. Often you’ll find a few the next day or leave it for a few days, before emptying them out into the compost and redoing it with fresh drink.
“However, this won’t work with snails. You have got them where you can leave them where they are fully open but the only problem is once it rains it washes down the drink so do top up and change the drink regularly if you are trying to catch them both.
“If you are trying to catch snails you are going to need a bigger glass jar, as you need a bigger opening. The only problem with leaving a bigger opening is that once it rains, it washes down the drink, so top up and change the drink regularly if you are trying to catch them both.”
Method two: Torchlight
Jack said: “Another good way of catching snails is by picking them up. Ideally, you can do this at night and go around with a torch as this is when they are more prevalent. These types of animals are attracted to the light from the torch, which makes them easier to catch.”
Method three: Organic gardening
Jack said: “Having an organic garden or using organic ways of gardening allows wildlife, such as frogs, badgers, birds and hedgehogs, back into your garden. These animals will naturally deter snails and slugs from eating your plants as they eat them.”
Method four: Copper collaring
Jack said: “A fourth method is putting a copper collar around pot work. If you have pots and it’s easy enough to put a collar around, or certain plants you could do this too. However, I do find this is quite a monotonous way of doing things. Fermented drink traps are the best and easiest way of dealing with slugs in the garden, but it’s good if people can have a few different methods to try and see what works best for them.”
