Slugs and snails can eat their own body weight in food every day (Image: Getty Images)
Despite being slow and slimy, and snails have an incredible appetite and need to constantly consume in order to survive.
This means that your garden is a veritable smorgasbord of , leaves and for these pesky to munch on in their search for food.
Rarely seen helping themselves to your blooms during the day, slugs and snails are most active when it’s cooler, meaning they come out to feast after dark.
At this time of year, the weather is damp and mild enough for slimey visitors to remain active without going into hibernation; they feed on young plants that are emerging ahead of the spring.
Karen Gimson, a landscaper and head gardener for over 25 years, explained there is a “tried and tested” homemade you can use to prevent slugs from munching on your plants.
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Slugs and snails enjoy the wet weather in February (Image: Getty)
Slugs are very sensitive to a substance called allicin, a chemical created by garlic which naturally repels them.
Karen said: “It deters slugs, but does not poison them. This means the slugs are left available as food for birds and mammals such as hedgehogs.”
The expert explained that the most reliable homemade garlic she has discovered comes from , an award-winning gardening nursery which specialises in hostas and does not use chemical treatments on their plants.
Garlic bulbs cost around 90p in supermarkets, so not only is it cheap and easy to make but it doesn’t harm wildlife or pets.
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The homemade natural pest repellent is cheap but effective (Image: Getty Images)
Homemade slug solution to keep slugs and snails away from plants
You will need:
- Two full bulbs of garlic
- Two litres of water
- Empty spray bottle or watering can
Not only will this cheap and easy solution keep the slugs at bay, Karen added: “I’ve found it also deters aphids and is good for spraying roses.”
Instructions
To begin, add your garlic and water to a pot and place on a medium heat on the stove. Boil the garlic until soft, then squash it with a fork to release as much juice as possible. Sieve out the skin so you are left with a cloudy liquid.
Pouring some of the mixture into a spray bottle or watering can, then spray the mixture on your plants and around your garden once a week. Apply after it has rained for best results.
A higher dosage of the mixture and more regular applications will be needed when the weather is damp and rainy.
Karen added: “You’ll need to repeat the treatment regularly, especially after rain. I put my mixture in a three-litre Hozelock sprayer and leave it in the potting shed ready to treat them.”