How do I get rid of slugs and snails?

Slugs are an absolute pest! Munching through the new growth on your precious plants and demolishing seedlings overnight!🌱😕

They are active for most of the year but are particularly troublesome in spring when there's plenty of young tender growth to eat! They come out mainly after dark - especially when it's warm and moist. 🐌🐌

There are many species of slugs and snails in the UK!
(Countryfile has a great article - click here)

Despite your best efforts, some losses to slugs and snails is inevitable - just accept that your garden is never going to be free of them and try to find ways to control them.

Sow extra seeds so that you have seedlings waiting in the wings to replace any losses. When sowing seeds in pots, place fabric or mesh under the pot so that they can't gain entry from underneath!

The best way to control them is to create a healthy ecosystem:

• Healthy soil produces healthy plants which are much more able to withstand  damage - they tend to attack plants that are already weakened in some way, so mulch your garden with good compost.

• Encourage wildlife into your garden by creating a small hole in a fence, so that hedgehogs, toads and frogs can travel freely between yours and neighbouring gardens - create a leaf or log pile where they can live.

• Gastropods, as they are known, dislike strong smelling plants or plants with hairy stems, good examples include lavender, rosemary, and borage. Plant these in and around the seedlings you want to protect.

• You can also use plant pots, apply copper tape under the rim, or why not sprinkle wood chips, gravel or crushed egg shells around your plants - they don't like rough surfaces!

• They're also highly intolerant of salt, so, as a last resort, you can sprinkle it onto them.

Of course, any hedges, shrubs and trees you have will attract birds such as thrushes and blackbirds, who love to eat slugs and snails.

These are just a few tips - good luck!