Slug Solutions: Chemical-free Ways to Deal with Slugs

 

Ask any gardener which pest they fear the most and the answer will probably be slugs! A few slugs can ruin a healthy plant in just a few hours and are notoriously difficult to get rid of. There are of course, plenty of chemical products and slug pellets available but you might be reluctant to use these, particularly if you like to let young children help with the gardening, or if you have pets. So if you’re looking for a chemical-free way to deal with slugs, what are your options? Well, here are few ideas to try:

 

Create a Trap
By creating a trap using things that slugs are naturally attracted to you may be able to capture them and keep them away from your plants. You can use fruit or pet food to entice slugs to a specific area of your garden and then simply scoop them up and throw them away. Alternatively, a popular trapping method is to create a beer trap as slugs love beer! Simply dig a hole in the ground and place a bowl or cup in the hole so that the rim is roughly level with the soil. Then fill the cup three-quarters full of beer. Leave overnight and the next day you should find that the slugs have drowned in the beer.

 

Copper Tape
Copper tape gives slugs an electric shock so it’s ideal for wrapping around outdoor pots.

 

Gritty Textures
Snails love smooth surfaces so if you can make the area around your plants unpleasant for wandering slugs, they are less likely to give you bother. Grit, gravel, crushed eggshells or even coffee grounds will all create a rough texture that slugs hate.

 

Salt Warning

You may have heard that salt will kill slugs and whilst this is true, don’t be tempted to put salt in your garden as it will spoil the fine balance of the soil. Instead, you can use a bucket of salty water to discard your captured slugs.

 

Deterrent Plants

There are a number of plants which are thought to deter slugs from the garden and so you could try planting some of these and see if it keeps the slugs away. Plants that slugs are said to hate include ginger, garlic, chives and mint.

 

Citrus Fruits
Next time you eat an orange or grapefruit, keep hold of the peel as it makes an excellent slug trap. Half a grapefruit with the flesh removed works particularly well. Place the rind from citrus fruits on the surface of the compost around vulnerable plants and leave overnight. The slugs will be attracted to the rinds and will congregate underneath – they particularly like to hide underneath when the sun comes up. Then simply check your citrus traps and dispose of the slugs.

 

Night-time Manoeuvres
After dark is the time that slugs love the most so a simple but effective way to capture slugs is simply to head out at night with a torch. Take a stroll around your plants and pick off the slugs before they have chance to do too much damage.

 

For more advice about chemical-free gardening, visit: www.organicgardening.com

Categories: beer, chemical free, citrus fruits, copper tape, leave overnight, nbsp, plants, slugs, slugs nbsp

What Foods Should You Eat To Help Boost Your Immune System?

If you want to boost your immune system with diet and nutrition, there are certain foods that you should actively try to eat on a daily basis. If you plan your meals to include these immunity-boosting foods, you should find that your wellness and wellbeing are greatly benefited, and that should stand you in great stead to avoid all the winter bugs that are going to be heading our way before too long.

 

You’ve probably heard all about the idea of taking vitamin C for a cold, but many people only turn to this vitamin when they have already caught the cold, downing orange juice or taking tablets in an attempt to shake off the horrible lurgy. In actual fact, this is the best way to avoid catching a cold in the first place, because it helps to keep your white blood cell count high, and these fight off infection. Unfortunately, your body does not store vitamin C, and you need to keep it topped up on a daily basis. All citrus fruits contain high levels of vitamin C and can easily be included into your diet in the form of fruit salads, fruit to snack on or fruit puddings.

 

Red bell peppers are another great way of getting vitamin C into your body, and not only does this boost the immune system but it also helps to take care of the skin. In fact, red peppers have twice as much vitamin C as citrus fruits, and they are also packed full of beta carotenes which help to keep you healthy.

 

When your mother told you that eating up your broccoli would keep you healthy, she wasn’t wrong, either. Broccoli is packed with vitamins and can help to fight off any germ or infection. It is also full of antioxidants, and widely known to be one of the healthiest vegetables that you can possibly eat. The best thing to do is to avoid cooking them much at all so that the vegetable retains all its powers.

Categories: avoid, citrus fruits, daily basis, diet, foods, immune, vitamin