Attract and deter: Grapefruit and copper, the gardeners' allies against slugs

Slugs, or shell-less snails, pose a significant challenge for many gardeners. Their emergence, often after rainfall, leads to various issues. Here's how to effectively remove slugs from our gardens.

These shell-less pests are more than a minor nuisance for those who cherish their gardens. They are easily identifiable by their unique appearance and have a capacity for quickly ravaging crops, with a particular taste for cabbage and lettuce. Therefore, it's crucial to take swift action upon detecting them in your garden.

Our gardens are veritable paradises for slugs, offering an abundant food supply and ideal living conditions. Furthermore, slugs do not shy away from consuming small insects, particularly during the warmer months.

So, how do we effectively rid our gardens of slugs? A surprisingly effective method involves using grapefruit. Slugs find it irresistible. Place half a grapefruit where slug activity has been observed. The fruit, rich in essential oils, swiftly attracts slugs to this makeshift trap. Then, you can easily gather and remove these pests from your garden.

Another efficient way to keep slugs at bay is copper. Slugs experience an uncomfortable shock upon contacting copper, which deters them from entering the area. Applying self-adhesive copper tape around vulnerable spots, such as fences or pots, is worthwhile. Copper is a safe and humane option for protecting your garden from these unwelcome intruders.

Chemical treatments against slugs can harm beneficial garden dwellers, like pollinating insects, and pose risks to pets and humans. Thus, it's advisable to employ natural strategies to ensure your and your garden's safety.