It's an age old question. You might have tried salt, copper tape, egg shells, sheep wool, bramble stems, beer traps, coffee grounds, weetabix, oats and a whole host of potions and remedies to stop slugs and snails eating your much loved plants.
But have you ever tried using garlic to deter them? We wanted to share our recipe for garlic spray that slugs and snails simply hate. Garlic contains Allicin, a compound that repels slugs and snails. By using this garlic spray on our plants, we should therefore protect the young shoots and until-now tasty plants. Like magic, they've become something the slugs and snails can't stand! Plus the spray isn't harmful to humans, pets or other wildlife so it's a great choice for the wildlife-conscious gardener.
The one disclaimer is that the garlic spray will not work unless you apply it regularly. Think like clockwork: apply once a week, and again after heavy rains. We would recommend applying the wash in the evenings.
Garlic spray recipe:
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Take 2 bulbs of garlic (you don't need to worry about removing the skin) and add them to approximately 2L of water in a saucepan.
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Boil until soft (around 15 minutes) and squash with a potato masher to release as much juice as possible.
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Sieve out skins and bits so you are left with a cloudy liquid concentrate. Wait for this to cool and then decant into an old bottle. Label your garlic spray clearly so no one gets a bit of a shock thinking it's lemon squash…
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Dilute approximately 2 tablespoons to 5L water in a sprayer or watering can.
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Spray or water over your plants once a week February-October. Make sure to saturate the leaves and soil beneath
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More frequent applications will be needed in wet weather. We would recommend applying an extra round of garlic spray after heavy rain.
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And there you go! You're all set to organically de-sluggify your garden.
We'll keep our fingers crossed that your Hostas, Delphiniums, Cosmos, Dahlias, Lupins, Gerberas, Sweet Peas, Tulips, Peas, Beans, Lettuce, Celery, Potato tubers and other young plants will now taste disgusting to the slugs and snails which used to munch on them.
It's amazing to think that such a simple recipe can allow your plants to grow beautiful and undamaged this season, and provide you with a bountiful harvest and array of colour in your garden.
