I’m a gardening pro & I’ve found an ‘unlikely’ beverage that will stop slugs from eating your plants for under a quid
YOU’VE spent months working hard on your garden – but one day you find your plants all eaten by pesky slugs.
This is any avid gardener‘s worst nightmare – but luckily, there’s an easy solution that’s not only effective but also purse-friendly.
To prevent all your hard work from going to waste this spring and summer, one green-fingered woman took to TikTok to share her go-to remedy to banish slugs from the outdoor space for good.
Meg, known as @meggrowsplants on social media, has since received praise after demonstrating the simple trick that costs under £1.
In the video, she explained that something had been snacking on her pepper plants, leaving them ”look awful”, with bits ripped off the leaves.
Upon further inspection, the gardening super fan quickly realised what the culprit was – hungry slugs, which had also left a gooey, slimy trail behind.
”I usually don’t like unaliving things in the garden but I have seen slug damage everywhere, not just on my peppers.”
Green-fingered Meg, whose tips and tricks have won her over 570k followers on the platform, then shared that slugs are attracted to the yeast in beer.
The rest is pretty straightforward – simply make what she likes to call ”slug traps”, by pouring the ”unlikely” beverage into a bowl and placing it near the affected area.
The following morning, Meg popped down to check on her traps and discovered a handful of slugs dead inside the beer bowls.
Sharing her thoughts, she went on in the caption: ”I know some will say this is a waste of beer, or that it’s awful to get rid of slugs that way- but I can’t just let them eat all of my plants that I worked so hard for.
”Bye, bye slugs!”
Since being posted on the platform, Meg’s clip has gone viral, winning her a whopping 1.1million views and more than 1.4k comments.
One couldn’t believe the results, writing: ”Omg, that is so many slugs.”
“Slugs did a number on my peppers last year. I’m getting ahead of them this year. They’re a nightmare,” another chimed in.
Others, meanwhile, raced to comments to share their top tips to keep the pests at bay, with one advising a certain plant.
”I bought two lavender plant pots at Costco and the snails are GONE!”
May gardening jobs
The Sun's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the tasks you need to crack on with in May.
GARDEN growth can go from nought to ninety in May, depending on the weather. The last UK frosts are generally seen at the beginning of the month, so all of a sudden there’s so much more to do and grow.
Plant out dahlia tubers
It’s a joy to finally plant out your dahlia tubers. Remember how big they can get – and space accordingly – anything up to half a metre apart.
It’s a good idea to put your support stakes in now instead of trying to work around them.
And make sure you include lots of well rotted manure or decent compost to feed it and then mulch to keep it moist and suppress weeds. They generally start blooming in July.
Final feed to Spring flowers
You can give a cheeky feed to all your remaining tulips and daffodils.
Although the majority of bulbs aren’t guaranteed to come back year after year any more, as long as you’ve left them to die back naturally there’s a good chance they’ll have stored enough energy to come back again. Tomato feed is fine.
Tie up climbers
Your clematis, honeysuckle and rambling roses should be well on their way by now – try to use plastic free string to tie them back into their support, or tuck them round each other to make sure they don’t sprout off in crazy directions.
Feed the lawn
It’s not too late to give your lawn a good feed.
Whether you use granular or liquid, it can give it a good boost to see it through the harsher summer months.
While mowing, don’t go too low with your cut length yet and never take more than a third off the grass height.
Get creative
It’s also time to get creative with hanging baskets and pots.
Trailing pelargoniums, which a lot of people call geraniums, and Begonias are a good, low cost way of getting lovely returning blooms throughout the summer in your baskets.
And pots can be planted with spring bulbs.
Don’t forget the greenhouse!
Give your greenhouse a good tidy and clean the glass inside and out.
The improved light will help plants grow quicker inside and tidying is good for the soul.
You can just use a household white wine vinegar and water solution – or even neat if you’re feeling spendy – which gives a really good shine.
Another penned: ”So I bought slug bags off Amazon. They are little triangle bags that you put beer in and it works the same way.”
According to one pro from Laidback Gardener, any beer will do – even a non-alcoholic one.
”Slugs, attracted by the smell of malt, are supposed to fall into the dish and drown.
”Moreover, if you try it, you will indeed find a few drowned slugs marinating in the beer the next morning.
”So, in principle, it seems to work.”
