Gardens are home to a host of creatures, some of whom enjoy chomping on the foliage – among them, snails and slugs.
Although they are active for most of the year, as spring arrives – and brings wet conditions in February, March and April – snails and slugs can become a particular problem because there’s an abundance of new growth for them to eat.
The creatures can appear in large numbers, and are relentless in eating their way through and destroying a variety of plants, flowers and food produces.
Although snails and slugs are now recognized as beneficial to a garden’s ecosystem, and are no longer classed as ‘pests,’ when you step into your sanctuary on a sunny day to find holes in your precious plants, you may feel otherwise.
But all is not lost: green fingered garden lovers will be glad to know that there is a low-cost and simple way to deter the slimy critters.
Green fingered garden lovers will be glad to know that there is a low-cost and simple way to deter snails and slugs, who wreak havoc in gardens over the wetter months of spring
Garden retailer Thompson’s have revealed their solution on how to weed out snails and slugs from gardens – and that’s by using garlic.
A bulb of garlic costs as little as 20p, depending on where you shop, making it a cost effective trick, as well as being natural.
They said: ‘One of the best ways that are backed by some of the most expert breeders and growers is the garlic and water solution.
‘It is a natural way to deter both slugs and snails, which won’t do any harm to the environment.’
To create the homemade spray, you’d need to start by boiling two full bulbs of garlic in a saucepan or pot of water.
Get out as much garlic ‘juice’ as you can by squashing the bulbs down by using the flat of a knife, a wooden rolling pin or a mortar and pestle.
Next, pour the liquid through a sieve and dilute with two tablespoons in five liters of water to spray or water onto your plants.
Gardeners are advised to use the spray once a week, especially after it rains, to achieve the best results.
The cost-effective hack comes after Emma Gill wowed the internet last year, in May, with her DIY weed killer that she mixed up using items from her kitchen cupboard.
Emma shared a video of the cheap hack, as she reported that within a few hours the weeds in her garden were dead, according to a Manchester Evening News report.
The mother’s homemade remedy that costs just 68p to make – using just salt, distilled vinegar and dish soap.
More specifically, she used a liter of white vinegar, three large spoons of salt, three large spoons of washing-up liquid.
After mixing up this solution together, she decanted it into a watering can – although she advised that using a spray bottle would be better.
And within just a few hours of the mixture being tricked over her garden, she reported that the weeds ‘were visibly dead.’