Slugs and ants are gone in no time. Just throw this in the garden and they’ll stay away.

Nobody likes to see snails in their garden. They eat the leaves off plants, destroy seedlings and leave slimy tracks everywhere. They’re active all year round, but cause the most trouble in spring.

Unlike snails, they lack a protective shell, so they come out to eat your crops mainly at night or in the rain. During the day they are then hidden in dark damp places, invisible to the ordinary eye. If you’re looking for the culprit of damaged plants in daylight, you’re not going to find it. And if you spray the plant with a common insecticide in an attempt to correct it, it won’t help. The slug is not an insect, but a mollusc.
One way to get rid of them is to take a torch in the evening and go out into the garden to collect the feeding slugs by hand. Then throw them in a bucket of soapy water. Not everyone wants to do that, and it’s a bit of a disgusting job.

So, how do you get rid of slugs?

One way is to water the garden in the morning so that it can dry out by the evening. Slugs prefer to be wet, so this should help.

Another option is to wrap the plants with copper tape. This is a bit more involved, but it works. The copper in contact with slug slime produces a slight electrical discharge that drives the slugs away.

Finally, you could try luring them in for a beer. The slugs are irresistibly attracted to beer yeast. Pour the beer into a container and bury the bottom of the container in the ground so that the rim is aligned with the soil. The slugs, attracted to the beer, will fall into the container and drown.

Another option is to feed them bran. Slugs love it, but they get bloated and dehydrated when they eat it. This makes it impossible for them to retreat to safety and they become easy prey for birds.

Scattering bark, cat litter or sand around protected plants can also help. Slugs don’t like to travel on sharp or prickly materials.

 

What to do with unwanted ants

Ants can also be a problem in the garden. However, they are often more helpful in aerating the soil and pollinating flowers. They also feed on garden pests.

But some destroy trees, cutting down the wood, and others feed on leaves of the crops you grow. Still others protect and care for the well-being of aphids that suck nutrients out of plants. And the ants then feast on their sweet droppings.

You can protect your plants from ants by spraying them with a solution of water and vinegar or lemon. Or you can sprinkle baking powder around infested crops. Planted peppermint also repels ants.

Drive them away with a log

But slugs and ants together can be killed with coffee grounds. Sprinkle it on the soil around susceptible plants and its aroma, or perhaps its texture, will reliably chase away both kinds of uninvited visitors. For an even more effective solution, mix coffee with borax.