Slugs and snails are notorious garden pests, often feasting on tender plants and leaves, posing a challenge for gardeners.
However, one novice gardener has left fans stunned with the simple tricks he uses to keep the slimy creatures away without spending a penny. Glen, who posts online as @thegrowdenwithglen, is known for sharing his gardening tips online.
Despite only being a novice himself, he has racked up more than 10,000 followers on social media. Now, he has gone viral for sharing tips to keep snails and slugs away from his plants, which he has tested himself in his greenhouse and allotment.
In the allotment
Many gardeners will understand Glen’s frustration when it comes to dealing with pests on plants that are easy to access to because they’re close to the ground. But there is one thing you can do to help banish them – and all you need is your excess trimmings.
In a video, which has gained more than 200 likes, he explained: “Brambles grow everywhere this time of year and they have very sharp spikes on the stem as a natural deterrent to predators. I snip off any large leaves and then you can place the stem around your young plants.
“Slugs and snails hate this and you can manipulate it to a shape that you need. You can also snip it into smaller sections so you overlap awkward spaces. You then have a free natural deterrent and trust me you don’t wanna be spiked by these.”
TikTok users were left amazed by the hack as they took to the comments to praise him for sharing. A user said: “Great tip,” while a second added: “I’ll give that a go!!”
Someone else wrote: “My slugs would eat the brambles for starters.” However, that wasn’t the only helpful tip he had to give.
Potted plants
If you grow your plants inside a greenhouse, you may still struggle with pests getting at your veggies long before you do. However, Glen claims to have a simple tip for this too.
In a follow-up video, which has gained more than 2,000 likes, he wrote: “I’ve learnt this the hard way. I’ve got metal racking and plastic shelving just like this in my greenhouse. Now these are amazing but also slugs and snails find it really easy to access your seedlings because they can sliver their way up.
“A quick fix is an old towel or tea towel but just make sure it has a rough or fluffy material, not a flat surface tea towel. As you can see my sweet corn seedlings and my sweet peas that are a slug and snail favourite haven’t been touched and if you drape them over the edges slightly it stops them from climbing up.”
Social media users loved this tip too, with one user writing: “Genius! Off to Poundland to get some cheap towels!” Another added: “Wow amazing tip! I’ve never heard of this one!” Meanwhile, a third suggested a way to make it better, adding: “My grandad used to do this but washed the towels in really salty water first.”
