Slugs and snails are sneaky pests that hide under leaves in moist pockets, munching on anything in their path, including precious veggies.
These critters can wreak havoc before you even spot them, but chewed foliage and slimy trails give the game away.
To combat these garden invaders, green-fingered enthusiasts often concoct homemade remedies, with one such potion promising “instant” results.
A Facebook user, Lara Smith, shared her success story, revealing a simple mix of garlic and water is all it takes to send the slimy pests packing.
She excitedly posted: “Something very exciting happened tonight. So I was spraying my hostas after it had gone dark and saw a snail and slug on their way.”
She continued: “I sprayed the garlic solution in front of them and they instantly turned away. I thought I would try a bit more to see what happened.”
Lara’s experiment didn’t disappoint: “So I did it again in front of it and a bigger area, and they turned away again and avoided the whole area covered with garlic spray.”
It turns out that slugs and snails detest strong smells, making garlic an excellent repellent to shield plants from these munching marauders.
The allium family, which includes garlic, is notorious for repelling a variety of insects and pests, slugs and snails included.
Gardeners can employ both fresh and other forms of garlic to keep their leafy realms slug and snail-free. Lara then detailed how she concocted her potent garlic spray.
She explained: “To make the homemade garlic spray, I put one chopped garlic glove into 500ml warm water, and started to use it after I left it overnight.
“I left it outdoors where there was no direct sunshine with the garlic in and put it in a spray bottle when I needed it.
“Don’t know how long you could keep it as I am new to it. But I made mine two weeks ago.”
The concoction can be kept for several months in the fridge, so don’t hesitate to prepare extra bottles for future use.
In the comments, a fellow green-fingered user shared their experience, noting that the mixture remains effective even after a year, provided it’s stored correctly.
Hazel Taylor commented: “I’ve kept garlic spray from one year to the next and it still works – if kept somewhere cool.”
Gardening experts at Sienna Hosta also recommend using a garlic wash recipe and noted that a batch can last a year lengthen stored outside in a cool dry place or in the fridge.
