Alan Titchmarsh has revealed the only thing that has worked for him when it comes to keeping slugs and snails out of his garden – and it’s all to do with a metallic device
Alan Titchmarsh at home in his own garden(Image: ITV )
Slugs and snails are the scourge of every gardener’s existence, particularly those who toil away cultivating nutritious, delicious-leafed plants such as hostas, dahlias, and delphiniums.
The slimy pests have countless natural enemies, including thrushes, blackbirds, and starlings, alongside frogs, slow worms, and hedgehogs.
However, nature doesn’t quite manage to suppress the slippery menaces completely, and gardeners have attempted countless remedies to protect their vegetable plots from invasion.
Some have experimented with beer-traps, which prove reasonably successful but require a gruesome clean-up task every few days.
Alan Titchmarsh has outlined several other slug-controlling methods that people have tested over the years, though he has rejected chemical approaches.
Alan swears by copper strips to repel slugs and snails(Image: ITV)
“Like most gardeners,” Alan told Country Life, “I have tried just about every slug control known to man. I long ago stopped using metaldehyde-based slug pellets, which left the pests writhing in agony and the birds and the ever-rarer hedgehog facing a poisoned diet.”
He also dismisses many of the established folk remedies such as crushed eggshells, holly leaves, sharp grit, gravel and sheep’s wool as “unreliable”.
These techniques are thought to repel snails and slugs, as the slimy creatures would find the material uncomfortable to touch.
Snails can quickly destroy a vegetable patch(Image: New Zealand Department of Conser)
Alan also added: “I do not drink enough Colombian or Arabica to carpet my hosta border in coffee grounds and, anyway, I’m not wild about imbuing my garden with an aroma redolent of Starbucks.”
Instead, Alan champions copper rings that can be positioned around vulnerable plants, or purchased as adhesive tape to safeguard plant pots: “They are reputed (if kept clean) to impart a kind of electric shock to any slug or snail attempting to scale their dizzying height,” he explains.
When slugs or snails attempt to glide across the copper, their slime reacts with the metal, creating a mild electric shock.
This disagreeable sensation puts them off crossing, prompting them to retreat and seek an alternative path.
Alan has tried everything to deter slugs(Image: Getty Images/500px)
Alan notes that slugs and snails can occasionally circumvent the copper barrier if you position your plants too closely together. “Avoid placing potted hostas where their leaves can touch a nearby box bush, where snails love to shelter,” he cautions.
“At night, they’ll hop across the divide and gorge themselves before returning to their customary dorm for their daytime sleep.”
He observes that, even amongst hostas, certain varieties appear to be less susceptible to slug attack than others: “I was thrilled to have a hosta named for me a few years ago,” he revealed.
“‘Alan Titchmarsh’ is a variety with rich green leaves that have a creamy yellow streak right down the centre.
“I try not to imagine that it is in any way a reflection of my character. It is, I have noticed, rarely attacked by slugs and snails. Perhaps they have some respect for the gardener after all.”
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