Slugs can be a real problem in spring when there’s lots of young growth for them to eat, but gardener Simon Akeroyd has shared a simple natural trick to help reduce slug damage to your plants
Alice Sjoberg Social News Reporter
16:04, 06 Apr 2026
A gardener shared how he keeps slugs and snails away from his garden beds (stock image)(Image: nilapictures via Getty Images)
Now that spring has well and truly arrived, many homeowners will be venturing outdoors into their gardens more often, whether to soak up the pleasant weather or get stuck into planting in their flower beds. Yet introducing new plants to your garden also carries the risk of attracting some unwelcome visitors.
One tiny creature can prove a genuine nightmare for passionate gardeners – the dreaded slug. From devouring lettuce heads to wreaking havoc on young seedlings, they can leave a trail of destruction in their path. While slugs remain active throughout much of the year, they pose a particular threat in spring, when there’s an abundance of fresh growth for them to feast upon.
Although it’s virtually impossible to eliminate them entirely, there are methods to reduce the number of slugs invading your garden. To help combat the problem, gardener Simon Akeroyd has revealed a clever trick to stop slugs from devouring your plants, requiring just one natural ingredient.
“How to prevent slugs munching your plants,” he wrote at the start of his TikTok video.
He continued to say: “It’s frustrating finding your plants have been eaten by slugs. So here is a handy gardening hack to reduce slug damage.”
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In his clip, Simon heads into an overgrown corner of his garden, searching for twigs and sticks covered in thorns. “Cut lengths or thorny twigs, such as roses or brambles, and place these thorny sticks around the edges of your plant,” Simon explained.
After locating some prickly twigs, he returned to his greenhouse, where he proceeded to chop the twigs into smaller sections to fit better around his potted plants, ensuring every section of the plants sat within the protective barrier of twigs.
“Slugs would prefer not to slither over sharp thorns, which reduces the chances of slugs eating your plants,” Simon explained, as he displayed his now slug-resistant plant.
In the post’s caption, he compared it to barbed wire, ‘just for slugs and snails’.
“To be fair, it won’t completely stop slug damage, as some are already in the compost or soil, while others are completely impervious to any barriers. But it will hopefully reduce the damage,” he stated, before wishing his followers ‘good luck’.
How to keep slugs and snails from damaging your garden plants
According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), slugs and snails are so plentiful in gardens that some damage is inevitable. They cannot and should not be eliminated completely, so focused management to safeguard particularly susceptible plants, such as seedlings and delicate young shoots on herbaceous plants, will deliver the best outcomes.
Some approaches to reduce slug and snail damage include selecting plants that are less appealing to slugs and snails. You could also transplant robust plantlets grown in pots rather than young delicate seedlings.
Gardeners can also venture out with a torch in the early evening to scour their garden for slugs and snails, relocating them to less critical areas such as compost heaps or spots with hardier plants.
Alternatively, you can simply leave them out in the open for natural predators to deal with.
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