With summer just around the corner, there’s no better time to get your garden ready (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
As summer draws closer, many Brits will be looking forward to getting into their gardens to plant flowers, fruit, and vegetables. What’s more, the plants already firmly in the ground in backyards up and down the country will soon start to show signs of life.
However, as both amateur and experienced gardeners will know, domestic gardening can easily be scuppered by unwanted pests coming and trampling all over whatever is growing. Gardening experts have some top tips to stop squirrels, cats, and whatever else, from disturbing your plant life. It might sound strange, but the experts are adamant it works: planting plastic forks around your plants stops pesky animals from interfering with them.
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Using plastic cutlery in your garden can help to ward off pests (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
Speaking to Ideal Home, Lucie Bradley, garden and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation, says: “Soft-bodied pests such as slugs and snails can be deterred by the spiky surface plastic forks will create when inserted into the ground.
“For forks to work effectively in deterring these smaller pests, they need to be placed close together, creating a physical barrier that they would find difficult to manoeuvre around.
“The forks would need to be placed about 5cm apart and used to surround very vulnerable plants such as seedlings, which can be decimated if found by slugs or snails.”
The theory appears to be that the pointy-looking cutlery makes approaching pests think twice about getting too close, and so they avoid the area.
The result is that your plants are free to flourish as spring becomes summer.
Another way the gardening experts advise to ward off pests is to use a common household cooking ingredient: cayenne pepper.
The spice won’t cause any damage at all to your plants, and means you won’t need to invest in nasty pesticides or other chemicals.
The experts claim that sprinkling the spicy powder around your garden every few days will stop critters from meddling with your plants.
It’s important to make sure you don’t harm any pests (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
On Martha Stewart’s website, there’s also another tip that could help – and it’s one you might already have in your garden.
Mulch can conserve water and suppress weeds but it also helps keep certain pests away.
Timothy Wong, technical director at M&M Pest Control (MMPC), says: “A thick layer of straw, shredded leaves, or untreated wood chips can create a barrier that keeps beetles, cutworms, and soil-borne fungi from reaching your plants.
“It also encourages beneficial insects like ground beetles and spiders to settle in, further helping to keep pest numbers down.”
If you’re hoping to keep your garden pest-free this summer, these easy tips are worth a try.
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