Peter Dowdall, also known as The Irish Gardener, has shared his 30 years of experience by revealing a ‘secret weapon’ that is an environmentally-friendly to remove snails and slugs
Liam McInerney Content Editor
03:35, 25 Apr 2026
Snail invasion on a salad garden
Slugs and snails may look harmless but as many homeowners know, they can cause havoc in your garden at this time of year.
Thankfully, one gardening expert has revealed there is a “secret weapon” you can buy in garden centres to combat the problem that he believes not many people are even aware of.
The pests are known to destroy plants and crops in spring and summer and they can even wipe out harvests by consuming fruits like strawberries and tomatoes.
But there is a humane way of dealing with the issue, as revealed by Peter Dowdall, who said snails and slugs was “the most common garden problem right now”.
Peter, who is also known as The Irish Gardener, exclusively told The Mirror: “A lot of people just go straight for slug pellets which I’m not a huge fan of because of ecological reasons.
The Irish Gardener Peter Dowdall (Image: )
“There is a secret weapon if you like against slugs and snails which not a lot of people are aware of and that’s sheep’s wool. There are pellets available made from sheep’s wool which are perfect barrier products.”
These pellets are to be placed around the plants you are trying to protect and they create a barrier that slugs can’t get over.
Peter continued: “It keeps the plant safe, it doesn’t kill the slugs, but that’s important too because slugs are food for hedgehogs and birds.
“It’s all about the natural balance if you like, creating the natural balance just means that by maintaining a good diversity of species in the garden, you prevent the unnatural building of any one.
“So, sheep wool is a nice hidden weapon people aren’t aware of and they are available through most garden centres as well.”
You can remove snails and slugs without harsh chemicals (Image: Getty)
Sheep’s wool pellets, described online as eco-friendly and sustainable, can cost up £14 in the UK, and they are often made from wool that would otherwise go to waste.
Peter has spent over three decades working on gardens — and he also told this reporter how people were currently making a “big mistake”.
Speaking about the error, he said people have been in a “mad rush” to add colour in their gardens now that the weather has improved.
He added: “Run down to the garden centre, get lots and lots of summer bedding plants and put them out straight away. That’s a big mistake.”
As for why this was problematic, he explained: “With the lovely blue sky days, at the moment, that does mean cold nights. So these plants wouldn’t be, they wouldn’t even be resistant to low temperatures.
Peter Dowdall at Chelsea Flower Show(Image: RSVP Live)
“It wouldn’t have to b ea frost or zero, if it is down to two, three, or four, it is too cold for them.
“So a lot of these plants, all of these plants really, would have been grown in artificial conditions, in glass houses, in tunnels, and then you will be buying them in either centrally heated supermarkets or in a projected structure in a garden centre, so that’s why they look good, but they are not ready to go outside straight away.”
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