A gardening expert with more than 25 years’ of experience has shared his top tips for keeping slugs at bay using a natural slug barrier – and it’s not through the use of eggshells or bark
Slugs thrive in damp conditions and can cause a lot of damage to garden plants and vegetables (stock image)(Image: nilapictures via Getty Images)
A gardening expert has detailed his “most effective” tip for keeping slugs under control – and it doesn’t involve eggshells or bark. With lighter evenings and warmer temperatures set to continue, many people are eager to tidy up their gardens and take full advantage of their outdoor spaces.
Plants and flowerbeds can quickly become overwhelmed by slugs, resulting in considerable damage. This can manifest as ragged, irregular holes in leaves, shredded seedlings, or foliage left with slime trails that can kill new growth overnight.
Slugs thrive in damp conditions and are drawn to root vegetables and potato tubers, which they burrow into – but bestselling author and gardening expert Simon Akeroyd may well have the answer.
The professional gardener boasts over 25 years of experience and, like many specialists in his field, regularly shares his knowledge with the masses via social media.
In a recent TikTok video, Simon praised sheep’s wool as an effective slug deterrent. He explained: “Best method of controlling slugs – I find this is the most effective way of reducing slug damage.
“Next time you’re on a walk in the countryside (this is near me on Dartmoor), you’ll often find loads of sheep’s wool attached to barbed wire, branches, etc.
“Collect as much as you can – slugs don’t like moving over the uncomfortable, dry, fibrous material – place the sheep’s wool around plants in pots.”
He went on to say: “Sheep’s wool is also a great mulch – it retains moisture and suppresses weeds. Also, place wool along the rows of veggies. I find many slugs don’t like to cross the wool. It’s not 100% protection but it does seem to reduce damage.”
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Simon rounded off the clip by urging viewers to “enjoy” hunting for wool while out on a countryside stroll.
In the comments section, fellow TikTok users were quick to share their views. One said: “Yes! I’m doing this with the echinacea I transplanted from pot to soil. I was horrified at the first night’s slug attack. It is working, though I have to rearrange it regularly as something moves it about at night.”
Another said: “I keep learning so much about plants and gardening from this account, it’s insane.” While a third simply commented: “Brilliant.”
One person added: “You’re fabulous, wish we could be neighbours.”
However, another shared: “We put coffee grounds down as it was said that they don’t like crawling over that… they did.”
And another asked: “What about dog hair? Silly question I know but my long haired [German shepherd] hair would come in handy lol.”
The expert replied: “Yes, I use my dog’s fur clippings. Just make sure they haven’t had a recent flea treatment.”
Simon’s latest gardening book, Way to Grow, hit shelves on April 9, in which the seasoned horticulturalist outlines “100 of [his] top tips to help you save time and money and have fun while growing plants”.
Aimed at everyone from novices to “more experienced growers”, the guide covers a wide range of gardening tricks, including how to reuse coffee grounds and “old tights”, “water pots with lengths of string”, make a watering can from a milk carton, feed plants with banana skins, and more.
Potato enthusiasts can grow their spuds in “a tower built from chicken wire”, while plant aficionados can discover how to “grow a cactus from supermarket fruit”, among a range of other suggestions.
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