Green

Download

The simplest way to rid your garden of slugs and snails is just going out at night with a torch and picking snails off your plants. Put them in a jar and dispose of them in the morning.
Another way is laying coffee grounds round your plants. Slugs and snails find it difficult to traverse coffee grounds. Coffee grounds can become quite acidic, so counter-balance that with a sprinkling of garden lime.
Yeast or beer traps are another option. For yeast traps, mix 1 teaspoon of dried yeast and 1 teaspoon of white sugar together in a cup of warm water until the yeast and sugar dissolve and the mixture froths. Pour into a recycled container or saucer, or purchase a snail trap which has the advantage of having a lid to keep out the rain.
One of the most effective ways is to find a heavy large pot. Stuff it with rolled-up pieces of newspaper. Turn it upside down on your garden and make sure you place something like a stone on one side to create an entrance to the pot. During the day when it’s light and warm, slugs and snails will crawl into the pot and it’s then that you empty out the newspaper containing the pests and dispose of them.
With a concerted effort you can break the cycle of slugs and snails and rid yourself of them!

The codling moth traps we make work especially well because they trap both the male and female codling moth, unlike the pheromone traps you buy which only trap the male.
Using a 2-litre empty milk bottle, cut two holes the size of golf ball on either side at the top of the bottle just under the lid. This is where the moths enter, attracted by the smell, and drown.
Make a mixture of water, molasses, cider vinegar, ammonia and dishwashing liquid and fill about 5-8cms in the bottom of the bottles.
Use cloth ribbon rather than twine for tying so as not to damage the branches. Choose two branches that you can tie the bottle between. This reduces the movement of the bottle.
Check the bottles during the growing season. You may need to add more water if the mixture evaporates.