UK Gardeners Asked To Do Torchlit Search At Night

Person with torch in garden at nightRelief at the first sight of spring can quickly give way to annoyance at the amount of work that needs to be done in the garden (though luckily, this month should see you strike mowing, at least, off your list). There’s the mulching, the watering, the maintenance, and the planting to be done – and that’s before you even start to talk about managing unwanted garden guests. Slugs and snails feel like the natural enemies of many green-fingered gardeners, though only a few species actually put your hard-earned seedlings at risk. But killing them isn’t the answer. They’re a crucial food source for birds in the UK, whose population has been slashed by half over the past few decades.The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says that placing an orange in your lawn could help; but failing (or in addition to) that, a torchlit search could get them off vulnerable seedlings and brassica leaves, too. Take a nighttime peek under your leavesAvoiding deadly methods like slug pellets when managing your garden can help to maintain its all-important biodiversity. But that doesn’t mean you can’t tackle the issue; attracting natural predators like hedgehogs and slow worms to your garden can be beneficial. In the meantime, the RHS advise, “Torchlight searches can be carried out on mild evenings, especially when the weather is damp.”Slugs and snails are more active at night, “especially when it’s warm and damp” Gardeners’ World say – so wait ’til after the sun sets.Once you’ve spotted the slimy visitors, try “hand-picking slugs and snails into a container” the RHS writes. Then, move them to a less harmful spot in your garden like the compost heap, or leave them out for predators to eat.How else can I get rid of slugs?As we’ve mentioned, placing halved, hollowed-out grapefruit, orange, or melons on your lawn at night attracts slugs, which get stuck on their steep sides. In the morning, you can move them. Additionally, you can cover vulnerable seedlings with cloches or move them entirely. Related...UK Gardeners Warned To Check For Footprints On Their LawnUK Gardeners Urged To Place An Orange On Their LawnUK Gardeners Urged To Place A Pan Of Water On Their Lawn

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