I’m King Charles’ senior gardener – my four step method will banish slugs and snails, all you need is a £7 B&M gadget
IF you’re fed up with slugs and snails taking over your garden and destroying your plants, worry no more, because you’ve come to the right place.
King Charles’ senior gardener Jack Stooks, who has worked at the monarch’s Highgrove House for 20 years, has revealed the simple four-step method that’ll banish the pests from your outdoor haven.
DIY fermented yeast drink trap
First up, the gardening whizz suggests placing fermented yeast drink traps in the garden.
Despite warning that the mixture will need to be regularly topped up, he notes that both slugs and snails will be attracted to the odour.
Jack goes on to say that these can be “expensive” to buy ready-made, so suggests rustling up your own mixture instead using jam jars.
“What you do is dig it down into the ground so the top is level with the soil,” he told Betway.
“Into that, you put in a quarter of the jam jar, and fill up with the fermented drink.”
He goes on to say that making your own concoction is simple – you just need to mix water with a tiny amount of sugar and dried yeast.
According to Jack, the slugs will be drawn to the yesasty odours and will be lured down the jar within a day or two.
The gardening whizz adds they can then be emptied out into the compost and the procedure should then be repeated with a fresh mixture.
Working by torchlight
While the traps are most definitely effective, the gardening whizz points out that there’s a chance you may also catch beneficial wildlife such as insects which would help your garden flourish.
So, sharing an alternative solution, Jack recommends actively going out at night time with a torch and picking them up.
“These types of animals are attracted to the light from the torch, which makes them easier to catch,” he explains.
B&M are selling the ‘Eveready 3W Head Lamp with Straps’ for just £7.
It has an adjustable head position and elasitcated straps, keeping it firmly on your head, but comfortably and features three light modes: full beam, half beam and flashing.
The online product description reads: “It is ideal for working in dark areas or if you have hands-free work.”
Organic gardening
Jack also praises the idea of organic gardening, which The Royal Horticultural Society defines as “cultivation systems which make minimal use of manufactured chemical substances” with a view to “emphasising the interdependence of life forms.”
Breaking this down simply, the pro gardener explains that an organic garden will encourage wildlife, such as frogs, badgers, hedgehods and brids, back into your outdoor space.
He notes that this will in turn, help to naturally deter snails and slugs from eating your plants.
Royal gardener Jack Stook's top tips for green lawns
JACK, who has worked at King Charles' Highgrove House for 20 years, shares his top tips..
- Scarify the lawn with a rake to remove any old leaves and moss
- Add nitrogen fertiliser into the soil
- Alternatively, put granular feed over the lawn, or a ‘plant soup’ from plant material over the lawn
Copper collaring
Last but not least, the gardening whizz advises using copper collaring to ward off slugs and snails.
He explains that this is an “easy enough” process that simply requires you to put a copper collar around plant pots or plants themselves.
However, Jack points out that he does find this method “monotonous” and would instead advise using fermented drink traps out of all his four suggested methods.
