Gardeners told to pour coffee in their garden right now to stop common issue
Gardeners are being advised to try a new method to keep slugs and snails out of the garden - and it's a product most people have in their homes
Irish gardeners are being advised to take action now September is here and the weather is taking a turn for the worse.
The summer of 2024 has been a bit of a nightmare for gardeners, with prolonged periods of heavy rain making it challenging to grow anything - only for it to be devoured by slugs and snails.
These ravenous molluscs will stop at nothing to strip your garden of everything you've lovingly planted, munching through strawberries, raspberries, tomato plants, potato foliage and every type of flower in their relentless pursuit of food.
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Slug and snail populations have been significantly higher than usual this summer, fuelled by the gloomy and wet weather, but things are set to get even worse in September.
This is because as the weather becomes wetter and the nights draw in, slugs and snails will have the perfect conditions to spread throughout your garden and, even worse, lay their eggs for next year, reports the Express.
Slugs will mate and lay eggs throughout the autumn to produce even more slugs and snails for the following year. However, gardeners are sharing a top tip that can help control and repel slug populations before this happens - instant coffee.
Cheap coffee grounds aren't just a way to kick-start your morning routine, they can also give everything growing in your garden a boost. Caffeine is toxic to slugs and snails, and some gardening experts therefore swear by it as a method of pest control.
A word of caution, though, coffee is a particularly painful death for slugs, even more so than salt, so avoid applying coffee grounds directly to any slugs or snails (squashing them would be much quicker and less cruel).
Instead, simply scatter the coffee grounds onto soil and around raised beds or pots during dry, clear weather, and then when it does rain, the slugs won't cross the coffee, thereby safeguarding your beloved flowers and crops.
In research, coffee grounds were found to decrease slug and snail numbers by between 50-90%. The coffee won't have any detrimental effects on your plants either, in fact some studies have discovered that caffeine actually enhances plant growth.
Gardening blog Tea and Coffee states: "Coffee grounds contain a chemical called alkaloid, which is poisonous to slugs. When slugs ingest coffee grounds, they suffer from severe dehydration and eventually die.
"For these reasons, slugs will steer clear of areas where coffee grounds have been scattered. While coffee grounds may not be the most effective way to keep slugs out of your garden, they can be a useful tool in deterring these pests."
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