See off slugs and snails
How to do it without resorting to chemicals
Slug pellets are toxic to beneficial wildlife, so if you garden with nature in mind, try these natural ways to see off your gardening nemesis.
1 Encourage predators: Molluscs are on the menu for toads, hedgehogs, newts, song thrushes and ground beetles, so encourage these predators with a pond or boggy area, dense shrubs and wood piles.
2 Hunt by torchlight: Go out at night with a torch and pick slugs and snails off plants by hand. Fill a jar with water and screw the lid on tightly to drown them. Alternatively set traps – place saucers of beer at the edge of beds, or use upturned grapefruit halves or flower pots, then dispose of the inmates.
3 Use distraction: Grow a sacrificial plant that slugs will love even more than your seedlings, then pick them off or set a slug trap nearby. Lawn chamomile, marigolds and nasturtiums are good choices.
4 Restrict their movement: Slugs don’t like crawling over sharp grit or crushed egg or sea shells, so sprinkle a thick layer around your favourite plants. Copper is another deterrent. Create a barrier of pennies or wrap copper tape around plant pots.
5 Use nematodes: Mix microscopic nematodes with water and apply to the ground with a watering can to kill young and small slugs in the soil.