Slug barriers at the ready: Britain’s gardens are in for an invasion this summer according to experts predicting an unusually high number of our least favourite gastropods.
Researchers at conservation charity Buglife have predicted that the record warm temperatures this winter means slugs have not retreated for their usual period of hibernation, but have carried on breeding instead. At the same time populations of natural predators like hedgehogs are dwindling in the face of habitat loss and other threats.
The charity said gardeners could be battling up to 10% more slugs than usual this year – and there are already an average of 20,000 of them in our gardens.
‘Due to climate shifts, warmer winters and wetter summers, we’re seeing slugs become active all year round,’ said Buglife chief executive Matt Shardlow. ‘Coupled with the fact that general slug varieties are also reaching full size earlier than ever, gardeners are simply not getting any respite.’
Luckily we’ve stocked up on slug-busting remedies at our garden centre here in Henley on Thames. Pop over now for free advice on how to tackle your slugs from our knowledgeable staff, as well as slug deterrents from beer traps to garlic barriers, copper rings and wildlife-friendly ferrous phosphate slug pellets.