Snails and slugs rampaging around the garden

Ecological snail removal solution.....

Snails and slugs are a real menace at the moment. Snails have a tendency to climb, so a good way to dispose of them is to plant sticks or twigs in the veg plot to tempt them upwards, and they can then be easily picked off.

Another trick is to create a snail cave by positioning a couple of bricks 30 cm apart and covering with a black plastic “tent”. Keep the area moist and the slimy menaces can be removed.

We still put down beer traps- a couple of inches of beer in an old jar, sunk into the soil, and I’m ashamed to admit that the proceeds of all of these traps are presented to the chickens with a flourish, recycling the pests and making magnificent free range eggs at the same time.

If you are of a kinder disposition and prefer to free your captives away from the veg patch, be warned that snails have an incredible homing instinct and will unerringly return to the same place you took them from.

Chickens are only 5 euros a piece from most good agricultural suppliers, but be warned, fence in the plot as they can do considerably more damage than the snails!