UK households urged to put garlic in gardens
UK households have been urged to put garlic outside in their gardens. If you care about what your property looks like, it's worth doing.
Gardening Expert Shares Organic Solution to Combat Pesky SlugsA popular online gardening personality, known as "Gardening with Ish," recently unveiled an effective, natural method for deterring slugs from garden plants, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical controls. In a detailed video uploaded on October 28, 2025, Ish demonstrated how to create a simple yet potent garlic spray, addressing a common challenge faced by gardeners.According to Ish, while physical deterrents such as coffee grounds and crushed eggshells are useful for ground-level protection against slugs, they often fail to safeguard the higher foliage of plants. His new approach focuses on making the plants themselves unappetizing to these common garden pests. The preparation involves crushing or finely dicing three to four garlic cloves and steeping them in approximately 200 milliliters of water for one to two days. This infusion process is crucial for extracting allicin, a compound responsible for garlic's distinctive sulfuric aroma and taste, which slugs are said to find highly repulsive.After the soaking period, the mixture is carefully strained to remove any garlic solids, ensuring a clear liquid for spraying. This concentrated solution is then diluted with about one liter of water before being transferred to a standard spray bottle. Ish stressed the importance of this dilution step to ensure the spray remains safe for plants, preventing any potential adverse effects, while still being potent enough to deter pests effectively. "This creates a film that makes the plants taste absolutely disgusting to slugs," Ish explained, detailing how this protective layer ensures slugs "stay firmly away" from vulnerable species like hostas. He recommends applying the diluted spray lightly to susceptible plants on a weekly basis. This organic approach provides gardeners with an environmentally friendly and accessible option for managing slug populations, promoting healthier gardens without harsh chemicals.
UK households have been urged to put garlic outside in their gardens. If you care about what your property looks like, it's worth doing.
