Slugs come in all shapes, sizes and colours and are present in most gardens munching on fresh green leaves.
In autumn, all the leaves lying on the ground can provide a very slug-friendly habitat which they love.
To deter them, not only should gardeners tidy up their gardens, but some gardeners recommend using a common household spray.
Taking to the Gardening UK Facebook page, Sandra Cook shared her experience how how she got rid of slugs in her garden.
She said: “Hi all if you spray outside of pots with WD-40, it saves your plants from slug and snail attack. It acts as the perfect barrier.”
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Group members in the comments section were also a fan of this method. Karen Mathers said: “I spray it onto a soft cloth and wipe around all of my pots, makes them all look clean and new, deters slugs and it’s a water displacement so helps stop watermarks. My dad always did this in his garden.”
Kevin Slater commented: “Slugs slide right off the plant pots when I use WD-40, amazing.”
Jill Peters wrote: “I put WD-40 on mine and it didn’t wash off. I reapplied after about 18 months as it had reduced.”
Posting a picture of the spray, Sally Jones wrote: “It’s genius. They never get to my potted plants now with this stuff.”
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Experts at Nutley’s Kitchen Gardens agreed with using this spray too. They said: “Spraying WD40 on the outside of pots or planters will make them too slippery for slugs to climb.
“This can be effective for pots and planters that sit on a path or patio, but should be kept away from soil or other plants.”
All gardeners need to do is have a can of WD-40 ready by the door after it rains. Slugs typically come outside after rain because they are most active during damp or humid conditions.
So once it becomes wet out, go outside with WD-40 and spray the outside of the pots to make them too slick for the pests to climb.
The best place to spray is right in the middle of the pot. Gardeners want the ring of WD-40 to be at least three to four inches wide so slugs can’t cross.
This creates an effective barrier and keeps them from climbing forward. Avoid greasing the lip of the pot because it might eventually dirty you when you brush your leg against it when gardening or walking past.
However, there are two negatives to this hack. WD-40 can damage plants if accidentally sprayed on them.
What’s more, it won’t work as effectively on soil because slugs and snails aren’t fighting against gravity when trying to cross the dirt. They are when climbing a planter, though, making the lubricant extra-effective at making them lose their grip.
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