I swear by my FREE hack to stop slugs & snails eating your plants…you’ll be kicking yourself you haven’t tried it before

A GARDENING guru has sworn by his super simple and free hack to stop slugs and snails eating your plants.

So if you’ve got lots of lovely flowers and plants in your garden, you’ll need to listen up.

A gardening lover has shared the simple hack he swears by to stop slugs and snails from climbing over your plantsCredit: Getty

So if you want to protect your plants this summer, you'll need to pay attentionCredit: Getty

Tom uses pine cones to deter creepy crawliesCredit: tiktok@botanicaltom

Not only is this trick free, but you'll be kicking yourself that you hadn't thought of it soonerCredit: Getty

Tom, who is known online as ‘Botanical Tom’, revealed his top tip for ensuring creepy crawlies steer clear of your plants - and it couldn’t be simpler.

The food lover, gardening fan and savvy dad took to social media to share his trick, leaving many open-mouthed.

And you’ll be stunned that you didn’t think of it before.

Tom proudly gave his followers a close-up look at two of his plants, as he posted his clip with the caption ‘Gardening hack! How to stop slugs and snails from eating your plant leaves for plants growing in pots.’

'AMAZING ADVICE'

Social media users were stunned by the hack and many took to the comments to express this.

One person said: “Genius!! Beer traps worked & just made a garlic spray but pine cones are an amazing idea! Thank you.”

Another added: “Omg this is amazing advice. I have loads of pine cones and had no use for them. Will give this a go.”

Why did I not think of that?!
TikTok user

A third commented: “Why have I never thought of this before!!!!!!”

To this, Tom replied: “Saw a box in the garage and thought it was worth a try. So far so good.”

Whilst another user wrote: “Why did I not think of that, I live near a forest.”

Meanwhile, one gardening fan beamed: “Great idea and they look nice.”

Common garden pests

Common pests in the garden don’t need to be a cause for alarm. If you can identify them, you can work on getting rid of them and preventing them from returning.

Aphids (Greenfly, Blackfly)

Aphids are extremely common and can impact plant growth. They have tiny soft pear-shaped bodies, and are usually green or black. You may spot them clustered on the stem of soft shoots – look under leaves in particular – or may find a sticky substance on your plants that gives away aphids have been there sucking at the sap.

Whitefly

These small white-winged insects are related to aphids, at just 1 or 2 mm in length, and look very much like white moths as adults. They can be found on the underside of leaves, preferring younger, fresher leaves. They fly in clusters when you disturb them. Their lifecycle is only three weeks long, which means an infestation can occur very rapidly.

Slugs

An unmissable, squashy-looking body plus small sensory tentacles on its head. Slugs move along on one muscular foot. They range in scale from surprisingly small to terrifyingly large; limax cinereoniger species can grow comfortably beyond 20 cm in length.

Cabbage Moth Caterpillar

Cabbage moth caterpillars happily make their way into the heart of the vegetables, The caterpillars are distinguished in shades of yellow or browny green with no hair.

Mealy Bug

Mealybugs are tiny oval-shaped insects that have a white, powdery wax coating. There are several different species, many of which have what looks like legs coming from their sides and back end. In their earliest stage of life, it’s entirely possible to mistake them for fungus and not recognise them as insects at all.