GARDENERS are being urged to do an essential job before October starts to prevent slug infestations.
So if you want your garden to impress your guests and don’t fancy pesky creepy crawlies slithering all over your beautiful plants, then you’ll need to take notes.
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Gardening enthusiasts have revealed that if you want your garden to be slug-free this Winter, you’ll need to get your hands on some instant coffee – yes, you heard that correctly.
The pros at gardening blog Tea and Coffee explained: “Coffee grounds contain a chemical called alkaloid, which is poisonous to slugs.
“When slugs ingest coffee grounds, they suffer from severe dehydration and eventually die.
“For these reasons, slugs will steer clear of areas where coffee grounds have been scattered.
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“Coffee grounds can be a useful tool in deterring these pests.”
As a result, gardeners have been warned to pour coffee granules on their garden before October starts.
Now that Autumn is here and the weather is getting wetter and more miserable, it’s essential to try to attack slug and snail numbers before they get completely out of control.
These invading molluscs will stop at nothing to ravage your garden, feasting on strawberries, raspberries, tomato plants, potato foliage and all kinds of flowers in their relentless pursuit of food.
Slug and snail populations soared this summer, spurred on by the damp and dreary weather, but conditions are set to deteriorate further next month.
And as the weather becomes increasingly wetter, these pests will find the perfect environment to proliferate throughout your garden.
Even worse, slugs will mate and lay eggs throughout the Autumn, ensuring an even larger population of slugs and snails next year.
But that’s where the instant coffee comes in – inexpensive coffee grounds not only give you a much-needed caffeine fix in the morning, but they can also provide a big boost to everything growing in your garden.
September gardening jobs
With September starting, so does autumn, and The Sun’s Gardening Editor Veronica Lorraine has a few tasks to keep you busy as the summer sun winds down.
1. Starting thinking about Spring bulbs
Its early bulb time! As well as the more traditional daffodils, crocuses, alliums and bluebells, try snake-head fratillaries for something slightly different.
2. Remember the bees
Make sure you’re still looking after the bees with autumn flowering pollinators – like sedums, honeysuckle and asters.
3. Dig and enjoy your potatoes
Maincrop potatoes are ready to dig up – make sure you get them all so they don’t get slug damage.
4. Change your lawn mowing schedule
Raise the height of your lawn mower and start to reduce the amount of mowing you do. GIve it an autumn feed, especially if you didn’t get round to it in Summer and start to rake to remove thatch.
5. Plant out new perennials while the soil is still warm.
6. Take salvia cuttings
It’s as easy as cutting a shoot tip above a node and chucking it in a glass of water to see if it sprouts roots. Especially with tender Salvias which wont survive the winter.
7. Keep camelias well watered to make sure that buds form next year.
8. Keep on deadheading and watering your hanging baskets
They should keep going until the first frosts.
9. Get pumpkins Halloween ready
Remove any leaves shading pumpkins to make sure they’ll be ready for halloween – and make sure you keep watering them, they’re very thirsty.
10. Check on your pond
Net your pond to stop it filling with fallen leaves when the trees start to drop.
In fact, some studies have found that caffeine actually enhances plant growth, making this not only an affordable way to banish slugs, but also a great way to add colour and depth to your outside space too.
Caffeine is toxic to slugs and snails, hence why many gardening experts advocate its use as a form of pest control.
Gardening tips and hacks
It’s worth noting that coffee, which has been found to decrease slug and snail populations by between 50 and 90 percent, is a particularly agonising death for slugs, even more so than salt.
As a result, it’s advised to avoid applying coffee grounds directly onto slugs or snails.
Instead, simply scatter the coffee grounds into the soil and around raised beds or pots during dry, clear weather.
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Then, when it does rain, slugs won’t cross the coffee, thereby safeguarding your beloved flowers and crops.
If you’ve run out of instant coffee, or don’t fancy using your nice stuff in your garden, then you’ll be able to nab some for as little as £1 from Tesco, making this simple trick great for those on a budget.
