Gardeners' World star Monty Don reveals his simple three-step plan to defend your garden against slugs and snails
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Monty Don has shared three simple ways to ensure your garden stays free from 'destructive' slugs and snails which are taking over the UK.
Speaking to BBC Gardener's World Magazine, the nation's favourite horticulturalist said that slugs were 'invaluable' and keep your garden healthy.
However, many gardeners see them as 'pests' and adding simple measures to keep them away can help ensure a garden stays healthy.
'I know slugs and snails are seen by many gardeners as destructive pests without any redeeming features, but in fact they are an invaluable part of the recycling system that keeps a garden healthy.
'They eat decomposing material and return it, digested, to the soil, increasing the organic content and making it more accessible for further digestion by bacteria. So we need them.'
Popular gardening expert Monty Don (pictured) has shared tips on how to save your garden from slugs and snails
Firstly, Monty, who has also spoken about the gardening jobs you should get done in July, said the best step is to grow healthy plants.
He explained that slugs and snails are more likely to attack weaker plants first and are more likely to eat a 'rotting leaf' than a 'succulent young lettuce'.
He suggested letting your plants grow to be as 'hard' as possible to avoid this, meaning don't overfeed or 'mollycoddle them'.
Other ways you can damage plants include improper handling and transplanting, as well as either over or under watering them. Weather can also have a detrimental effect on plants, causing some damage.
According to Monty, you should avoid overfeeding your plants. You should, he says, view plant food as a supplement rather than the mainstay of the plant's diet, and only use soil or potting compost.
'This will avoid a spurt of soft, sappy growth that slugs love,' Monty explained. 'Your plants need to be tough and able to withstand hardship, but not ill and run down.'
His second tip is to 'encourage' and 'sustain' a healthy, balanced ecosystem in your garden.
Monty says he has accomplished this by encouraging 'masses' of creatures to his garden, including slug and snail-eating animals like frogs, toads, centipedes, beetles and thrushes.
Many gardeners across the UK are finding lots of slugs (pictured) as well as snails in their gardens at the moment
It's worth noting that if you want to attract these creatures to your garden, you should avoid using toxic chemicals, including slug pellets, and make sure you have lots of cover.
Another thing to note about this tip, according to Monty, is that your garden may suffer from some 'collateral damage' from the other creatures.
His final tip is very straightforward, and requires very little other than a small amount of your time.
You should simply ensure you have a specific area in your garden that you look at every day, to make sure it is 'more or less' snail and slug-free.
This area, Monty added, should be used for your young plants, and for those which may be less robust, and which need supervision.
