UK Gardeners Urged To Place An Orange On Their Lawn

It’s been a funny few weeks for gardening. First, the heatwave came, which meant less (or no) mowing, more alertness to drought, and even moving and inspecting your plant pots to avoid scorching. 

In some parts of the UK, thunderstorms are now expected (a welcome change for those fearful of a bone-dry lawn, but bad news for sunbathers). 

Rain or not, though, many of us are experiencing slug infestations as our gardens flourish and our veggies swell.

But killing our slimy foes isn’t the answer. They’re a crucial food source for the UK bird population, which has been slashed by as much as 50% over the past 50 years.

Instead, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says, we should turn to the humble orange.

How can an orange help?

Slugs provide more than much-needed bird food; they’re a valuable composter too, and only a few species feed on live plants. 

However, when they do opt for a lawn-side lunch, they often go for young, tender seedlings, which often causes devastation for the plant.

Still, the RHS say, slugs and snails “cannot and should not be eradicated.” Instead, the best tactic is to place strategic controls around the most delicate growth.

That includes placing traps “such as [a] scooped-out half orange, grapefruit, or melon skins... near vulnerable plants.” 

Attracted to the citrus smell, the critters will become stuck in the bowl shape of the fruit (the bigger it is, the more likely the creatures are to stay put). 

You should check the grim goblet daily, ideally first thing in the morning, and move it far, far away from your most delicate plants.

Any other tips? 

Yes! You can try replacing the fruit halves with submerged jars half-filled with beer, though this will kill the slugs and snails outright. 

As with the orange half, only do this in areas with delicate growth that could be severely harmed by the maligned molluscs. 

Cloches can help, as can attracting slugs’ natural predators (like hedgehogs and slow worms) to your garden.

Avoid slug pellets. These can seriously harm your garden’s valuable biodiversity.