Strawberries are just starting to fruit in May, so it is incredibly important to protect your new berries as they can be a tempting target for slugs. Slugs are attracted to soft foliage that is easy to eat and sugary fruit, which makes freshly forming strawberries a very vulnerable target.
If slugs managed to get into a strawberry patch, their slime trails can contaminate entire plants and will eat any green berries they come across which will greatly reduce a future harvest. However, Paul, a gardener and founder of The Green Fingered Blog, has shared a easy way to stop slugs munching on strawberries is to put straw down on the soil.
Paul said: “I’ve spread straw across the strawberry bed so that any developing fruits rest on top of it. This keeps them off the soil so they are clean and dry.
“It helps stop them rotting and seems to make it more difficult for slugs to eat them. I’ve done them same to the ones I’m growing on the patio in containers.
Straw is one of the best natural defences against slugs as it is very rough and dry, which makes it incredibly irritating for these pests to crawl over.
Slugs can only survive in a damp environment, and straw makes it much more difficult for them to thrive as it will remove any excess moisture from an area.
It also creates a physical barrier between the fruit and soil so slugs will find it more difficult to get anywhere near the berries.
How to use straw mulch to protect your strawberries
To begin, you will need straw mulch such as barley. Do not buy hay or use any straw designed as animal bedding as it is often moist which can encourage mould.
Prepare the strawberries by weeding the area and give the plants a good watering as it helps anchor the straw so it cannot blow away easily in the wind.
Then, all you need to do is spread a thin and loose layer of straw mulch beneath the strawberries but leave a little space around the base of the plant.
You want the fruit clusters to be resting directly on the straw and not on the soil. Do not apply the straw mulch too thickly as it can easily clump up and prevent water reaching the roots.
Replace the straw if it seems to be becoming matted or soggy, and check underneath it regularly to see if it is working to keep slugs and snails away.
If you apply straw in May just as the strawberry flower and fruits begin to form then your crops are more likely to stay pest free for the rest of their growing season.
