Gardeners across the country have been advised to place milk bottles in their gardens- and the reason might surprise you completely. While the milk bottles are known for protecting the plants during the cold snaps, the staple kitchen item is also useful in getting rid of slugs and snails.
With the summer season almost knocking on the door, gardeners have begun to start their work on the gardens. But spotting slugs around the garden can sometimes be disappointing. The RHS explains that some species of slugs and snails feed on live plant material, and this is why gardeners often consider them an enemy.
The netted field slug, brown soil slug and common garden snail are some of the species most likely to be found feeding on garden plants.
So, how does the milk bottle help to get rid of the slugs? According to experts, if you leave some milk in the bottle and let it stay in the garden, the stale milk will attract slugs and snails. This is what Fiona Nevile discovered while writing for The Cottage Smallholder.
She wrote: “Two days ago my friend cleared the kitchen of various dead milk containers and put them on the terrace outside. One container was a transparent plastic cup, half filled with stale milk. I picked it up the cup, swirled and peered. She had inadvertently created a slug trap. The cup was full of small snails and slugs. All satisfyingly dead.”
Prepare the milk jug: Select a clean milk jug and cut a few small slits or a larger opening near the top on one side.
Add bait: Fill the jug with milk, beer, a mixture of flour, water, and yeast, or another slug attractant until it reaches just below the opening.
Partially bury the jug: Place the jug in the ground, ensuring the opening remains above the surface so slugs can enter.
Monitor and empty: Check the trap regularly, remove any captured slugs, and dispose of them or add them to a compost pile.