Having a garden means there will always be pests to contend with, and we can learn ways to live with them or ways to get rid of them. A gardener on TikTok has learned and shared an all-natural way to get rid of at least one such pest: slugs.
The scoop
Slugs can wreak havoc on your garden, eating pretty much anything they can find. TikToker Jo Winner (@stitch_stove.garden) shared a video explaining how she rids her garden of this common pest.
In the video, she shows us her pansies that have been eaten by slugs. She then grabs a common kitchen ingredient — rolled oats — and explains how it can be used to eradicate slugs. She sprinkles a handful of oats around the base of the flower pot and in the soil.
@stitch_stove.garden Slugs! Begone!! Check out this tried and true method for dealing with Slugs in your garden! #PacificNorthwestGardens #Gardner #GardeningTips #PestControl #GardenPests #GetRidOfSlugs #Slugs #IHateSlugs #GardenersOfTikTok ♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay
This works to protect your plants in a couple of ways, as Winner explained: "No. 1: Slugs are greedy, they are going to go after the rolled oats before they go after your plants every single time. Two: Slugs are made up of mostly water, and rolled oats are dehydrated, so when they go to eat these rolled oats, it's going to suck all of the moisture out of the slugs."
Details spared, the OP goes on to explain how the dehydrated slugs will either die or become vulnerable to predators.
How it's helping
Protecting your garden from pests will help maintain your garden's abundance. According to Investopedia, "Even the smallest backyard plot can produce copious amounts of fruits and vegetables and possibly even a significant saving to the grocery budget."
Growing your own food can save you money at the grocery store and is also a healthy way to get more time outside. There are lots of beginner-friendly vegetables to try if you're just getting started.
There will likely always be pests in your garden, and eradication is one way to handle them, but some gardeners prefer to find ways to live with them.
What everyone's saying
Gardeners in the post's comment section seemed to be looking for new ways to get rid of slugs and were thankful for the advice.
"[I]'m currently using beer traps which has been great but i think i'm gonna double down and use oats too. thanks for this!" wrote one commenter.
Another chimed in, "Oats and baked egg shells have saved me daily"
Lastly, another TikTok user simply said, "I am trying this for sure! had to replant three times last year."
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