Fireplace owners can rejoice about how to handle the mess it can cause. 

According to a video from Ideal Home Show (@idealhomeshow), wood ash can stop certain critters from eating your food crops before you can. 

@idealhomeshow 🌸Save this video for next time you're planting this Spring 🌸 #IdealHomeShow25 #GardeningHacks #SustainabilityHack ♬ original sound - Ideal Home Show

The scoop

Stop wasting your leftover wood ash, because "it's a fantastic and sustainable way to look after your garden," according to Ideal Home Show. 

This free hack keeps away hungry slugs and snails by creating a barrier. Just sprinkle the ash around your plants, and you're done.

There are some caveats to consider before using it. For example, only use ash after it's completely cool. 

If you want to store it for later use in the garden, only use a metal container and place it in a cool, dry area. This can avoid a potential fire hazard, and plastic storage can also increase that risk. 

You should also wear protective eyewear and a mask to avoid particles coming into contact with your eyes or being inhaled.

How it's helping

Imagine putting all that effort into growing your own food only to have slimy mollusks eating it. Gardening can provide a mental health boost, but you'll soon be in despair if the bugs start munching on your produce. 

Snails can lay up to 100 eggs at a time, while slugs can produce a clutch of 500, according to Vigie-Nature. Both can do this up to six times annually. With this hack, you can save money and time with no need to visit a store for chemical pesticides, and your garden will be healthier, too. 

You could also use companion planting as a repellent. For example, slugs and snails hate the smell of onion plants. Meanwhile, pet parents can use some of their furry friend's fur to lay near plants to keep the bugs at bay. 

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By naturally protecting your garden from slugs and other pests, you can enjoy healthy produce and have more food security amid ever-increasing grocery prices.

This hack also provides a natural fertilizer. That ash boosts the soil with potassium and other nutrients. A few commenters said they add it directly into compost, where it can balance the pH level by increasing the alkalinity.

There are other ways to recycle your wood ash beyond the garden. For those living in areas where cold, icy winters are common, the waste material can de-ice the pavement.

What everyone's saying

One person observed, "But it has to be wood only ash no coal in there if I'm correct." 

There has been controversy over using coal ash — specifically coal fly ash —  in agriculture, which some companies have used to mix into other elements to create soil and compost. 

According to Scientific American, fly ash helps by adding calcium and phosphorus, but research has concluded that toxicity can build up in crops without proper monitoring.

Another person suggested "copper wire" as a non-toxic prevention option for slugs and snails. The material is thought to create a small electric shock through the slime trail to ward them off without killing them.

However, a Royal Horticultural Society study referenced by the Guardian noted that mollusks with thick mucus trails can glide over it, and it's not an effective repellent.

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