Stop slugs with a raw wooden plank in the vegetable patch

Slug damage in the vegetable patch

Anyone with a vegetable patch will recognise the morning horror: yesterday the seedlings were still delicate and healthy; today, only chewed-up stems remain. The culprit behind this overnight trail of destruction is usually slugs. Rather than reaching for pellets or poison, a method is gaining popularity that costs next to nothing and works extremely well: placing a simple, raw wooden plank straight on the soil in the bed.

Why slugs love wood of all things

Darkness and moisture: what slugs need

Slugs thrive in damp, dark conditions. Without a protective shell, they dry out very quickly. That is why they tend to set off at night, when there is dew on the leaves and the sun is not there to scorch them. During the day, they retreat into cool, moist cracks and crevices.

The raw wooden plank trick for slugs

This is exactly where the wood trick comes in. A rough, untreated wooden board laid on the ground creates a small pocket of moisture beneath it. Wood absorbs water and only releases it again slowly. Under the plank, this produces an area that is:

• shaded,

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