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Speaker 1: Welcome to Gardening with Ben. You'll go to podcast for

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all things green and growing in twenty twenty five. Whether

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you're a seasoned gardener, a budding enthusiast, or just curious

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about cultivating your own slice of nature, you're in the

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right place. Join me Ben as we explore practical tips,

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inspiring stories, and the latest trends in gardening to make

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your outdoor space bloom with life, from allotment adventures to

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wildlife friendly gardening. I'm here to help you grow your

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passion and read the rewards. So grab your gloves, roll

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up your sleeves, and let's get started on this year's

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gardening journey. Hey everybody, and welcome back to Gardening with Ben. Well,

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it's Tuesday, and obviously we're not down at the Allotment

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now until the weekend, but hopefully you'll still get your

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podcasts every single day. Entry record them all of the

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weekend so that you've got them all to listen to

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throughout the week, and so that we can talk about

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different topics. Obviously it's Sundays and Mondays. Episodes usually talk

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about what we got up to down at the Allotment,

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and then in the week we talk about different topics

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of planting or tips advice and we just share them

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with you. So today's topic, what we're going to talk

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about is why is there so many slugs in my garden?

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That is the question we'd all like to know. But

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there are ways of preventing them, and if you can

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readiate them, please do let me know because I'd like

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to know myself. But yeah, we're going to talk about

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slugs today, The Gardener's Nightmare of Everything Now. I shared

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a post on this on Facebook the other day and

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it did quite well, so I thought I'll make it

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into a podcast as well for you all to listen to.

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For those that don't follow me on Facebook, you can

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listen to this. We can talk about all the ways

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of how to prevent them and why there are so

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many slugs in the allotment and in the garden. What

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attracts them specifically to your garden? Now, one of the

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main reasons is moisture. Slugs are highly dependent on moisture

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for survival and reproduction. They need damp environments to move

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and feed effectively, and their soft bodies are vulnerable to

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drying out. So the causes of excessive moisture is over watering.

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Poorly drained soil or prolonged weather create the perfect environment

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for slugs to thrive. Now, this is something that we

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can't prevent and we can't stop. But one of the

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things what I usually do is when I'm watering our

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water in the daytime so that it seeps into the

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soil and then it doesn't stay damp too long, but

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it stays damp underneath, but it doesn't stay damp on top.

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So if you're to water at the end of the

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day at night, obviously it won't dry out as fast

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on the top, so then slugs will like it and

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they'll all come out. So I tend to water in

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a morning rather than at a night. Shade and shelter

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slugs are nocturnal creatures that avoid either sunlight, obviously, another

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reason why water in the daytime. During the day, they

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seek shaded, cool and protected spots to hide and conserve

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the moisture. Common hiding spots dense plant foliage, mulch rocks,

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fallen leaves, and garden debris such serve as shelters. These

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areas provide the protection the slugs need to hydrate and

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safe from predators. So one thing that you can do

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is check around where they'd possibly be hiding and get

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rid of them, hopefully abundant food supply. Slugs are voistless

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feeders with a preference for ten the succulent plants a garden,

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which in their favorite foods is a magnet for the pests.

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What attracts them young seedlings, leafy greens, flowers, declare decaying

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plant material are particularly appealing to slugs. Lack of natural predators.

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Slugs naturally have many predators, including birds, frogs, hedgehogs, and

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some insects. However, if your garden lacks these natural allies,

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slug populations can grow unchecked. So yeah, attracting wildlife due

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a lotment will prevent slugs as well. How can you

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tell of a sign of slug infestation? Obviously you can

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tell from time trails. You can tell where slugs are

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being or where they're hiding. So follow the trail and

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you'll often find the slug Chewed leaves. Obviously, when you

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go down and you see that leaves have been damaged,

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that's obviously when you know that it's one of their

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favorite plants. Damage stems and seedlings, severed stems, tewed bases,

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and collap seedlings as a sign of slug activity nighttime activity.

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Like I said, slugs lights come out at night. They're

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nocturnal and do most of their feeding under the cover

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of darkness. Go out with a flashlight, inspect your garden

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at night, Look closely at plants, soil and shaded areas.

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Go and hunt them slugs down. So how can we

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reduce slugs in your garden with these effective strategies, remove

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any hiding places. Slugs thrive in shaded, damp environments where

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they can hide during the day. Eliminating these hiding spots

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reduces their presence. Clear away debris, fallen leaves, and overgrown vegetation.

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Keep garden beds tiredy, prune dense foliage, and avoid using thick,

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mult vulnerabul plants. This creates an environment that is less

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hospital to slugs. Improve your drainage. Aviate the soil and

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in short, proper drainage in your garden beds. Water plants

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in the morning rather than the evening. Like I said,

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That's what I do, allowing the soil to dry during

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the day. Avoid over watering to minimize damp conditions. Attract

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natural predators. That is one of the biggest things you

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can do create a wildlife friendly garden to attract these

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slug eating predators. Provide shelter like logs or rot palers.

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Set up water dishes or installed birdhouses and hedgehog nesting

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boxes to encourage these animals to visit your garden and

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then they'll go around eating all the sugs up, so

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it saves you a job going around. Use slug resistant

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plants in corporate plants like lavender, rosemate, geraniums, and ferns

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that slugs tend to avoid. Mix slug resistant plants with

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more vulnerable crops to act as natural death terrant and

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create a balanced planting scheme. Set up traps, Obviously the

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biggest one is be it citrus, peels or damp cardboard

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to attract slugs. Check traps daily and dispose of trap

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slugs far from your garden to prevent them from returning.

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Replace bait regularly for consistent results. Create barriers. Sprinkle crushed

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eggshells or gravel around the base of plants. These materials

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irritate and deter slugs from crossing. So yeah, those are

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some of the things that you can do to stop slugs. Now,

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one of my plot neighbors. He came up with this

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invention what I've what thought was absolutely fantastic. I won't

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be able to make one of these, so if you

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are good we electrical things, try this out. He basically

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put two wires around his raised beds and connected it

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to a batterray so that when the slug went over

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both wires, it shocked it and they fell off of

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the raised bed. Now, I thought that were fantastic. Obviously,

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if you're against like you might class that as cruel.

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I don't know, but it kept the slugs off the plants,

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and yeah, I thought that were a good little tip.

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So if you're good at anything like that, have a

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go and see if you can do it. So that

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is basically all our tips and advice on how to

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stop slugs from eating everything. So give someone a try,

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or if you've got anything that you recommend, send me

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a message, because I'd love to find out how to

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stop slugs because they do eat everything on my plot.

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But I tend to let a lot of the weeds

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grow so then it deters them from the actual vegetation.

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But yeah, please do let me know how you keep

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slugs off your garden. So that has been today's podcast.

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I hope you've enjoyed it. I hope it's giving you

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some ideas on how to prevent slugs from eating everything.

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So until next time, everyone, remember, keep smiling, keep shining,

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and keep gardening with Ben. Everyone, thanks for tuning in

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to today's episode of Gardening with Ben. I hope you've

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enjoyed our chat and picked up some tips to help

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your garden and allotment thrive. Don't forget to stay connected

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with me on all social media for even more gardening inspiration,

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updates and behind the scenes content. You can find me

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on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Just search Gardening with Ben,

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hit that follow button or subscribe button and join our

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growing community of garden lovers. Until next time, everyone, remember,

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keep smiling, keep shining, and keep gardening with Ben.