- Celebrity gardener has had a dig at campaigners who call slugs ‘our friends’
- Royal Horticultural Society no longer classes ‘beneficial’ slugs as pests
- Titchmarsh also hit out at the trend for ‘rewilding’ or leaving weeds to grow
Alan Titchmarsh has had a dig at ‘hug-a-slug’ campaigners who call the slimy creatures ‘our friends’.
He says ‘all my slugs and snails are rehomed into the hedgerow next door’ for ‘thrushes and hedgehogs to enjoy’.
He adds: ‘Follow through on the ‘slugs are my friend’ theme and it will only be a matter of time before we have to put up with bedbugs, fleas and head lice.’
Gardeners have been at their wits’ end this summer as armies of slugs attack plants and flowers.
But the Royal Horticultural Society no longer classes slugs and snails as pests, saying they are ‘beneficial’ to the garden ecosystem because they eat decaying material and fertilise soil.
Alan Titchmarsh has had a dig at ‘hug-a-slug’ campaigners who call the slimy creatures ‘our friends’ and says he ‘lobs’ the them into the next hedgerow whenever he finds them
Titchmarsh, 75, an RHS vice-president, brands the hug-a-slug crusade ‘unrealistic’ and has also hit out at the trend for rewilding – leaving weeds to grow in gardens
The Royal Horticultural Society no longer classes slugs and snails as pests, saying they are ‘beneficial’ to the garden ecosystem because they eat decaying material and fertilise soil
It adds that slug pellets are a threat to birds.
Titchmarsh, 75, an RHS vice-president, brands the hug-a-slug crusade ‘unrealistic’ and also hits out at the trend for rewilding – leaving weeds to grow in gardens.
He wonders if the slugs’ champions ‘are on the same planet’.
The celebrity gardener and author writes in Gardeners’ World magazine: ‘There are times when folk who love to grow plants and beautify the landscape are made to feel like cold-hearted brutes who care little for the planet.’
He has previously revealed that he and King Charles moan together about slugs.
Titchmarsh says: ‘If you’re a gardener who likes a striped lawn, slug-free hostas and vegetables in neat rows, don’t feel guilty.
‘Pick off the snails and slugs and lob them into a spot where thrushes and hedgehogs enjoy them.
‘That’s what I do.
The frequent rainy days Brits have dealt with over summer have created the perfect breeding conditions for snails and slugs
Enticing predators such as hedgehogs and frogs can protect your garden from pesky slugs
‘It is unrealistic to expect us to welcome every pest and disease into our gardens because it has a right to exist.
‘Maybe it does – but not in my patch.
‘All my slugs and snails are re-homed into the hedgerow next door.
‘That way we can all be happy.’
A mild winter and wetter than average spring created the perfect breeding ground for slugs and snails this summer.
The RHS admits it has been inundated with inquiries about them, but warns against massacring the molluscs.
On its website, it suggests they be considered ‘a gardener’s friend’ as they boost the ecosystem by eating decaying material and fertilising soil.
It adds: ‘It’s much better to learn to live with slugs and snails, especially if you have a garden that has the right conditions for them.
‘They will always be present and are a normal part of the garden ecosystem.’
The RHS says slug pellets pose a risk to birds and hedgehogs.
And it suggests choosing plants ‘less palatable’ to slugs and snails or encouraging natural predators like frogs, toads and hedgehogs into gardens to eat them.