After a bumper year for slugs in 2024, experts from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are anticipating far fewer slugs in gardens this spring.
The charity’s entomology team expect the cold snaps this winter and recent dry spell to have helped limit their numbers, favouring gardeners who are busy raising plants such as carrot, lettuce and broccoli from seed.
Weather aside, RHS Gardening Advice Service records indicate that years of high slug activity are often followed by lesser activity likely owing to predation, disease, parasitism, and increased competition for food and breeding.
The prediction contrasts with 2024 when mild, wet weather across the winter, spring and summer resulted in the highest number of calls to the RHS advisory service since records began in the 70s. 13% of all enquiries to the entomology team related to slugs and snails. This is thought to be as a result of slugs being active earlier, increased breeding and more persistent activity with the absence of any prolonged warm, dry spells forcing them back underground.
While slugs remain part and parcel of a healthy garden ecosystem, with just nine of the estimated 44 UK species being notable plant nibblers, the RHS advises young plants are left to grow strong indoors, under glass or up high – for example on a bench – before being planted in beds or borders.
Glasshouse thrips and red spider mite – traditionally an indoor problem but thriving in gardens during recent warm summers - has also been on the rise nationally but a colder start to the year could delay their presence, meaning damage to bay trees, viburnum and tomatoes is less severe this year.
Hayley Jones, Principal Entomologist at the RHS, said:
“Slugs are here to stay so learning to think like one is how you can best limit their pesky behaviour on your plot. While inviting wildlife into your garden will help to keep them in check you can apply layers of management that include tweaking your watering regime, using a dry textured mulch, or manually moving slugs to a compost heap after dusk.”
RHS Slugs: Friend or Foe? by Dr Hayley Jones will publish in May and is available for pre-order now.
