TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh says he has tried "every slug deterrent known to man" and only one works13:59, 08 Jun 2026Slugs and snails are gardener's number one enemy. The pests are a year-round menace, but spring is when they cause the most damage. Their hunger knows no bounds — bite by bite, they can devour rows of seedlings overnight.‌As young plants are their favourite food, the pests regularly thwart the hopes of hopeful gardeners. Mature plants aren't safe either — slugs and snails also shred leaves, stems, and flowers to. bits. When it comes to deterrents, many natural and chemical remedies are widely suggested, but according to Alan Titchmarsh, only one truly does the job.‌Forget coffee grounds or wool pellets — nothing will get rid of slugs and snails quite like a ring of copper tape.‌The seasoned gardener, broadcaster and author knows a thing or two about battling slugs. To save others the frustration, Alan previously shared his hard-won advice in Country Life magazine."Like most gardeners, I have tried just about every slug control known to man," Alan said.Slug deterrents that don't work‌For starters, Alan found metaldehyde-based slug pellets to be inhumane. They left slugs "writhing in agony" and posed a real risk of poisoning birds and other wildlife.Alan branded natural methods, including crushed eggshells, holly leaves, sharp grit, gravel and sheep's wool, as unreliable and, more often than not, a complete waste of time.He has found coffee grounds, another widely-touted natural remedy, to be both impractical and off-putting.‌He explained: "I do not drink enough Colombian or Arabica to carpet my hosta border in coffee grounds and, anyway, I'm not wild about imbuing my garden with an aroma redolent of Starbucks."Best way to stop slugs and snails, according to Alan TitchmarshTwo words: copper rings. Aside from removing every slimy snail or slug out of the garden by hand, Alan explained, placing bands of copper around your plants is the one slug deterrent that genuinely does the job.Simply push a ring of copper into the soil around each plant to keep slugs at bay.Article continues belowHe shared: "Apart from going out late in the evening and hand picking the pests (and lobbing them over the hedge onto the country verge), the only things that have worked for me are those rings of copper that resemble a vicar's clerical collar and which can be pushed into the ground around individual plants to discourage the molluscs from coming any closer."They are reputed (if kept clean) to impart a kind of electric shock to any slug or snail attempting to scale their dizzying height of 1in."How to stop slugs and snails in potted plantsFor those with container plants, pot feet are a simple and effective deterrent. Though, as he noted, very few slugs and snails are physically capable of scaling large containers in the first place.