There are a number of plants you can add to your garden display that will deter slugs - and stop them from eating your precious blooms09:59, 15 Jun 2026The spring and summer months can attract a number of insects and wildlife to your garden, as they look for shelter, warmth and something to snack on. Gardeners who’ve tended to their gardens throughout the year will want to protect their plants and flowers from the mouths of pesky critters, like slugs.‌If you want to avoid using any chemical deterrents, a gardening expert recently shared some of his favourite plants he adds around his garden to help to deter the pest naturally. Adam Kirtland, better known as View from the Potting Bench, recently shared four of the best plants he uses as natural deterrent for slugs in his garden.‌In a recent TikTok video, he assured fellow green thumbs there are four plants that slugs will certainly not eat. Adam said: “Love them or loathe them, slugs are a necessary part of our gardens. But that doesn’t mean that we want them to eat all of our plants. So I’ve got four that they just don’t like.”‌GeumsAdam described geums as the “number one” plant you can plant into ward off slugs. He said: “Geums are gorgeous perennial plants that come back with beautiful blooms every single year.“Up until now, I’ve been talking about toughness and leatheriness, but with geums, it’s actually hairiness. A little bit like a tomato, geums have hairy stems all across the whole plant.‌“And that hairiness is enough to turn a slug off completely. So, not only are they beautiful, they’ll also deter slugs in your garden.”SalviaAdam explained that the reason he chooses to add salvias to his garden is because the plant is “naturally” quite oily. He explained that slugs are put off for oily plants.Adam said: “They’re also quite rough, which they’re not keen on either.”‌Content cannot be displayed without consentHeucherasAdam said: “This is one of my favourite plants ever, but slugs absolutely detest them. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I absolutely love heucheras, but despite my love for them, there are a couple of reasons why slugs detest them.“Heuchera foliage is both waxy and leathery, and slugs much prefer the immature growth of new plants, not like heucheras. It’s worth noting that edging your beds with heucheras seems to protect the plants behind them too.”‌FernsThe gardening expert explained that the pest “absolutely cannot stand” ferns in any type of garden. Adam said: “To me, there’s something really prehistoric about a fern, but that’s not the reason.“Similar to a heuchera, a fern has got a really tough exterior, but it’s actually the scratchiness of the leaf that they don’t like sliding all over.”Article continues belowIn the video’s comments section, Adam suggested a number of other plants and flowers people can use to deter pesky slugs. A number of the plants you may already be familiar with.He wrote: “Lavender – Strong scented oils put slugs off. Sedum – Thick, waxy leaves aren’t appealing to slugs. Geraniums – Fuzzy leaves make them less attractive. Ornamental grasses – Tough, narrow leaves are difficult to eat. Euphorbia – Milky sap deters slugs from feeding. Penstemon – Slightly rough foliage isn’t a slug favourite. Rosemary – Strong aroma helps keep slugs away.”