Get Rid Of This Common Garden Pest By Spraying Your Planters With Apple Cider Vinegar

Is there anything more devastating than walking out to your container garden in the morning and seeing your luscious green plants either demolished or with holes in their leaves? Of course, you know exactly who the culprits are that have helped themselves to your plants — slugs! While there are quite a few organic methods to help you say goodbye to slugs in your yard, there is an unassuming product sitting in your kitchen that can actually kill them when the pests come into contact with it: apple cider vinegar.

There are plenty of ways to use apple cider vinegar in your garden; however, if you're willing to give this method a try, you definitely only want to spray your planters because the vinegar could kill your plants too if it comes into contact with the foliage. The apple cider vinegar will help to create an effective barrier around your plants that the slugs will hopefully avoid crossing. If a slug or snail comes even minutely into contact with the acetic acid found in ACV, it will immediately head in the opposite direction. The acid destroys the mucus that protects a slug's body from dehydration and causes a burning sensation when it contacts the skin of the mollusk.

The most effective way to create a fairly impenetrable barrier to keep slugs out of your planters is to spray the outer walls with undiluted apple cider vinegar. But you're going to have to be extra careful so that you don't get even the smallest drop onto your plants. That's why some will suggest mixing the vinegar with equal parts water to dilute it a little. However, even this concoction is going to harm your plants. You also want to avoid getting the solution onto the soil, as the acidity is likely to destroy all the good microbes that live there.

An even more effective method would be to grab a clean cloth and pour a little apple cider vinegar onto it. You can then use it to wipe all over the edges of your planters and raised garden beds, effectively coating all the entry points to your plants with acetic acid. Ideally, you want to do this late in the afternoon, as the slugs will generally come out after dark to feast on your plants. You also want to repeat the application after it rains, as the protection will be washed away, and when the pungent smell has worn off. As a bonus, the apple cider vinegar may also be a natural solution to deter squirrels from destroying the plants in your containers.