Slugs can cause real damage in the garden, but finding hedgehog-friendly ways to get rid of slugs isn't as easy as you'd think. This is because many common slug-control methods don’t just affect slugs; they also put wildlife at risk when used without care.
Keeping hedgehogs safe means choosing approaches that reduce slug damage without disrupting the wider garden ecosystem, using physical barriers and natural slug deterrent methods wherever possible. Some methods carry greater risks than gardeners realise, particularly where chemical treatments are involved. Focusing first on low-impact options helps protect vulnerable plants while allowing hedgehogs and other wildlife to continue foraging naturally.
Choosing hedgehog-friendly ways to get rid of slugs
Slugs are a familiar challenge in many UK gardens, but controlling them becomes more complicated when wildlife is part of the picture. Hedgehogs regularly forage in gardens, and slugs form part of their natural diet. That connection means some common slug-control methods can have unintended consequences beyond the plants they’re meant to protect.
A hedgehog-friendly garden works best when slug control focuses on protection rather than eradication. Instead of trying to remove every slug, the aim should be to reduce damage in specific areas while leaving the wider garden ecosystem intact. This usually involves combining several low-impact methods rather than relying on a single fix.
Physical barriers, planting choices, and targeted removal all play a role. These approaches help protect vulnerable plants at key times, such as when seedlings are young, without disrupting the animals that rely on the garden for food and shelter. They may take a little more effort, but they align more closely with how wildlife-friendly gardens function.
It’s also worth recognising that no method works equally well in every garden. Soil type, moisture levels, planting density, and local wildlife activity all influence results. For that reason, many gardeners find success by noting where damage occurs most often and applying controls selectively rather than across the entire garden.
The methods below are commonly used hedgehog-friendly ways to get rid of slugs, focusing on physical barriers and natural slug deterrent approaches that keep other wildlife in mind.
Create a beer trap
Who doesn’t love a pint of beer on a warm summer’s day? Slugs do too! When protecting other wildlife, the creation of a beer trap can help attract slugs and deter them from touching your plants.
It doesn’t matter what type of beer you provide, even if it’s the cheap and cheerful stuff. All you’ll need to do to create the trap is to fill a margarine tub or a large yogurt pot with beer. It needs to be deep enough to drown the slug. You can sink the container into the ground so that the rim is at or above the soil level.
It’s a quick and effective way of getting rid of slugs and as much as it is an unhappy ending for the slug. Check on it every so often to ensure it’s working effectively.
Use coffee grounds
Coffee grounds don’t have to be thrown away; they can be put to use in the garden. Take the grounds leftover from your morning coffees and spread them around the base of your plants. This can be helpful in protecting them from slugs and snails in general, acting as a mild slug deterrent around vulnerable plants.
A lot of gardeners use these methods, and even if you don’t have coffee grounds yourself, you’d just need to head over to a local coffee house or shop and ask for a couple of kilograms worth, depending on how big your garden is of course.
If you have leftover coffee grounds, spread them around the base of plants and see if they help keep slugs away.
Eggshells
Eggshells are something you’d throw out either way. They’re often suggested as a physical barrier around plants or areas where you don’t want slugs to go, although results can be mixed.
Some gardeners scatter crushed eggshells to create a rough surface that slugs are thought to avoid, while others find they make little difference once the shells become damp or break down. If you want to try this method, it’s worth experimenting with how finely the shells are crushed and where they’re placed.
With eggs, you’re likely to need quite a few, so an alternative is to use seashells broken into fragments if you live by the coast or near a beach. These last longer and don’t break down as quickly.
There are also plenty of places that sell seashells online if needed. Both options can help create a physical barrier, but they may be a bit of an eyesore.
Copper tape
Copper tape is something that slugs do not like crossing over and, like eggshells and coffee grounds, it acts as a barrier.
Placing copper tape around plant pots in a ring can stop slugs from climbing up to the plant. Copper-integrated mats are another option, with your pots placed directly on top.
This can be an effective way to prevent slugs from getting access to the plant. It's also a fairly safe material to use when it comes to other wildlife, so it’s certainly worth trying.
Plant slug repellent plants
To keep slugs away, you might want to consider an even more natural approach. Some plants act as a natural slug repellent, while others are especially appealing to slugs. Both can be used to keep slugs away from more vulnerable plants.
Garlic and chives are commonly used to help repel slugs, while chamomile can be planted as an attractive option elsewhere in the garden. These plants can be placed alongside those you want to protect or used to make an extract for problem areas.
Garlic and chives are often planted near vulnerable plants, as their strong scent can act as a natural slug repellent. Chamomile tends to have the opposite effect. Young chamomile seedlings are very appealing to slugs and can be used to draw them away, making it easier to remove them by hand.
It’s also less of an eyesore than eggshells, as the plants blend in more naturally with the rest of the garden.
Slug pellets, hedgehogs, and wildlife safety
Pellets are often considered when other hedgehog-friendly ways to get rid of slugs haven’t been enough, but they remain one of the most sensitive topics in wildlife-friendly gardening. Much of the concern comes from the long history of slug pellets containing metaldehyde, a chemical that posed a serious risk to pets and wildlife, including hedgehogs. Hedgehogs could be harmed either through direct ingestion or by eating poisoned slugs, which is why pellets earned such a negative reputation.
Metaldehyde slug pellets have been banned for outdoor use and sale in the UK since 2022. The pellets now available use iron phosphate, which is generally considered lower risk, though careful use is still advised in hedgehog-friendly gardens. Unlike older pellets, they break down naturally in the soil and are less likely to cause secondary poisoning.
However, “lower risk” does not mean risk-free. Pellets sold as wildlife- or pet-friendly still kill slugs, which can have knock-on effects within the garden ecosystem if relied on too often. This is why pellets are best treated as a last resort in gardens where hedgehogs are present.
Where pellets are used, careful placement is essential. They should be applied sparingly, kept well away from areas where hedgehogs forage, and never scattered broadly across the garden. A hedgehog-friendly approach focuses on minimising the need for pellets in the first place, using them only when other methods have failed.
A hedgehog-friendly garden doesn’t need to be slug-free to be successful. By combining manual removal, physical barriers, careful planting, and habitat management, it’s often possible to protect plants without relying heavily on pellets at all.
Where pellets are used, choosing iron phosphate-based organic slug pellets and applying them sparingly helps reduce risk. However, the most reliable long-term approach remains reducing the need for pellets in the first place. This keeps your garden safer for hedgehogs, pets, birds, and other wildlife – while still limiting slug damage where it matters most.
