Eggshell and copper tape do not protect veg from slugs and snails

Gardeners using methods like these to protect against gastropods are wasting their time, study shows

Environmentally friendly gardeners who attempt to deter slugs and snails from devouring their vegetables with eggshells or copper tape are wasting their time, according to a study by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Gastropods inflicted the same damage to lettuces protected with five natural methods - eggshells, copper tape, horticultural grit, pine bark mulch and wool pellets - as they did to lettuces left untreated.