UK homeowners are being urged to use this oranges hack to get rid of slimy pests that have been infesting  gardens across the country. While slugs and snails are vital parts of the food chain, they are quite the nuissance to gardeners, as they impact young seedlings, new growth, and can completly destroy plants overnight.

However, slugs and snails are a cruicial food source for the UK bird population, which has halved over the past 50 years. Additionally, they play a significant role in the composting process, turning plant waste into compost that can be made use of for plants. Therefore, gardeners are being advised to use this safe and strategic method to ensure their plants are protected without harming the animals.

"Some species of slugs and snails feed on live plant material, and this is why gardeners often consider them an enemy," says the RHS. With the animals usually feeding on plants at night, it can cause a real headache for gardeners trying to figure out what the issue is.

However, the charity emphasised that "they cannot and should not be eradicated." Instead, gardeners should use "targeted management" to keep plants, especially vulnerable ones such as seedlings and soft young shoots, safe.

Gardeners can do this by using traps such as scooped-out half oranges. RHS explained that the fruit can be laid out cut side down and should be checked and emptied regularly, "preferably every morning."

Slugs are drawn to citrus and will, therefore, make their way to the oranges, becoming stuck in them yet making it easier for gardeners to move them away from delicate plants.

The hack can also be used with other fruits, such as grapefruit or melon skins. An alternative trap would be to place partially filled jars of beer in the soil near vulnerable plants. However, that will result in the slugs drowning or dying of alcohol poisoning.

One thing the RHS urges gardeners to completely avoid is all kinds of slug pellets due to their harmful impacts on wildlife in the garden. The use of cultural and biological control methods is the best method to keep gardens protected.