Tell-tale sign of slugs in your garden that's not a slimy trail

Slugs can invade British gardens when certain flowers and crops are growing and there are ways to spot them once they have arrived so you know when to act. The most common way to spot clues to slugs in your garden is looking out for slimy trai;s that these insects leave behind when they have been moving around. However, there is something else you should be looking out for if you want to keep slugs away from your .

Accoridng to the Royal Horticultural Society, there are a number of signs that indicate the presence of slugs in your garden, with these slime trails being the most well-known. However, gardeners should also be on the lookout for small white dots that may indicitae slugs moving around your garden and potentially destroying your and other . Slug eggs appear as small white dots and once they hatch, you will have even more slugs in your outdoor space that will potentially eat away at the plants you worked hard to grow.

These eggs will appear in a cluster, so they are easier for you to spot them. According to , slugs can lay as many as 40 eggs in one cluster.

Once you spot these eggs, you should get rid of them as soon as possible before they hatch, and take other action to get rid of the slugs that are already in your garden.

Gardener's World says that these eggs can also appear as off-white and are normally around 3mm in size. They report: "As well as checking their size and texture, compress them between finger and thumb to find out if they 'squash' (wear gloves if you prefer, or wash hands afterwards). This differentiates eggs from other, similar spheres that can be found in soil, particularly controlled release granules, which are close in size but emit liquid when squashed and are more orange/yellow in colour, or perlite, which looks like polystyrene beads."

Other signs of slugs in your garden include ragged holes and edges on leaves, which indicate that slugs have been eating away at them. Additionally, look out for damage to seedlings as well as spots where slugs might be hiding, such as under rocks.

There are a number of ways to get rid of slugs from your garden. . Additionally, they are because of the flower's toxic compounds such as digitalis glycosides, which can be very harmful for slugs.

They will also stay well clear of , roses, California poppies, , rosemary and sage, so you can plant a variety of these around your garden to keep slugs away.