Used coffee grounds help beat garden slugs

Are slugs establishing bustling communities in your garden and ruining your best efforts to grow well?

You can purchase many products to help control slugs but they can be costly plus harmful to pets and wildlife that may also enjoy your outdoor space.

There are many other 'green' ways to try to control slugs but some have mixed success.

So what about using used ground coffee to beat the slugs and keep your garden in tip-top shape?

The Costa Coffee franchise in the UK has a novel way of disposing of its 'used' coffee which is green and could be just what you need to control slugs in your patch.

Called Grounds for Grounds it is a simple way to boost trade and offer a free service.

An email from our local Costa says "Our used coffee grounds make fab fertiliser and super slug repellent, and from now on you can collect them free from your local Costa. It's all part of our commitment to great taste and less waste." (Check with your local coffee shop if they are taking part)

What a great idea!

It will of course bring punters into Costa Coffee shops and has to be a win win situation for all.

Does the used coffee do the trick and keep slugs off your luscious plants?

I haven't a clue but the next time we pop into Costa for refreshment we will pick up a bag of the free used coffee grounds and test it out.

The fact that it also acts as a fertiliser has to be a bonus. If you drink a fair bit of filter coffee at home test the theory out for yourself.

One 'fertilising' green tip which seems to work involves pushing a banana skin into the soil or earth at the base of rose bushes.

Check out the Costa Coffee website for just a taste of their environmentally friendly work ethic which includes:


"Recycling: Our coffee roastery is one of the greenest in the world with year on year carbon reduction, an amazing 100% renewable energy supply and 0% waste to landfill. Last year we diverted over seven thousand tonnes of waste and increased our recycling in-store. Many of our stores recycle their organic waste and coffee grounds helping create renewable fuels. Recently we even recycled over three tonnes of unwanted uniforms using our existing delivery lorries to pick up bags of clothes from most of our stores.

Our Grounds for Grounds Project: At Costa we make the most of every one of our coffee beans. That’s why through the Costa Grounds for Grounds project, customers can come into our stores to request our used coffee grounds for free. These grounds can bring your garden to life either as a natural plant fertiliser or to create a naturally balanced compost pile. We hear they are great for fending off snails and slugs too! Pop in to store now to request your grounds and watch your garden flourish!"