The garden is your personal sanctuary—one you’ll want to protect against slugs and snails. While every creature has its place, these soft-bodied animals will feed on your plant leaves and fruits, leaving behind holes and causing severe damage. This can be especially problematic for young plants and seedlings, which these slimy troublemakers tend to favor.

The good news? There are some great natural yet effective ways to keep slugs and snails out of your garden. Here, we chatted with pest experts and a professional gardener to learn how to keep them humanely at bay.

Try Infrared Lighting

If you have a smaller garden, then infrared lighting is a great solution to a gastropod problem. Doing so will make your garden more unappealing at night when slugs and snails are most active. “Slugs move under specific light conditions, and certain infrared and red LED wavelengths disrupt their behavior,” says Nicole Carpenter, president at Black Pest Prevention. Simply install dim, red-spectrum solar lights near vulnerable plants; any slugs infiltrating your yard will avoid them.

However, you will need to ensure that your lights are properly positioned. Carpenter recommends experimenting at first to find the perfect angles and locations. After you’ve figured it out, your infrared lights will require zero maintenance—another plus.

Eliminate Excess Moisture and Dense Vegetation

Slugs and snails are attracted to moist, shaded areas with abundant plants and organic matter. Reducing dense vegetation means these pests will be much less likely to enter your yard. “This method works by directly making the environment feel less suitable to them,” adds Trent Frazer, resident entomologist at Aptive Environmental.

That being said, there are some pros and cons. “This method is natural, chemical-free, and helps improve the overall health of your garden, but it requires more effort to maintain,” he says. So, while it may be more beneficial to your garden, this approach will only prevent slugs and snails if you’re willing to put in more consistent work.

Apply Copper Tape

Copper tape can act as a barrier that will physically prevent slugs and snails from reaching your plants. Simply place the tape around your raised beds or pots. “It works continuously and won’t need reapplication,” Frazer adds.

This tape will work both day and night, and it’s a simple DIY project. “However, it can be expensive and lose effectiveness if it’s damaged,” he says.

Encourage Natural Predators

Birds and garden toads are predators of snails and slugs, so attracting them will serve as a natural deterrent. To welcome birds, plant flowers with seeds that they enjoy, or add fountains and birdhouses. Making toads comfortable can be a bit trickier, as they thrive in the same sort of environment as snails and slugs—but you can’t go wrong with an additional water feature.

Best of all, this method is eco-friendly and sustainable—that being said, it may take time for the birds and toads to appear.

Use Slug Fences

“Slug fences create a physical barrier that the slug can’t climb over,” says Paul Dysinger, a gardening expert and co-founder at Seetime.us. Look for raised beds that have sharper corners and angles that keep snails and slugs from climbing up them, then add a slug fence for extra protection.

“This is 100 percent natural and very effective,” Dysinger adds. However, this particular method does take time and effort to set up, and you need to ensure it never becomes compromised. “You also have to make sure it can circle or surround the entire garden space,” he says.