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How to fit a slug collar

Updated: 23 October 2026

You have a green ring or a flat disc beside young lettuce or brassicas you have planted, and the wind has shifted one. How to fit a slug collar means a sealed base, no leaf on the rim, and a ring that still passes over the crown. The steps cover the raised rings and slit discs in the [snail collar comparison](/hub/pest-control/snail-collar). If the shape is wrong for the damage, stop and change object before you press harder. Products Compared editorial team, 22 October 2026. Fitting lines come from amazon.co.uk listings and public UK sources, not a garden trial. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a green ring or a flat disc beside young lettuce or brassicas you have planted, and the wind has shifted one.

Our top picks

HanYun HanYun 12 pack plastic slug collars

Best overall

HanYun HanYun 12 pack plastic slug collars
8.4/10about £12.99
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Unbranded 25 felt cabbage collars, 15 cm

Best value

Unbranded 25 felt cabbage collars, 15 cm
8.0/10about £6.99
View offer
McBlast McBlast 10 slug and snail collars

Alternative

McBlast McBlast 10 slug and snail collars
8.2/10about £10.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before the plant is wide
  2. 2.Put the ring in
  3. 3.Disc, wind, and the next morning
  4. 4.What a collar will not fix

Before the plant is wide

A raised ring only works if it passes over the crown while the leaves still fold in. HanYun buyers describe fitting before the plant is wide, and most packs in this set do not say the ring opens. Do not shut a slug inside with the seedling. If the lettuce is already wider than the hole, forcing the plastic tears leaves and tips the base. Leave lip rings uncut. Felt and polyethylene discs are the pieces with a slit to the centre. Garden Organic notes that seedlings stay softer until about six to eight leaves. If the ring will not pass, use the slug collar buying guide.

Put the ring in

Clear the soil you are about to enclose so a slug in that circle stays in with the plant. Listings that state a depth say 2–3 cm: AOOWU says press hard, and Ghligna and VETOLAKA use the same band. HanYun says push and bank soil, McBlast says place and press, and KAHEIGN allows soil or stones. Those lines are not a depth for felt. A UK review of McBlast describes the collar shifting in loose soil, so firm the ring by hand. If a fingertip slides under the base, that gap is a path. Ghligna’s listing says no stakes, so pins are not the default.
HanYun HanYun 12 pack plastic slug collars

Testsieger

HanYun HanYun 12 pack plastic slug collars
8.4/10about £12.99
View offer

Disc, wind, and the next morning

Felt and polyethylene discs slide on at the surface. The RHS places a cabbage root fly collar at soil level at transplanting, for the flat type only. Open the slit, set the stem in the middle, and lay the disc so the edge meets the soil. Staples are not included. A UK review of a 15 cm felt disc says it blew off unless weighted or soaked. UK buyers of AOOWU pinned thin rings in high wind. Stones, where KAHEIGN allows them, stay outside the lip so they do not make a ramp. Lift a felt disc the next morning, and break any leaf on a ring’s rim. That contact is a slug collar leaf bridge.

What a collar will not fix

A collar does not clear eggs already in the soil, and it does not remove an animal you closed in while fitting. Burying a 15 cm felt disc will not give it a lip, and a tall ring will not do the stem job the RHS describes for a flat collar. A wet cardboard tube can collapse and shelter slugs, which a sealed PET ring avoids. Take the ring off when leaves are forced over the rim, or when the wall is in the way at harvest. A flat disc for cabbage root fly is a stem cover from transplanting. If a whole bed fails after the collars are seated, ask the allotment committee or a local horticultural adviser.

Common questions

How far into the soil does the ring go?
AOOWU, Ghligna, and VETOLAKA state 2–3 cm, so about 2 cm of the wall sits in the soil, pressed until the ring stands. HanYun says push and bank soil, McBlast says place and press, and KAHEIGN allows soil or stones. Felt discs in this set slide on, and their listings do not give a bury depth.
What if the plant is already wide?
Most rings in this set do not open, so they will not pass a crown wider than the hole. Forcing the plastic tears leaves and tilts the base. A slit disc can go around a stem. A closed lip ring cannot.
How do I stop wind lift?
Press the stated 2–3 cm on rings that give that depth, and firm loose soil. UK buyers reported a shift with McBlast, and AOOWU buyers pinned thin rings in high wind. Ghligna’s listing says no stakes. A 15 cm felt disc stayed down when weighted or soaked.
What is a leaf bridge?
A slug collar leaf bridge is a leaf, runner, or weed touching the rim, so a slug can cross the lip. It appears as the plant grows, not only on fitting day. Break that contact so nothing green joins the top edge to the soil outside. Slug Rings mentions the same check for its own opening rings, and that guide is not a test of these packs.
How does a felt disc differ in fitting?
They slide on through a slit and sit at soil level. The listings do not say to bury them 2–3 cm, and staples are not included. UK reviews of 15 cm felt say the disc blew off unless weighted or soaked, and that slugs were found underneath.
Should I look underneath the next morning?
Look inside a ring at dawn, and lift a felt disc. An animal already in the circle stays there once the wall is down. Slugs under 15 cm felt are a UK review finding. Garden Organic treats these barriers as not failsafe after damp weather.

Related pages

Slug collar vs cabbage collar

Best slug collar

Snail collar

Slug collar buying guide: ring, disc and pack size

Slug collar vs slug pellets and the metaldehyde ban

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these ten listings. Last checked 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS slugs and snails (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS barrier trial (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. BBC on the RHS slug barrier trial (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. RHS cabbage root fly (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK metaldehyde ban (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. AHDB slug control (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. RHS Plants zinc collar (retrieved 21 October 2026)