How to Make Beer Traps for Slugs

Slugs and college frat boys have one thing in common: they both have a major weakness for beer. Yes, the creatures that infest your healthy, succulent and tender plants are also attracted to this popular alcoholic drink, because of its yeasty smell. If that’s the case, then it’s a good idea to use beer to attract all the slugs and snails swarming in your garden. This is a common trend for many gardeners today. If you don’t know how to make beer traps for slugs, here’s how.

What You’ll Need

• Beer (any brand will do)
• Shallow containers (Glass or plastic jars or yogurt containers will suffice)
• Soap
• Water
• Trowel

Procedure

1. Get the containers that you’ll be using. Opt for recycled types, such as yogurt cups, sour cream tubs or pickle jars. Wash them with soap and water thoroughly, until all food residue are gone.
2. Find the place where you’ll place the beer. It’s best to choose areas that are close to plants that often become victims of slug damage. For example, if you have a large hosta, put on beer trap on either side of it. For a raised vegetable bed, put four beer traps spaced evenly in the bed.
3. Using the trowel, dig a hole in the soil, one that’s a bit wider and shallower than the container you’re going to use. Put the container in the soil, with its lip at least an inch above the soil’s surface. The purpose of this is to prevent soil-dwelling insects, like ground beetles, from accidentally falling into your trap. It’s not a good idea to get rid of these insects, since they are beneficial to your gardening.
4. Fill your container with beer, until half an inch to the rim. To avoid foaming, slowly pour the beer against the side of the container. There’s no discrepancy between expensive and cheap beer, since slugs don’t know the difference, so to save money, opt for the least expensive kind.
5. Wait for the slugs to crawl into the container. As the smell of the beer attracts them, the slugs are  drawn into the container, and when they’re unable to crawl out, they will drown in the beer.
6. Every two days, empty the container into your compost pile, along with the dead slugs. Chances are the old beer doesn’t “smell” anymore, so it’ll be useless. Refill it with beer, then put it back in the hole. If it rains, you also need to replenish the beer in the jar.

It’s annoying when you find slugs and snails crawling over the plants you tend for, but the good thing is you don’t always have to deal with these creatures. When you open your next bottle of beer, use a bit of it for your garden. When all the nasty pests are gone, you’ll be able to say “bottoms up!”, loud and proud.

How to Make Beer Traps for Slugs Image Gallery