A slug trap DIY can be made using items you already are able to find around your house.
The idea of setting up a slug-beer trap could be a good idea when you notice the trails of slime, holes in leaves and damaged flowers in your yard. To determine if you have a problem with slugs, search for the creatures using a flashlight late at night, when they’re the most active. You can also look for slugs in daylight hours in moist, cool and shady areas like in the mulch or thick leaves in your garden. Slugs can also appear at times of day, in the rainy, cloudy days. If you notice these pests, you can create an slug beer trap using this step-by-step tutorial and place it in the area where you first saw the slugs.
How Slug Beer Traps Work
The malty, yeasty smell of the beer draws slugs in, not the actual alcohol. What can slugs smell like without having a nose? They have two sets of sense receptors. The bigger or upper pair of eyes are responsible for their movement, and the smaller pair houses scenting organs.
Slugs can detect the beer, and they will climb towards the trap, across the edge, then in to eat the beer. They could drown or die due to alcohol poisoning. There are slugs that might stop by the tavern in your garden for a beer and then leave to go on their way. It’s not like the trap will catch them each time.
How to Make a Slug Beer Trap
While slug-beer traps are available on the internet, it is possible to build your own for little or nothing. The steps involve putting them in containers in the right place, baiting the traps with beer, and then emptying them afterward. It is possible to add a lid if you’d like to see ideas at the close.
What You’ll Need
Materials
Several small, clean bottles, such as yogurt bottles and cottage cheese bottles, with a minimum of 4 inches in depth.
A couple of cans of beer (think frat night and not fine dining and choose the cheapest option).
Instructions
In each place where you’ve seen slugs put a slug trap in the dirt hole only deep enough it is approximately one-quarter of an inch higher than the ground. This will ensure that other beneficial insects to avoid falling over the edge.
Certain slugs are likely to drink and then escape, therefore it is possible to set the traps close to but not directly next to, the plants that have suffered the most. There’s no point in luring slugs into areas you do not want them.
Bait the trap for slugs.
Add around 3 inches into the container. Don’t fill the bottle to the top, as it will consume many gallons of beer and allow the snails to escape.
If you happen to find an active yeast you, add a bit of it to the beer. Slugs like the smell, and it helps attract them to the beer.
Remove the bait and re-bait it.
A freshly baited slug-beer trap can be effective for about 2 days. After that, the smell of the beer has gone as is the slug-attracting capability. Clean out dead slugs and bait the traps using fresh beer.
If the traps you have aren’t getting the slugs you want to catch, set traps in a new area close to areas where traps have had more success. Similar to traps for mice, however, certain spots are more effective than others.
Ideas for Slug Beer Trap Lids
A lid will help prevent animals or dogs from coming across traps and consuming all the bait. It also prevents rainwater from making your beer taste less drinkable. In the event that you’re using clean food containers lids, the original lids work great. Also, you can make use of the boards, or even large stones. Here are some ideas:
Create a hole that is 1 inch in diameter or two through the lid made of plastic and away towards the outside. Smooth the edges so that slugs aren’t afraid to get in. Don’t let them be ragged due to a quick cut. After that, attach the lid to the container.
