How to Kill Slugs With Beer

Slugs prefer to feed when it's cool out, either at night or on cloudy days.

Slugs come out at night to feed on your garden plants. These garden pests chew on plant leaves, forming ragged holes and eventually killing the plants. Slugs attack vegetables and ornamental plants, doing most of their damage after dark because they prefer cool, moist temperatures. Although commercial slug traps are available, you can make your own with beer and any container with steep sides. The beer acts as bait and control, because the slugs drown inside the liquid once they investigate it to feed.

Instructions

1. Dig a hole in the garden bed to the same depth as a pint or similar-size jar. Set the jar in the hole so its top is level with the soil.

2. Fill the jar with beer. The fermenting smell of the beer attracts the slugs to your trap.

3. Place traps throughout the garden around plants that are being attacked by the slugs. Each trap attracts slugs in a 3- to 4-foot radius around it.

4. Empty the traps every two to three days. Refill them with beer, and return them to the garden.

Tips & Warnings

• Combine 1 tsp. yeast for every 3 oz. water instead of beer if you prefer. The fermenting yeast attracts the slugs.

• Use empty beer or soda cans instead of jars. The nearly covered top of the soda can helps slow down evaporation and makes it more difficult for the slugs to escape.

References

• University of Minnesota Extension: Slugs in Home Gardens
• University of California Extension: Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Snails and Slugs