How To Ward Off Garden Slugs Using Old Beer

Did you accidentally leave a 12-pack of your favorite beer sitting outside where it baked under the hot summer sun? Unlike whiskey, beer does not get better with age. Leaving outside for periods of time will eventually cause it to spoil. Before you go tossing it into the trash, though, you might be able to use it as a slug repellant in the garden.

Slugs are a common problem in gardens and yards. Not only are they unpleasant to look at, but certain varieties feast on plant matter. As the garden slugs chew through your otherwise healthy plants, they leave behind gaping holes. In addition, garden slugs create a trail of mucus that’s susceptible to mold, fungus and disease. The bottom line is that you must keep these out of your garden if you want to grow healthy plants.

So, how does beer come into play? Garden slugs are naturally attracted to the yeast and hops found in beer. If there’s a cup of this beverage around, even if it’s spoiled, they’ll actively search for it. You can use this to your advantage by setting up “beer traps” to try and trap these little pests. To create a beer trap, fill up a typical plastic disposable plastic cup about 3/4 of the way full with beer. Next, bury the cup so the top is level with the surface of the ground. As the slugs search for the beer, they’ll fall into the trap.

Depending on the severity of your garden slug problem, you may need to set up several different traps throughout the area. The more traps you have, the more slugs you’ll catch. Try to get into the habit of checking your beer traps at least once every other day to see whether or not they are working. As they fill up with slugs, you may need to replace them with fresh beer traps.

You can also use coffee grounds to protect your garden from slugs. The secret behind coffee grounds lies in their highly acidic properties. Slugs can’t stand the acidic nature of coffee; therefore, they try to avoid it. Creating a barrier of used coffee grounds around your garden is a simple and effective way to keep out garden slugs.

Following these steps will allow you to make all-natural slug traps using only beer. Garden slugs are a real nuisance due to their destructive habits. So the next time you go toss out your old beer, try creating some slug traps using this method.