Beer Traps

[JohnVisual]

I want out to my herb patch last night only to find 4 slugs around my marjoran, arrhhh! So ive decided to use beer traps instead of pellets this year, but whats the best way to set them up?

Can i dilute the booze, if so how much and what with?

How many per sq meter?

And how often will i need to change them on average?

Cheers John

[squashysu]

what a nightmare poor you!!!

I have sunk my homemade beer traps in the bed next to my seedlings! not had any slugs yet, but i didnt dilute mine as i heard they like it stale, hopefully someone else will come along with info. I made mine out of ice cream tubs, one in the ground with the other over the top with slits cut out of the sides, i think the will work just the same as the shop ones!!!

hope you stamped on them!! the blighters!!

[davefromthechipie]

I use 1 per 2 meters (works out about 1 psm) change onces a week . Use real beer not lager and water +yeast works , As for watering it down you can do just top up yeast and warm water but just use left overs john isnt worth and waste of using beer

[JohnVisual]

Hell Yeah! ive done 3 snails and 5 baby slugs tonight!

Its funny to think that before i started to grow stuff i always used to feel guilty about standing on them!

So have you filled your pots to the top? I have just half filled old jam jars and sunk them in to the ground so they are level with the soil.

[JohnVisual]

ok cheers for that dave, think i will have a go with the yeast and warm water, as there is never any leftover beer! Plus i thnk those packs of yeast are only 20p a go!

ta.

[davefromthechipie]

Hell Yeah! ive done 3 snails and 5 baby slugs tonight!

Its funny to think that before i started to grow stuff i always used to feel guilty about standing on them!

So have you filled your pots to the top? I have just half filled old jam jars and sunk them in to the ground so they are level with the soil.

big um in! keep ground level =Less work for slugs = more dead slugs fill about 1 inch .

[Paulottie]

The draw back of beer traps is that they do tend to kill lots of ground beetles too.

Admirable not using slug pellets though.

My meathod is to drink the beer and head out with a torch, some tongs and a jar of brine on a damp night.

I also lay out black plastic in spring to control weeds and warm land. Pull it back and pay the kids to collect them up. A dust bin lid near your crops has a similar effect plus the slow worms collect there and eat a few for you.

[Two_Sheds]

As Paulottie says, beer traps (Tesco Value lager works as well as their bitter: about 88p for four cans) will drown beneficial insects too, including beetles (which eat slugs), ladybirds, bees and anything else that falls in and can't get out. You should not have them level with the soil - raise them up a bit. The molluscs will still climb in. Put in a twig so that beetles can climb back out again.

Personally, I now prefer to provide shelter for slugs (upturned flower pots, grapefruit halves, etc). They congregate there during the day and it's a simple matter to collect them up to throw to the chickens.

[spiderpig]

i bought some ready made slug traps from lidl recently and just sunk then an inch into ground ,leaving about two inches out of soil.filled with tesco value bitter(97p for 4 cans)
and have already got rid of loads of the little blighters.they don't have any problem scaling the sides and to date i've no other insect collateral damage.
went back to lidl to get more traps because they've worked so well,but have sold out.i will be reverting to some home made versions to continue the war on my slimy friends.

[berksmike]

Another method I have used before is a circle of bran and egg shells around plants... Seems to do the job well

[Pumpkin Becki]

I've been know to go out on dark nights armed with a pair of scissors and I cut the little beasties in half! They don't call me 'Becki the Slug Slayer' for nothing you know!!