Slug Beer Traps- Are they Worth Getting slugs and Snails Drunk over them?

Name of Product: PonZE Home Series 12 x Beer Slug and Snail Safe Simple Easy Traps.

The Best Place to Buy: www.amazon.co.uk

What You Get: 12 Top of the Range Garden Slug and Snail Traps.

My Score: 6.5/10

In this article, we will be reviewing if beer traps are effective in the garden to deal with these bothersome pests. I have talked about slug and snails in the past from using iron phosphate pellets, slug deterrent matting and plants that slugs and snails do not prefer to eat.

In this article, we will be discussing if beer traps are effective in the control of snail and slugs. We all try to protect our plants that need protecting, especially hostas, cabbages, lettuces and other tender leaf plants that they simply cannot resist. As said previously, you can use pellets but this is not advised if you have young children or pets to protect.

You can use a woolly mat deterrent that is so prickly that they deter the snails and slugs from getting near the plants, They do not kill them but stop them on their path of destruction. I know that to some people this will not do, as they can come back another day and so they want to get rid of these pests once and for all,

I bet most of you have heard about beer traps and wonder if they are really useful in the garden? In this article, this question will be answered once and for all.

 WHAT IS A SLUG BEER TRAP?

In order for the traps to work, slug and snails like to get drunk. Who would have thought it that these traps will attract slugs like a bear to honey?

If you fill these 7cm high by 9cm in diameter pots a quarter of the way up with beer and as long as you bury the container in the ground with the lid protrude from the ground, the trap will work. If you bury them too deep or too shallow, then they will be an instant failure.

The lid is held loosely so that the slug and snails can push the lid up and enter the trap. Once they do they will certainly not want to leave.

It is advised that the container is buried so that other rodents or husbands will not walk away with them.

It should be ideally positioned 2.5cm above soil level, as this will prevent ground beetles that eat slugs from falling in. You want to trap the slug and snails and not all the friendly wildlife that may be attracted by having a ready supply of slugs.

 THEY ONLY WORK FOR SHORT DISTANCES

One thing that must be known is that slug beer traps only work for a short-range, often less than 1m away. This is why you need a lot of them to be effective.

This is why I recommend buying a large 12 trap system, as it is better to buy too much rather than have too little. You will need to bury them at equidistance from each other so that the slugs and snails cannot bypass them on the way to the prize of your plants. It is best to place them around the garden at close proximity to each other, especially around plants that are so often attacked like Dahlias and Hostas.

 DO THESE BEER TRAPS ACTUALLY WORK?

Slugs and snails are attracted to the smell of the beer but it is not only beer that they are attracted too. In fact, it is the yeast and water that attracts them. If you watch slugs near beer traps, you will observer that a lot of them will slime on by, whilst some will change direction and head for the traps. If they are over a metre away then they will ignore the trap and crawl on by.

This tells you that these traps will have to be close as possible to attract the slug and sails, and for the traps to be effective.

Any slug or snail that are attracted to the beer traps will enter it, take a sip then go away. They have no trouble entering the container, edging to the side and then take a drink and then wander off. Few slugs and snails will get carried away and drop in and die happy. But you will find that the majority do not. This is one reason why traps are not as effective as people make them out to be.

 DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON PRECIOUS BEER

As said early, you do not have to waste your money on precious beer. As most of it will be wasted and you might as well drink it yourself. In fact, you can use any product made out of yeast and water, as it will be certainly cheaper than using Stella Artois.

One of the best solutions to make your own; add one teaspoon of bread yeast mixed with a teaspoon of sugar into one litre of water. It is very cheap and is more effective than beer.

Remember it is not the alcohol that slug and snails are attracted to, but the yeast and the fermentation process that will attract these pests.  Beers, on the other hand, can be hit or miss; some beers will work wonders and others they will simply ignore. It will be an expensive process to find out which one they do prefer in their beer traps.

The beer traps as stated early must be situated in the best location to protect your plants. It is too easy to spread yourself too thin, If you have a large garden, it will take a lot of traps to be effective and this must be considered before you purchase any.  For example, how many traps do you need and what is the best place to locate them.  This is why you may have to look at alternatives as they could be more effective.

 PROS

•  It will kill slug and snails, but not all of them.

•  The traps can be used multiple times.

•  You do not have to use beer, as yeast, sugar and water will do as well.

•  Reasonably priced

 CONS

•  You will need a lot for a big garden. Maybe too many.

• Not all slugs and snails will be dealt with.

•  It is messy and stinky to dispose of the slugs, especially if you have not done it for a while.

•  A lot of customers complain that the lifts are too slack and that wind will blow it off. To prevent this, you will have to put in some screws to stop the lid from being too loose.

 DO I RECOMMEND BEER TRAPS?

As you probably gathered I am in two minds to know if you should use bear traps or not. Yes, they so keep the snail and slug population under control, but you need too many to be feasible.

For a container garden, it may be feasible, whilst for others, it is not so.  All that and all the beer you will have to waste is enough to make a grown man cry.  Worth a try if you are prepared to make your own fermenting solution, but it is definitely not the best.

If you want to try beer traps then you can do so here, but to my eyes and my experience woolly deterrent mat are better.

If you have any questions or comment on this article, please go to the comment box where you can find some beer and leave one there.

Protect your plants today from slug and snails.