From Beer to Bloom: Stopping Slugs With Beer Traps

This post may contain affiliate links. See our full disclosure here.

Setting up a beer trap for slugs and snails is super easy and very effective!

SAFETY NOTE – make sure pets and children cannot access the area where you set the beer trap.

Here’s a 5-step guide on how to set up a slug (and snail) beer trap:

Step 1: Choose a Container

Select a container that is shallow and wide enough for slugs and snails to crawl into easily. You can use things like plastic containers, shallow dishes, or even cut-off plastic bottles.

Step 2: Prepare the Trap

Photo of slug looking at the beer in a beer trap

Bury the chosen container in your garden or near the plants where slugs and snails are a problem. Make sure the rim of the container is level with or just slightly above the ground so slugs and snails can easily crawl to it.

Step 3: Pour Beer

Pour beer into the container until it’s about halfway full. Slugs and snails are attracted to the yeast in beer, which draws them into the trap, where they drown.

Now leave the trap to work its magic…

Step 4: Check and Empty

Check the trap daily, especially in the evening or early morning when slugs and snails are most active.

Empty the trap regularly and replenish with fresh beer as needed. Remember that beer can lose its potency over time as it gets diluted by rainwater or evaporates.

Step 5: Repeat as Necessary

Depending on the severity of the slug or snail problem, you may need to set up multiple traps around your garden. Keep monitoring and adjusting the traps until you notice a decrease in slug and snail activity.

Backyard Pests participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, the ShareASale affiliate program, and other affiliate programs. This means that if you buy a product or service through one of our links, we may receive a small commission from the sale for referring you. Thank you for your support!

10 Things To Do With Snails From Your Yard

10 Things To Do With Snails From Your Yard

If you’ve collected snails from your yard or you keep finding them on your plants, you’re probably wondering what to do with all of them. You can relocate snails to another natural area or humanely kill them by feeding them to birds and other predators, which is how...

read more
9 Reasons Why Snails Come Out When It Rains

9 Reasons Why Snails Come Out When It Rains

If it’s been raining, you might notice a lot of snails crawling along the pavement or many active snails in your yard a few hours after the rain stops. I wanted to know why this happens, so I did some research and asked around to find the answer… Snails come out when...

read more
11 Reasons Why Snails Have Slime

11 Reasons Why Snails Have Slime

If you’ve seen dry silvery mucus trails around your house or yard, then it’s probably snail slime. But why do snails make all this slime and leave shiny tracks as they move along? Snails have slime to help them with crawling, sticking to things, scaring off predators,...

read more