DIY slug traps

These homemade slug traps work just as well (if not better) than the commercial ones you can buy in shops. And instead of using beer as bait, they use simple ingredients found in almost every pantry.

 

The idea was taken from a YouTube clip from One Yard Revolution. You can find the video here.

Materials

For the trap

  • 1lt yoghurt container (or similar) with lid

For the lure mix

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp flour
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp yeast

TO MAKE THE TRAP

  1. With a cutting knife or pair of sharp scissors, cut three or four rectangular slots around the sides of the yoghurt container, roughly half way up.  The slots should be wide enough to allow slugs and snails to crawl in. Make sure the bottom of each slot is the same distance from the bottom of the container or your liquid will fill only to the lowest point.
  2. Dig a small hole and bed your container into your garden or veggie bed, so that the bottom of the slots is level with the soil or mulch.
  3. Fill the container with liquid lure to just below the bottom of the slots. Put the lid on to keep rain out and reduce evaporation.
  4. Be sure to change the liquid regularly to keep it active and fresh. Yeast and dead slugs get super stinky after a few hot days.

 

TO MAKE THE LURE MIX

Add all ingredients to a  jar and shake to combine. Pour the finished liquid lure into your slug trap and sit back!

(Note that you can easily make more mix by doubling or quadrupling the recipe, depending on the number of traps you
have to fill.)