My granddaughter and her parents arrived several days ago and I let her help me create the slug trap among my Peace Lilies.
I dug a hole and positioned a plastic cup into it so that only a little over half an inch of the cup was above the dirt level. I poured about an inch of Kirin beer into it.
I then got a tofu container and cut holes along the sides to put on top of the cup so that the beer wouldn't get diluted when it rained.
I went out to check the trap several times and found nothing.
And then one morning, I looked into the beer and saw something in the dim light. A long body was floating in the dark liquid. I was so excited I called Art to come and see what I caught. He brought the iPhone to record our first slug capture.
Nope!
A cockroach!
Oh for goodness sakes!
Art suggested I put the roach out for the birds to have a lovely snack.
I looked in the afternoon and it was still there.
Hmmmm... So the birds don't like gourmet roach dipped in alcohol?
POSTSCRIPT:
Unbelievable!
Just as DJan recommended, I'd changed the beer last night because it was looking decidedly unappetizing. At first I thought the slugs would like slimy beer since they're slimy themselves. However last night I did change the beer.
And look what I saw this morning.
There were... not one... but TWO big roaches in the trap. And NO slugs!
Birds had still not touched the other roach I put on the driveway for them yesterday. I lined up this morning's catches and took this photo.
I then changed the beer again.
Let's hope I catch at least one slug tomorrow and not another three roaches.
My granddaughter just said, "You should call it a roach trap instead of a slug trap, Grandma."
Sigh...
I then got a tofu container and cut holes along the sides to put on top of the cup so that the beer wouldn't get diluted when it rained.
I went out to check the trap several times and found nothing.
Nope!
A cockroach!
Oh for goodness sakes!
Art suggested I put the roach out for the birds to have a lovely snack.
I looked in the afternoon and it was still there.
Hmmmm... So the birds don't like gourmet roach dipped in alcohol?
POSTSCRIPT:
Unbelievable!
Just as DJan recommended, I'd changed the beer last night because it was looking decidedly unappetizing. At first I thought the slugs would like slimy beer since they're slimy themselves. However last night I did change the beer.
There were... not one... but TWO big roaches in the trap. And NO slugs!
Birds had still not touched the other roach I put on the driveway for them yesterday. I lined up this morning's catches and took this photo.
I then changed the beer again.
Let's hope I catch at least one slug tomorrow and not another three roaches.
My granddaughter just said, "You should call it a roach trap instead of a slug trap, Grandma."
Sigh...
I can only imagine how happy you are with family visiting!!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in our house I used several methods to deter slugs,, crushed egg shells around the plants as a barrier, wood ash from our ever burning wood stove, and beer, to be honest I found the wood ash the best deterrent,, egg shells crushed fine came in second,, I hope they soon leave you but I doubt they will, they are such a nuisance,
oh my gosh,, I should clarify this,, I meant I hope the SLUGS leave you soon, not your family,,lol, good lord sometimes I put my foot in my mouth lol,,
DeleteMy slugs really like Budweiser and I think they die a happy death. Good luck! Remember you do have to change the beer often as it gets sour and they aren't interested then. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else works, try Bud. LOL
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the family. :)
Hopefully this means you have only one slug and it's made it's way to something else to munch on.
ReplyDeletehow lovely that KC and family are visiting! Happy trapping.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if other substances would work? I've heard broken egg shells, but hubby cannot eat eggs...
ReplyDelete(ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!
Catching (and killing) roaches is a good thing, too. They really, truly creep me out, and that smell from the attar --- ugh!
ReplyDeleteThey creep me out too. Now, I'm wondering why the birds aren't eating the dead cockroaches. Don't they like the alcohol?
DeleteBirds would rather have live bugs. Ants will probably eat the dead roaches (they'd just take longer, and who wants to look at those disgusting things anyway, even if they are deader than a doornail?
DeleteFun at grandmas's--trapping slugs and cockroaches. I can just see KC's back to school essay in the fall!
ReplyDeleteKC is so cute - it's a roach trap, indeed!
ReplyDeleteI use to do the beer thing with my husband's beer - it was either Budweiser or Coors, he wouldn't let me use his Heineken. I put it in a shallow aluminum pie plate and pushed it down into the dirt so it was level with the ground. It worked okay but this was when we had a LOT of slugs. The night time hunting for snails (with flashlight) and skewering them with barbeque sticks seemed to work best. Or, I use snail bait killer when I am lazy.
Grace (my 80 year old slug killing neighbor) would line up those killer pellets very very carefully, end to end, around the entire perimeter of her vegetables. She said that if you leave a small opening, the slugs find a way inside.
What if you cut up the aluminum cans and use their sides as a wall around the plant? They are very easy to cut, the tops and bottoms are the rigid stuff but what you use are the sides only.
Hmmmm... I'm liking the aluminum can idea. The sharp tops might deter the slugs. Hmmmm....
DeleteI'm thinking everybody hates cockroaches - even slugs. They'll find another bar to drink at, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe beer trap is highly recommended but I've never heard of anybody trapping a slug with it.
ReplyDeleteI put up a hornet trap. I got something tonight. A....fly
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, I absolutely HATE cockroaches! Those pics give me heebie jeebies!
ReplyDeleteHolly
Yay! Hi Holly! I don't know which I hate more... cockroaches, ants, termites or slugs. Oh... let's not forget mosquitoes.
DeleteHmmmmm... I've always managed to attract more slugs than I thought I had in the garden with cheap beer - even the white label or no label beer always seemed to work.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend!!
Richard did this years ago when we had a problem with slugs and it worked very well.
ReplyDeleteCould be the slugs in Hawaii got word from the slugs in Georgia, they are sneaky, slimy things, you know!
My son doesn't like Kirin either. Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteAnother thought that I just had - perhaps the cup you are using is too deep and you need a shallow bowl since slugs just creep along and don't have as sensitive antennae or smell instincts as "your" roaches do. They also don't like to climb or drop into things. Try embedding a pan, or cut the plastic cup to 1" in height and sink it down into the dirt.
ReplyDeleteDown with the slugs!
And yet they're able to climb up the spindly peace lily stem to eat the leaves. What the heck!
DeleteI remember that good old song from elementary school:
ReplyDelete"Over the river and through the woods
to trap some slugs with Kirin Beer
to Grandmother's house we go."
You are too too funny!
DeleteI think I'm going to have to switch to Budweiser since only cockroaches like the Kirin.
Ewww.... Urp, gag! I'd have to have my hubby check the trap. Even the photos give me the creepy willies.
ReplyDeletelol, lol, lol, ewwwww, lol, at least you caught something!
ReplyDeleteSalt is all I know that kills slugs. I haven't heard of beer and I think you probably should google this dilemma.
ReplyDeleteHaha, leave it to kids to call a thing by its real name.
ReplyDelete