Battling Pests with Beer, Diatomaceous Earth and Sluggo

This winter in the garden we have been battling slugs, earwigs, and sow bugs (also known as pill bugs or the childhood name, rolly pollies). They have been eating their way through cabbages, chard, beets, and many other crops. To save our plants from these crawling critters, we've had to pull out all the organic weapons in our arsenal.

First, we bought beer. No, the slugs did not drive us to drink. By burying small dishes at soil level in our garden beds and filling them almost to the brim with beer, we were able to lure the slugs and pill bugs.  They seemed enticed by the yeast smell.  After their beer fest, they then fell into the vat and drowned. 
Don't laugh! The first week we set 10 traps and caught 84 slugs. To keep the rainwater from diluting the beer, we made a simple cover with plastic and a stick. We've been replenishing our beer levels and continuing to get results. Recycled containers can be used to fashion the dish and lean-to, and the cheapest beer you can find will do the trick.

 
We also spread diatomaceous earth on the soil surface around plants. Diatomaceous earth, or DE, is a naturally-occurring soft sedimentary rock consisting of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It acts as a dessicant that dries out insects when they crawl across it. It can be purchased at Amazon.com or at most, good, garden centers.  It need to be replenished after a rain or frequent watering.

 
If that's not enough, we also on occasion sprinkle Monterey Sluggo, an insect and slug bait that has recently been OMRI certified for organic gardening. Heads up--a little goes a long way with this stuff. We use about a half cup on a 50 square foot bed. And this organic pesticide is now available at Costco!

Finally, no Integrated Pest Mangagement (IPM) at Love Apple would be complete without hand-picking. With the help of some dedicated volunteers, we scour the beds and plants for these pesky pests.

While we will never completely eradicate the pests, with constant efforts, we can control them to a level that we, and our plants, can live with.

Comments

[Serena]

I have never had any success with beer, even though I sank the containers so that they were level with the soil, etc. Have tried several different brands, and never caught more than a couple of slugs and no snails ever.

[Vegetable Garden Cook]

I live north of you near Portland Oregon in a heavily forested area. I have horrible slug problems, and so decided to conduct my own War on Slugs. I did many experiments to find out what works and what doesn't. I found that slugs crawl across DE just fine. You might be interested in checking out my work. Beer is expensive and only minimally effective--in fact, many slugs stop by, take a drink, and move on. You may kill some but you are feeding others. Also, Sluggo is great, but there are huge price variations and it pays big time to shop around. http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/about/pests-and-disease/

[Ally]

I'm laughing at the beer. My mom used to set out beer traps for snails around her roses and vegetables. That was about 40 years ago. People laughed at her, but it worked.

[Lesley]

Try Slug Shields. I used them last season and they worked. Great thing is that they are 100% eco-friendly and they LAST ALL SEASON without maintenance! I got them online.

Good luck!

[Luis Tobon]

I did not know about the beer but I may be trying it. I use Sluggo and I haven't had any issues. When I started gardening last year, my mother in law gave me her big container. I happen to stop by Costco on Monday and there it was. $24.99. I still have plenty and don't need it but I know where I can get it.

Luis

[olemike]

My wife and I have also used the beer trap with good success. My measuring system is -one for the critters, one for me.