Snails - Drink Drive Die

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This instructable tells how to get snails drunk and out of your garden.

The snail season hits again... I watch my hard grown seedlings get obliterated over night....

Ok so I make life hard for my self by refusing to given in and use the various pellet poisons on the market... I figure its good enough to kills snails who knows how many extra arms I'll grow in a life time of that stuff.

So I had heard that snails ( Gastropods to be precise) love a good tipple of beer, can't understand why my self... so I built some Gastro ale houses around the garden and to my amazement they came in droves, we made a "killing," punters or should I say gastros shelled and unshelled slid in from miles around... And as i slept, the party raged on hour after hour until they all slipped in to oblivion..

Man you should have seen the ducks when breakfast was served the next morning ... ( see video)

Step 1: Mk2 version has arrived

Well after much mucking bout making the mk1 snail trap, i discovered by accident there is a better way of doing  - forget the mark one, jump straight to the mk 2 below...(got to keep the mk 1 version here to allow it to be and instructable...  
Mk2 - take the milk bottle required in mk1, quater fill with beer, and fishing weights - and lay it in a small impression in the ground on it side... hey presto the snails will climb in...


1.)  The MK 1 - outdoor - and that is the one you see in all the pictures. 
What you will need;

1 two litre Plastic Milk bottle complete with cap( see image 1) ( New Zealand - or any other similar shape) OR 420g tin can - see end of this instructable

A cutting device - either scissors, or hand saw depending on the thickness of the plastic

Beer ( best brought in stubbies so you don't leave a bottle halve full)

hole in the ground

Snails from miles around



2.)  ** NEW** Mk  2version , suitable for sheltered spots  particluary on a deck Trap.
( commonly known as the " keep it simple stupid version, why i didnt think of this at the start version...)

All you need;
1x 1 liter plastic milk bottle ( here in NZ that means at least three sides are flat)

Beer

Fishing weight - that will fit through the opening

Comments

[Mamohau]

For those of us in the UK who have a friendly pub, they always chuck away beer where someone's not finished a glass full, so make some sort of deal - if they've got a garden then make them some sluggers and get some beer for free!

[swu3]

I love this!!!!!!

I killed off most of my slugs last year by using the Walgreen's $2.99/six-pack beer poured into wine bottles laid on their sides in small depressions in the dirt. (They blend in much better than beer cans, too.)
The problem is that the snails couldn't get in them, so now I have a snail explosion.

This will make it easier to trap the snails!!! Thanks!!!

[PTI]

You could probably get a similar appeal with a pinch of yeast in a sugar solution. Let it brew overnight to start fizzing and then put in your trap instead of beer.

[agatornz]

hi there, yes i have already tried that but it would appear that there is an ingrediant of attraction missing from that brew, no patrons turned up the last time we opened the fake bar.. must try it again thanks

[PTI]

Wow - 2 years since I looked in.
Maybe try a watered-down sourdough mix - it has wild yeasts and the other 'smells' from the wheat etc might attract the right guests

[MrMystery96]

Or instead of wasting good beer, you could use a lager. Nobody would miss it.

[agatornz]

well you know to a non drinker, its all the same to me.. and expensive waste. but its still cheaper and friendlier then all the poison versions...

roll on the home made attractants...

[MrMystery96]

woops, hit the reply button instead of the post comment button and posted to the wrong comment.

[weaponscollector94]

maybe wine would work. or you could use Old Milwaukee

[mole1]

German wine: 4
stale beer: 200+

[torbjorn]

hey, thanks for your invention! I will put it to work Yeast powder mixed in water seems to work well too, a lot cheaper cheers, Torbjörn

[agatornz]

hey there,

love to know your mix ratio... i agree it would be much cheapers since i dont drink beer at all... i have been experimenting to see what part of beer they like so much but asyet no answers my self

[filthybranco]

Actually if you just put a can with beer they will climb it,
dont really need a ramp.

[agatornz]

Hi there,

yes i have discovered this also :-) the only thing bout it is lots of people particulary land lords arent so keen on lots of beer cans laying around the property... but something that is "constructed" and looks like its there for a purpose is much easier to explain i have found...:-)  thanks for your comment