Snails and slugs can wreak havoc in your garden, munching on seedlings, flowers, leaves, and various fruits that they can reach from the ground. These mollusks love going after tomatoes, strawberries, and grass seedlings, and they will also eat the stems and roots of the plants in your yard. One easy way to keep slugs and snails out of your garden is by setting homemade traps with an ingredient you likely already have in your kitchen cabinet: honey. This sweet, sticky substance can be combined with water and yeast to act as bait for your trap.
By placing a shallow container, like a tuna can or a yogurt cup, in the ground and filling it with your honey mixture, you can catch the slugs and snails that are destroying your plants. This pest control method is effective because these mollusks are attracted to yeast and honey, which will draw the pests into your trap. Once the pest falls inside, it won’t be able to climb back out, making this an easy way to control the population of snails and slugs.
How to make slug and snail traps with honey
To start your DIY snail and slug trap, you’ll need to combine some honey with a bit of yeast in a bowl. (Both items can be purchased at your local grocery store for less than $10 altogether.) This mixture will then need to be boiled in water before it can be used. Once your bait is ready, find an old plastic food container, a shallow metal can, or a small jar. You’ll want your container to be deep enough that the slugs and snails cannot escape the liquid and drown but not so large that other animals, such as frogs, could become stuck as well.
For this pest control method to work, you’ll have to bury the bottom of your container in your garden’s soil so that the opening is level with the ground. When it’s in place, fill your container halfway with your honey and yeast bait. When the mollusks smell the yeast and honey, they will make their way to your trap, fall inside, and drown. You’ll need to regularly check on your trap to refill the honey mixture and make sure no other animals are being affected.
