Slug problem? Put away the bitter, they’re lager louts...

GARDENERS have known for years that slugs like their beer, but now it’s confirmed – they really are lager louts.

The vandals of the vegetable patch were 11 times more likely to be drawn to a trap containing lager than bitter, but would choose either over plain water, an experiment found.

But the plant-plunderers are choosy, rejecting other alcoholic drinks such as red and white wine, Cava and cider.

Charity Garden organic recruited 166 ‘citizen scientists’ for its ‘slug pub’ project. It found slugs were 64 times more likely to go for lager than water, dropping to 53 times more for bitter.

Nearly 60 per cent of volunteers reported that slugs regularly ruin their carefullytended vegetable patches or blooms.

Volunteers were asked to place four glasses below the soil surface among a slug-susceptible crop during the April to october growing season.

Each glass was three-quarters filled with lager, bitter, water and a drink of their choice. Twice a week, the number of slugs in the traps was recorded.

But slugs no not have expensive taste – as researchers found cheap lager was just as effective as more expensive brands.

The war between gardeners and gastropods has been raging for centuries. But in this latest experiment, Garden organic might just have cracked it. Volunteers reported slugs were enticed by the smell of beer, fell into the glasses and drowned.

The charity said the more slugs are caught, the less damage is done to plants. Garden organic project officer Dr Anton rosenfeld said that slugs are attracted to the fermentation gasses of beer.

The traps mostly caught the most destructive species of slugs – grey field and common

garden, pictured.