Trub Traps

Another side benefit of being a home brewer is plenty of trub on hand. What is trub and why is it desirable? Trub is that nasty, gunky, tan colored sludge that is left in the bottom of your fermenter when you rack your beer into the secondary (carboy). If you're a gardener, DON'T THROW IT OUT! I freeze any extras for later use. Used how? You know how slugs are attracted to beer. Multiply that by 100 and that is how much slugs adore trub. They will gleefully gather from the far corners of your garden, climb into your trap and drown. I was amazed at how well it works. I had forgotten about my prototype trap and when I went to empty it (about a month after placing it) it was jam packed with dead slugs. NOTE TO SELF: Next time dump the trap in a discreet area, not in your herb bed. A big smelly pile of dead slugs is not classy. How do you make your own trub traps? You'll need a good sized plastic container with a lid. I had a couple of coffee containers on hand and they work great. Cut 2 or 3 holes in the sides, a couple of inches from the bottom.

Then fill the bottom with trub, to just below the holes.

Now snap on the lid and place your trap in your garden.

Here is one guarding my strawberry patch. The lid keeps out the rain and any curious pets. There is no need to refill very often. The trub will keep luring slugs for a good long time. If you don't have coffee containers, large yogurt tubs work equally well.

While I was in a trap making mood, I used an empty sour cream tub to make a similar lure for my ants, using my favorite formula (shared in an earlier post). I plan to make many of these and leave them in the rooms whenever I spot an ant.I'll let you know if they work.