Trap Some Common Pests with Beer
Kill fruit flies with an open beer can. Fruit flies (also called vinegar flies) are attracted to fermented beverages like beer and wine. For an effective fruit fly trap, leave an open beer can sitting out with a small piece of paper taped over the lid. Poke a small hole in the paper to allow the flies to enter the can. They will be unable to find their way out and will eventually drown in the beer.
Trap cockroaches in a jam jar. Smear some petroleum jelly around the inside rim of an empty jam jar, and then place a piece of beer-soaked bread in the bottom of the jar. Leave the jar out overnight in the area where cockroaches have become a problem. The roaches will crawl into the jar to consume the beer-soaked bread, but will be unable to get out because of the petroleum jelly.
Drown earwigs using an open cup of beer. Earwigs can be a perennial problem in the garden. To help reduce their numbers, bury a plastic cup in the ground so that it is flush with the surrounding soil. Fill the cup halfway with beer, and the earwigs will fall into the cup and be unable to get out. This technique also works with slugs and snails.
Make an All-Purpose Beer Insect Repellant
Allow a can of beer to go flat. You can make a general-purpose insect spray using beer and a few other simple ingredients. Begin by opening a beer and allowing it to lose its carbonation so that it can be mixed easily with the other ingredients.
Mix the insect repellent in a spray bottle. In a spray bottle, mix roughly equal proportions of the flat beer with mouthwash. Add a few spoonfuls of Epsom salt and active dry yeast, shaking the bottle vigorously to combine all the ingredients.
Spray the beer insect repellant around plants. This spray works very well for keeping insects from damaging your garden plants. Spray it on the ground surrounding each plant and insects will be discouraged from crossing. Spray a new application every few weeks.
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