This Clever Grapefruit Trap Keeps Slugs Away Naturally – and Costs Almost Nothing

Gardeners are a notoriously superstitious group that holds many interesting beliefs. Whether it’s lore told to you by your grandma, or the garden secrets from your neighbor who unfailingly has the best garden on the block, tricks and tips are all part of the hobby. One interesting hack is to use grapefruit slug trap in the garden. Supposedly, you can use any citrus but since grapefruit have a larger interior, they have the capacity to catch many more slugs than a lemon or lime.

There are many slug repellents on the market but many of them can be toxic for our pets and children. DIY methods for killing garden slugs include using diatomaceous earth, coffee grounds, crushed egg or pistachio shells, or even cornmeal to keep slugs and snails away from your plants. They work by producing an irritating surface that will rip at the slug and snail’s underbellies.

A classic is to bury a can or beer in the garden but this will only work if you are a beer drinker. The grapefruit slug trap trick is interesting because it repurposes an item that would be discarded. If it works and keeps your plants free of those pesky holes, why not?

How to Use Grapefruit to Trap Slugs

First, you will need to enjoy your grapefruit, cleaning out all the juicy fruit inside. Then you simply take the half grapefruit and place it near the plant you wish to protect. Since slugs and snails are most active at night, it is best to situate your grapefruit in the evening.

Slugs will be drawn in by the aroma of the citrus as well as the moist interior. Some gardeners recommend placing them cup-side up, while other gardeners say they should be placed face down.

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Placement of the Grapefruit Slug Trap

If you place them cup-side up the slugs can crawl inside and may have difficulty getting back out. Then in the morning you can simply dispose of them. But if you place them face down, the slugs will be attracted by the cool moist interior and crawl underneath. In the morning gather up the crowd of slugs sheltering under the citrus half.

For grapefruit that is placed face down, cut a little entry for the slugs in the side of the peel. They will spend a nice, cool evening hiding inside, only to be revealed when you check the trap the next day.

Upside down may work the best because it mimics what a snail or slug prefers as outdoor accommodations. They prefer a moist, dark, hiding spot. This is why you find them under anything that has been discarded in the yard overnight, such as the kid’s toys on the lawn.

Does the Grapefruit Slug Trap Trick Work?

I was curious to know if this is just an old wives' tale or really has some veracity, so I ate a grapefruit. I had 2 halves from the fruit and wanted to test both ways of situating the trap.

At around 7:00 pm, I placed one upside down by my hosta. I cut a little door in the side so the slugs could enter. Then I took the other half and placed it cup-side up by the lettuce and spinach. Then I went in and watched my show and went to bed.

I am an early riser so I went out first thing and checked my traps. The sun was just getting up in the horizon, but it was still a bit dim outside and cool. The one that was by the hostas looked untouched but I picked it up. Underneath I found 2 small slugs. The grapefruit half by the lettuce and spinach had dried out overnight since we had quite a bit of wind. There was nothing inside the cup. But when I picked it up there was a large slug nestled underneath. Suffice it to say I dispatched all the slugs.

What I Learned About the Grapefruit Slug Trap

I would say this trick works as well as placing a simple slug trap board over the soil around targeted plants. When you pick up the cardboard trap in the morning there are usually some slugs as well as pill bugs and earwigs. I think that the grapefruit half that is placed cup-side up should have a tiny bit of water added into the depression to keep it moist and help trap the slugs. Using beer in the slug trap might be an even better idea.

But on the positive side, you are making good use of a discarded item to attract these pests. And it can always go into the compost pile when you are finished with the citrus peels. I’ll keep this in my toolkit for when I have citrus, but I’m sold on diatomaceous earth and DIY garlic spray for slug protection.