Many of us would have experienced the
morning after syndrome where you awaken to find your home looking
and smelling like a bombed brewery.
What to do with all those flat, warm half empty beers laying
around? Well, I used to drink them, but that's another story for
another time and for a completely different web site. However, I
would like to state I haven't engaged in that practice for quite
some years now :).
There's so many uses for beer aside from drinking it, using it in
cooking or wasting it; and beer can sometimes replace more
environmentally unfriendly products for a variety of applications.
Here's a few ideas gathered from around the place:
Dealing with snails and slugs
Snails and slugs love beer. A beer trap can be made which is just
a small dish or jar with beer poured in and then buried in
affected areas up to the rim. The snails and slugs drop in but
can't get out. Another interesting variation on this is to spray
beer on weeds so the snails eat those instead of your plants -
using a pest to control a pest. Of course, once you're out of
weeds, then you'll need to still deal
with the snails and slugs.
Dealing with fruit flies
To get rid of fruit flies in your compost
heap or worm
farm, put a little beer in a cup. Then cut the corner off of a
sandwich bag and place the cut corner in the cup; folding the rest
around the cup and securing with a rubber band. Place the cup in
the bin. The flies go in and then cannot get back out.
Rodent trap
Mice
and rats are said to be also attracted to the smell of beer. A
little poured into a bucket with a ramp leading to the lip can be
used as a bucket trap. Of course you still need to deal with the
critters; who will also likely be drunk and possibly argumentative
by that point :)
Compost booster
Sprinkle the beer over your compost
pile and then turn it over - it's said to give the
micro-organisms a real boost.
Plant fertilizer
A little beer splashed around the base of plants will provide them
with additional nutrients; but don't drown them in the stuff.
Wood furniture cleaning
A little beer on a cloth rubbed into your wooden furniture will
help remove dust and grime and revive the grain patterns.
Copper cleaner
Apply to copper items, let sit for a bit and then buff off (spot
test first of course)
Gold polish
Dump your gold jewelry into the beer, then buff with a soft cloth
Bee deterrent
Places shallow dishes of beer on the outer boundary of the area
where you are having a BBQ or a picnic to entice bees to those
spots rather than where you are gathered.
I've seen variations on this tip bandied around as a beer trap
intended to capture and kill bees. Given that bees
are critical to food production and are facing enough
challenges at the moment through Colony
Collapse Disorder; I'd strongly recommend not trying to kill
the little critters. Bees are our friends :).
Found an interesting earth friendly way to use beer around your
home? Please let us know :)
-Courtesy: Michael Bloom,
Green Living Tips.
