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Lawn Care Expert Lists 5 Ways to Use Leftover Beer from Parties for a Lush Green, Pest-Free Garden

The lawn expert offers unique insights on how those half-drunk beers from a party can bring pest-infected gardens back to life.

BY GREEN MATTERS STAFF

PUBLISHED 4 DAYS AGO

(L) Glass of cold beer on a table in an outdoor restaurant. (R) A person watering the plants in the garden. (Representative Cover Image Sources: Getty Images | (L) d3sign, (R) Erik Audras)

Beers may not be the healthiest drink for humans but the alcoholic beverage does hold some value in nurturing a garden. For those worried about disposing of the half-drunk cups or bottles of beer after a party, there are hacks to use the beverage to bring about a pest-free garden brimming with greenery. Lawn expert Joe has come up with five interesting ways to utilize leftover beer as a fertilizer on gardens and lawns, making the soil nutrient-rich and pest-free. He founded Joe’s Lawn Care, a UK-based organization that offers top-notch lawn care services.

Man using a lawn mower in his back yard. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Maria Korneeva)

Compost with beer

Man throwing vegetable scraps into a compost heap. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Os Tartarouchos)

Joe suggests composting leftover beer and wine adds great benefits to the compost pit. While almost anything biodegradable can be composted, the yeast and nitrogen found in the ammonia from beer act as a starting point that paces up the composting process. Joe explained how the acid in beer acts as a pesticide while the sugar and yeast enrich the soil.

Spot fertilizer

Beer in plastic crucible in green lawn grass leaves on the ground in sunlight. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Iva Vagnerova)

Every lawn has that bare patch of land or areas with drying grass. The expert recommends pouring leftover beer into a spray bottle and sprinkling it over the patch to help grow greener and healthier grass. The beer can also be mixed with molasses with the added benefits of fungal control besides nutrition, as per New Life on a Homestead.

Good riddance from snails and slugs

A snail with a black body eats a leaf. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Trudie Davidson)

Snails and slugs, notorious for chewing up plants, are attracted to the smell of beer. The drink can be used to get rid of them and protect plants from their attack. Joe suggests leaving a shallow container filled with beer near the plant or where the shelled gastropods are generally found. They will follow the smell to climb the container and fall for the trap. In this case, the beer must be undiluted and should remain so for optimum effectiveness. Rain or dew drops are to be prevented so that the beer's effects are not weakened.

Beer attracts butterflies

Red Admiral Butterfly collecting pollen from Autumn Aster flowers. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Jacky Parker Photography)

Using beer as traps is great but a gardening enthusiast can also use the beverage to attract garden-friendly creatures like butterflies. Besides their charming presence, butterflies are natural pollinators that help plants thrive. The lawn care expert shared the secret recipe to attract butterflies using a mixture of five overripe bananas, one cup of brown cane sugar, and one and a half cups of beer. The thick paste is to be transferred to a container and placed at a high place, only to be located by butterflies. Cover it with a mesh or cloth so that the butterflies do not drown in it.

Fruit fly trap

Image of a glass of beer on an outdoor table with plants nearby. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Sociologus)

Fruit flies often become a nuisance almost anywhere. Be it food, berry plants, or a compost pit, it is easy to spot several fruit flies hovering over it. More so, the insects multiply at a high rate making it difficult to get rid of them. Therefore, Joe recommends a trap made of beer that quickly resolves the issue. Mix a few drops of detergent with leftover beer into a container and place it where the problem is. The fruit flies will be attracted to the smell and drown in the solution after they fly towards it.