Inventor’s slug traps fuel nine-printer garage business

Hendrik Võrno, a resident of Viimsi municipality, has developed a bait house for Spanish slugs and now produces the traps with nine 3D printers in his garage, ERR’s Ringvaade reported.

Võrno said the problem began four years ago after he moved to Viimsi. He found that slugs had destroyed his petunias and discovered hundreds of them across his property, especially in shaded garden corners.

He initially tried killing the slugs with poison, but said the method was expensive, costing up to 130 to 150 euros a month during the peak season. He began looking for a way to use smaller amounts of poison while protecting it from birds and rain.

His solution was a slug bait house. A mixture of dry yeast and sugar ferments when exposed to moisture, producing a smell that attracts slugs into the trap. The poison is placed in a lower container inside it.

Võrno said the slug enters through the opening, finds the poison and then leaves. He secures the trap in the ground with a stake, which also keeps the lid in place and prevents hedgehogs, birds and other animals from reaching the contents.

He recommends placing the traps around the perimeter of a garden at intervals of about five metres, saying that one trap alone is not effective. During the peak season, he replenishes the bait every three to four days, although slugs visit some traps less often.

After posting an Instagram video, Võrno received dozens of messages from people who wanted traps of their own. He said that 48 hours later he had a company. He started with one printer and now receives orders from across Estonia.

Võrno works with electric vehicles and had used 3D printing for years to make prototypes and tools. His garage can now produce up to 150 traps a day when everything runs smoothly, although he said the business would not make him rich.