Leeches love blood, as everyone knows, but they hate beer and garlic, Norwegian researchers reported Friday.
Leeches placed on skin smeared with garlic died. Those leeches which came into contact with beer, not surprisingly, became erratic, researchers from the University of Bergen said in an article in the British Medical Journal.Beer and garlic may deter leeches, but the Norwegians warned travelers not to smear soured cream on their body to ward off the slimy bloodsuckers.
"They liked it, sucking frantically on the wall of the container," they said.