copper bands

[rary]

While flicking through the telly the other day I caught the tail end of part of a program on the community channel where a young man was checking the reaction of slugs and snails to copper, at the part I came in it looked like the slugs and snails were crawling all over the copper with no ill effects, did anyone see this program and if so did it show that copper is no protection to these pests

[Sharpy]

When i constructed my raised beds i purchased some sticky backed copper on a roll. This went about 4" down from the top. I got both a slug and a snail to crawl over it, although they both had a little shudder, on they went on their merry way. That was money well spent

[WPG]

I use a lot of copper bands around young seedlings, and copper tape around my salad pots. Copper isn't 100% slugproof but in my experience is much more effective than the other (non-lethal) methods I've tried, such as wool pellets and crushed egg shells.

Main downside is that it's quite expensive. Also the copper bands need to be cleaned with a brillo pad after the season, to make them shiny and conductive again.

This year I've bought some copper 'barbed wire', so I'm looking forward to seeing how that works.

[Penellype]

I've had mainly good results from copper tape in conjunction with slug nematodes (used for the past 2 years). I've tried various things:

Hostas grown in soil with no protection - chewed to lace and died. Hostas grown 2ft away in pots with copper tape round them - no damage over 4 years. I have not had to replace the copper.

Cabbages planted out at 4 leaf stage in soil with no protection disappeared over night. Similar sized cabbages planted out surrounded by sheeps wool pellets grew but were full of slugs when heads were cut open - both of these before I started using nematodes. Cabbages grown in pots with copper tape round are mostly undamaged by slugs (last 3 years).

Broccoli grown in open soil unprotected significantly damaged by slugs. Grown with a piece of plastic bottle with copper tape around placed round the stem at planting time vastly reduces damage, although sometimes leaves trail on the soil outside the ring and can be eaten. I've used the same technique successfully with cucumbers.

Strawberries grown in tower pots on copper impregnated mats in the last year undamaged by slugs. Strawberries grown without mats were damaged.

Seedlings grown in greenhouse with copper tape around the drip tray (no nematodes) were damaged by occasional slugs which had to be removed from under the pots.

Plants (courgettes, french beans) grown in a raised hotbed made with fresh horse manure and bought in compost (therefore completely slug free) and surrounded with copper tape started getting slug damage only when plants were big enough to touch other plants which were not protected by the copper. The slugs and snails then took up residence in the hotbed.

On this evidence, copper tape is vastly better than no copper tape but by no means foolproof. It probably depends quite a bit on the slug and snail population to start with.

[muddled]

I use copperslip grease round my pots and it is 100% successful provided they don't get in another way (over hanging leaves etc).

Not sure how much it costs though....I nicked it from my husband's motorcycle repair shed
And I cannot be certain why it works, whether it's the copper or the grease they won't cross.

[arpoet]

I use copperslip grease round my pots and it is 100% successful provided they don't get in another way (over hanging leaves etc).

Not sure how much it costs though....I nicked it from my husband's motorcycle repair shed
And I cannot be certain why it works, whether it's the copper or the grease they won't cross.

Hmmmm. I wonder if copper filings sprinkled on grease bands would work?

[Kirk]

I would half think that you need copper and something else, as in a strip of copper and a strip of zinc or tin.
That way you get a small voltage created from the slug slime and that chemical reaction and current is what I expect would deter them.

[Bohobumble]

I use copperslip grease round my pots and it is 100% successful provided they don't get in another way (over hanging leaves etc).

Not sure how much it costs though....I nicked it from my husband's motorcycle repair shed
And I cannot be certain why it works, whether it's the copper or the grease they won't cross.

I might try vaseline bands then.....

[Guest]

I use copperslip grease round my pots and it is 100% successful provided they don't get in another way (over hanging leaves etc).

Not sure how much it costs though....I nicked it from my husband's motorcycle repair shed
And I cannot be certain why it works, whether it's the copper or the grease they won't cross.

Thank you. I love this idea. Will definitely be trying it. I should imagine both parts help - a 2 in 1 deterrent.