Copper Slug Tape Multibuy 3 x 4m rolls

Product Information

I’ve tested solid copper rings which I made from some spare copper roofing strip. Did it work? Yes and No; the difference is oxidation.

Great to see… to add to the video list, I liked this one on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFn9TT_rlXU

What can I do?

My friend suggested garlic water sprayed on the plants and left to dry. Apparently they don’t like the taste. Reapply every 2 weeks. Recipe below. Does this work? Of the thousands of enquiries received by RHS Gardening Advice every year, deterring slugs and snails is atop concern. To ensure we aregiving the best advice on this much-debated topic, we set up a project – Gastropod Barriers– to test whether the most commonly recommended home remedies really work. How we tested the barriers Regardless of the use of copper strips or electricity, some types of slugs have been know to drop down from overhanging trees or even lower themselves down a slime trail. The most humane way to get rid of slugs? Hayley said: “Collect the slugs by hand - the best time to catch them is at night, and either release them at a local wood or pop them in your freezer before binning them Environmentally friendly gardeners who attempt to deter slugs and snails from devouring their vegetables with eggshells or copper tape are wasting their time, according to a study by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Hayley grew 108 lettuces in a series of nine patio pots and nine raised beds and monitored them for six weeks. Encourage their natural predators into your garden by creatinga haven for wildlife, such as birds and frogs. My older planters have 6 month old copper mesh barriers and I have yet to notice any obvious decrease in effectiveness with oxidation/dirt, but if there down the road maybe I can mitigate it with a firm wire brush scrub.Other popular methods for getting rid of slugs include coffee grounds, and beer. For more information on these methods have a look at: I imagine barrier efficacy might depend on the width of the barrier and skinnier tapes might be less effective barriers than 5″ of mesh. I have yet to try using any other type of mesh (steel, aluminum) but if I get bored that might be a fun experiment. I also imagine in addition to whatever theoretical chemical/electrical property copper has that slugs don’t like, there is likely a mechanical component because irregular wire loops might be irritating to ooze across and there may be some variability in effect based on the size/configuration of the wire in the mesh. While this research hasn’t shed any light on what you can do to obstruct slugs and snails, it has at least shown that these barriers can be unreliableand ineffective. Jones added: “Slug pellets do have their problems but they have been tested for safety and when used to their manufacturers’ instructions the risks are quite minimal. It becomes dangerous for pets and other wildlife when they are overapplied.” Clearly you like Teh Science so here’s a data base of studies for inverts. http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_AquireAcuteSum.jsp?Rec_Id

SPECIAL OFFER - These His and Hers Solitary Bee Houses are wall mountable wooden bee houses that have been designed… As members of the Mollusca group of animals, slugs and snails use Hemocyanin proteins in their blood to transport oxygen around their bodies ( whereas we mammals use iron based Hemoglobin). These Hemocyanin proteins contain two copper atoms. This makes all molluscs very sensitive to the ingestion of additional quantities of copper. Too much copper and it prevents oxygen from moving around their bodies and they eventually die, unless they flee to safety. But wool pellets and pine bark did have one clear benefit: by acting as a fertiliser and mulch, they helped lettuces yield a 50% bigger crop. Copper DOES work as a slug and snail barrier if the percentage of copper alloy is high enough and the width is in excess of 4 cms. Don’t waste money on any of the other ‘gardening’ products tested above and be cautious of using anything else that comes in a similar sized box ( or from a matching production line…).

How we tested the barriers

Lettuces planted in the ground were found to be more susceptible to slugs, with 5.7% of each eaten on average. This compares to just 0.2% of those in pots, which, despite this advantage, yielded less crop. These methods were tested on 108 lettuces sown in pots and raised beds at the RHS field research facility in Wisley. After six weeks, the leaves of each harvested lettuce were examined to calculate damage. After tending to the crop for weeks Hayley harvested the lettuces and removed the leaves one by one. She then rated the damage visually and useda leaf area meter for the first time,to record the damage in every square cm of the leaves. The green patina developed on copper metal over time is a copper carbonate salt and could be toxic.

If you’re using any of these five home remedies to deter slugs and snails, consider carefully whether they are making enough difference to be worth the investment. Copper is a known poison for many organisms and some copper chemicals are used to disinfect and kill organisms. It seems to make sense that copper tape or copper wire would have the same effect. If you think about this for a minute you will realize this can’t work. Most homes in North America use copper pipe to deliver water in our homes. If it were toxic – would we be using them? Jeff Gillman, one of the Garden Professors, commented “When I’ve tested copper the slugs seemed to have a slight preference for not crossing it, but would if that was what they need to do to get where they were going. I’d call it a mild repellant” . I think this is a good summary. Slugs will not go out of their way to cross copper in tape form, but it is not a fool proof solution.

How was the damage recorded? 

Efficacy and environmental fate of copper sulphate applied to Australian rice fields for control of the aquatic snail Isidorella newcombi It’s that time of year when slugs and snails creep out of the woodwork ( quite literally) and look for sources of food after their winter hibernation. My alliums are currently being ravaged and I’m out in the garden with a torch at 10pm on most evenings removing the hungry little beasts. Last year I conducted some tests to disprove the value of egg shells, pistachio nut shells, hair and chilli powder in preventing slugs and snails from eating our plants, all were easily crossed by snails. Young chopped brambles were a surprise snail barrier success though.