Will slugs and snails really refuse to touch copper?

I've got some seedling herbs outside that they keep having a go at. So I
was wondering if something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072MQFCM7

would actually work?

I'd prefer to keep toxic things like pellets away from foodstuffs plus I
don't want to needlessly kill slugs and snails - we have birds nesting
nearby that like eating them so it seems poor form to damage their food
chain.

On 09/06/18 10:25, Chris Hogg wrote:
assuming the key factor is some sort of
galvanic reaction between the copper and the slug, giving them a
tingle, or that they just don't like the taste of copper.

Hi Chris,

That's the main point - is it true or an old wive's tale?

If it's not true, they'll climb it (I saw a claim that under tests,
slugs will pretty much traverse most "horrible" substrates - but I don't
recall if copper was on the list.


The only real answer is to try it and see!


I guess - or plant the herbs in trays and transplant when they are big
enough to outgrow being eaten a bit (OK I'm lazy)

On 9 Jun 2018 09:05, Tim Watts wrote:
Will slugs and snails really refuse to touch copper?

I've got some seedling herbs outside that they keep having a go at. So I
was wondering if something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072MQFCM7

would actually work?

I'd prefer to keep toxic things like pellets away from foodstuffs plus I
don't want to needlessly kill slugs and snails - we have birds nesting
nearby that like eating them so it seems poor form to damage their food
chain.

Saw something recently and the copper band had to be rather wide to
actually work, like 50mm+. Search copper guitar tape. Can't find the
reference now sorry.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 09/06/18 15:29, Bob Hobden wrote:
On 9 Jun 2018 09:05, Tim Watts wrote:
Will slugs and snails really refuse to touch copper?

I've got some seedling herbs outside that they keep having a go at. So I
was wondering if something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072MQFCM7

would actually work?

I'd prefer to keep toxic things like pellets away from foodstuffs plus I
don't want to needlessly kill slugs and snails - we have birds nesting
nearby that like eating them so it seems poor form to damage their food
chain.

Saw something recently and the copper band had to be rather wide to
actually work, like 50mm+. Search copper guitar tape. Can't find the
reference now sorry.


That's interesting... Thanks.

I succumbed to getting some ferric phosphate "organic" pellets in the
farm shop as I noticed them whilst buying some other things. Just to
give the poor seedlings a chance to get going...

But I will try the copper "fence" as the theory should be similar: as
long as it goes tight to the ground, they'd have to climb it.

This is a "rockery" herb garden - a foot long trench along the top of a
dry retaining wall and the higher lawn behind it - so I don't have a lot
of width to lay 2" of tape both sides. But it would be easy to fence it.

Slugs certainly are annoying little gits. Longer term, this bed will be
taken over by a bay tree, lavender and lots of mint.

My longer term plan is to run the herbs in wall planters on the east
wall of the house (big boring wall with 2 tiny windows but lots of sun)
with an automatic drip watering system. If the slugs are hard enough to
climb 4' of dry LBC "Rustic" bare bricks, then I'm not arguing with them!

On Sat, 9 Jun 2018 20:20:02 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

But I will try the copper "fence" as the theory should be similar: as
long as it goes tight to the ground, they'd have to climb it.

Apart from the ones already living under the soil around your plants.

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail rpont (at) gmail (dot) com

On Sat, 9 Jun 2018 09:05:46 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

Will slugs and snails really refuse to touch copper?

Being very very careful not to upset anyone!

Some copper tape is plastic with a very thin copper covering, as we
can see copper is very expensive, If copper works, you might be able
to save one or two plants, but a row of lettice is not going to be
safe, tried it, did not work for me.

On 09/06/18 22:09, Rodney Pont wrote:
On Sat, 9 Jun 2018 20:20:02 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

But I will try the copper "fence" as the theory should be similar: as
long as it goes tight to the ground, they'd have to climb it.

Apart from the ones already living under the soil around your plants.


Good point...

This morning about 20% of the pellets were gone, nearly all around the
bay sapling (there's nothing to eat in that section).

Clearly more slugs than I thought...

On 10/06/18 09:14, Derek wrote:
On Sat, 9 Jun 2018 09:05:46 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

Will slugs and snails really refuse to touch copper?

Being very very careful not to upset anyone!

Some copper tape is plastic with a very thin copper covering, as we
can see copper is very expensive, If copper works, you might be able
to save one or two plants, but a row of lettice is not going to be
safe, tried it, did not work for me.


Thanks for that Derek.

Tim Watts wrote:

I saw a claim that under tests, slugs will pretty much traverse most
"horrible" substrates - but I don't recall if copper was on the
list.

I suppose there'll always be one or two bad-ass slugs will tackle
anything ... survival of the fittest and all that.

In article , Derek
writes
On Sat, 9 Jun 2018 09:05:46 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

Will slugs and snails really refuse to touch copper?

Being very very careful not to upset anyone!

Some copper tape is plastic with a very thin copper covering, as we
can see copper is very expensive, If copper works, you might be able
to save one or two plants, but a row of lettice is not going to be
safe, tried it, did not work for me.
I've used it on pots and it seemed to work -well the plants weren't
eaten.
--
Bert