Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would give
it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the plants as
they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when the
slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current formed by
virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little Cathodic
Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

Mike

--
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"'Mike'" wrote
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would give
it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the plants as
they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when
the slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current
formed by virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little
Cathodic Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

The ground is going to have to be very flat for those to work Mike, usually
they are copper rings made out of strip copper, a bit like a large pastry
cutter, so one side can be pushed into the soil so the little blighters
can't crawl under. Of course none of them work for those slugs that live
underground.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"'Mike'" wrote
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would
give it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the plants
as they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when
the slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current
formed by virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little
Cathodic Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

The ground is going to have to be very flat for those to work Mike,
usually they are copper rings made out of strip copper, a bit like a large
pastry cutter, so one side can be pushed into the soil so the little
blighters can't crawl under. Of course none of them work for those slugs
that live underground.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden



Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))

Mike


--
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"'Mike'" wrote in message
...



"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"'Mike'" wrote
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would
give it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the
plants as they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when
the slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current
formed by virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little
Cathodic Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

The ground is going to have to be very flat for those to work Mike,
usually they are copper rings made out of strip copper, a bit like a
large pastry cutter, so one side can be pushed into the soil so the
little blighters can't crawl under. Of course none of them work for those
slugs that live underground.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden



Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))

Mike


You can tell Mikes background!

I would have thought it was worth a try, true the commerialy made slug rings
are fairly deep, but on the other hand, the adverts for bronze garden tools
say that the minute amount of copper that ends up in the ground acts as a
slug dererent, so who knows.

Slugs are not too much of a problem for me (Wirral, well drained sandy
soil), touch wood, but where i used to live, only three miles away they were
a disaster.


John

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"'Mike'" wrote after "Bob Hobden" replied to "'Mike'"
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would
give it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the
plants as they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when
the slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current
formed by virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little
Cathodic Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

The ground is going to have to be very flat for those to work Mike,
usually they are copper rings made out of strip copper, a bit like a
large pastry cutter, so one side can be pushed into the soil so the
little blighters can't crawl under. Of course none of them work for those
slugs that live underground.


Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))


If you could split it lengthways first so it's twice the depth, even better.
I too have quite a bit of copper pipe in the garage so I'll try the metal
cutting disc on the angle grinder... should work.

BTW our Hostas that have had the benefit of coffee grounds are still OK but
the clump that had nothing have already been devastated.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Anne Jackson" wrote after
"Bob Hobden" contains these words:

Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))

If you could split it lengthways first so it's twice the depth, even
better.
I too have quite a bit of copper pipe in the garage so I'll try the metal
cutting disc on the angle grinder... should work.

How much would you need? I could send you some of our scrap pieces of
the copper ridge we use on roofs, so you could experiment, if you want?

It is 15 cms deep, with flutes (just like a scone cutter) on each side.
Being shaped in an inverted 'V', it would probably be best to cut it in
half, for posting, though. (You can see it on the website.)


That's very kind Anne but it would cost a fortune from Perthshire surely?

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On May 2, 8:12 pm, Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))

If you could split it lengthways first so it's twice the depth, even
better.
I too have quite a bit of copper pipe in the garage so I'll try the metal
cutting disc on the angle grinder... should work.

How much would you need? I could send you some of our scrap pieces of
the copper ridge we use on roofs, so you could experiment, if you want?

It is 15 cms deep, with flutes (just like a scone cutter) on each side.
Being shaped in an inverted 'V', it would probably be best to cut it in
half, for posting, though. (You can see it on the website.)

--
AnneJ

www.copperridge.co.ukwww.freedomcollars.co.uk

Anne, think what you could do with your scrap pieces!

Judith

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"'Mike'" wrote in message
...
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would give
it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the plants as
they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when
the slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current
formed by virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little
Cathodic Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

Mike

Copper is very expensive so I've bought a few of those copper-coloured pot
scrubbers from Wilko. They're cheapish and appear to have a thin copper
coating, maybe they will work and snarl up the slugs. I intend to pull
apart a pot scraper and make it into a circle to fit around the top of a
pot. At any rate, the slugs will get theyselves cut up trying get through
the pot scraper, I hope.

someone

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
...
The message from Judith in France contains
these words:
On May 2, 8:12 pm, Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

I too have quite a bit of copper pipe in the garage so I'll try the
metal cutting disc on the angle grinder... should work.

How much would you need? I could send you some of our scrap pieces of
the copper ridge we use on roofs, so you could experiment, if you want?

It is 15 cms deep, with flutes (just like a scone cutter) on each side.
Being shaped in an inverted 'V', it would probably be best to cut it in
half, for posting, though. (You can see it on the website.)

Anne, think what you could do with your scrap pieces!

Well, I'm much too busy to even think about diversifying, Judith, but
I'm willing to sacrifice some short lengths of copper, in the pursuit
of knowledge. Anything to beat the damned slugs! ;-)

--
AnneJ

Absolutely, that'll work:

1. Grasp short length of copper firmly in hand, watch & wait
2. When snail or slug appears, beat it to a pulp.

Actually, I just stripped out the copper earth from a spare length of ring
main, and coiled it around the stem for a few inches.
No snail appears to have passed this since -which proves very little,
without seeing a queue of them trying to get past.

Lol

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"John T" wrote in message
...


... the adverts for bronze garden tools say that the minute amount of
copper that ends up in the ground acts as a slug dererent, so who knows.

If that were true slug deterrance would be easy by watering in a soluble
copper salt.

Mary

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On May 3, 2:38 am, Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from Judith in France contains
these words:



On May 2, 8:12 pm, Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))

If you could split it lengthways first so it's twice the depth, even
better.
I too have quite a bit of copper pipe in the garage so I'll try the
metal cutting disc on the angle grinder... should work.

How much would you need? I could send you some of our scrap pieces of
the copper ridge we use on roofs, so you could experiment, if you want?

It is 15 cms deep, with flutes (just like a scone cutter) on each side.
Being shaped in an inverted 'V', it would probably be best to cut it in
half, for posting, though. (You can see it on the website.)

Anne, think what you could do with your scrap pieces!

Well, I'm much too busy to even think about diversifying, Judith, but
I'm willing to sacrifice some short lengths of copper, in the pursuit
of knowledge. Anything to beat the damned slugs! ;-)

--
AnneJ

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion
now accepted was once eccentric. ~Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

It's a pity I don't live near, I would be up for some. p.s. off
topic but a few days ago I sent an enquiry direct to your company for
a copper bangle, did your office manager get it?

Judith

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 3 May 2008 09:25:26 +0100, "Mary Fisher"

wrote:


"John T" wrote in message
...


... the adverts for bronze garden tools say that the minute amount of
copper that ends up in the ground acts as a slug dererent, so who knows.

If that were true slug deterrance would be easy by watering in a soluble
copper salt.

You could make it sound exotic by calling it Bordeaux mix.
--

Martin

Its all very true!
I dont know if Bordeaux mix deters frogs, and i haave never used bronze
garden tools myself. What i do know is that there isnt an easy answer to
slugs, and Mikes original experiment idea might hit on something.
There is more in electrical copper than pure copper anyway, the whole idea
of tinned wire creating an electrolytic effect MIGHT be a deterrent for a
problem.

Encouraging frogs seems to work to! for me and some friends anyway, but i
know it doesnt work everywhere.

Where i used to live, only three miles away, slugs wewe endemic. Here they
are not so much of a problem, which says to me that the sciel=nce of
deterency is a delicate one.

So i think Mike should be encouraged to go on with his wire experiment.

John

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"John T" wrote in message
...

Its all very true!

It's sales pitch.

Mary

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On May 3, 12:16 pm, Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from Judith in France contains
these words:

It's a pity I don't live near, I would be up for some. p.s. off
topic but a few days ago I sent an enquiry direct to your company
for a copper bangle, did your office manager get it?

She didn't mention it, but I know that we're waiting for a new
supply of bangles to come in. They do rather well, up here...

Might be something to do with the weather? 8-(

Oh, if anyone has a small, arthritic dog, I have a copper collar
going begging...'small terrier' size. E-mail me direct. The address
I use is not munged.

--
AnneJ

www.copperridge.co.ukwww.freedomcollars.co.uk

If she didn't get my email, I will send it again.

Judith

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On May 3, 1:28 pm, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 03 May 2008 11:34:19 GMT, "John T" wrote:

"Martin" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 3 May 2008 09:25:26 +0100, "Mary Fisher"

wrote:

"John T" wrote in message
...

... the adverts for bronze garden tools say that the minute amount of
copper that ends up in the ground acts as a slug dererent, so who knows.

If that were true slug deterrance would be easy by watering in a soluble
copper salt.

You could make it sound exotic by calling it Bordeaux mix.
--

Martin

Its all very true!
I dont know if Bordeaux mix deters frogs, and i haave never used bronze
garden tools myself. What i do know is that there isnt an easy answer to
slugs, and Mikes original experiment idea might hit on something.
There is more in electrical copper than pure copper anyway, the whole idea
of tinned wire creating an electrolytic effect MIGHT be a deterrent for a
problem.

Encouraging frogs seems to work to! for me and some friends anyway, but i
know it doesnt work everywhere.

Where i used to live, only three miles away, slugs wewe endemic. Here they
are not so much of a problem, which says to me that the sciel=nce of
deterency is a delicate one.

So i think Mike should be encouraged to go on with his wire experiment.

Feeding them with Heineken and other gnats essence works well too.
--

Martin

Gnats essence, would that be red or white?

Judith

Try connecting a 9v battery across the 2 wires might be even more effective.

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Anne Jackson" wrote ...
"Bob Hobden" contains these words:
"Anne Jackson" wrote after
"Bob Hobden" contains these words:

Got some copper pipe I could flatten on the Anvil :-))

If you could split it lengthways first so it's twice the depth, even
better.
I too have quite a bit of copper pipe in the garage so I'll try the
metal
cutting disc on the angle grinder... should work.

How much would you need? I could send you some of our scrap pieces of
the copper ridge we use on roofs, so you could experiment, if you want?

It is 15 cms deep, with flutes (just like a scone cutter) on each side.
Being shaped in an inverted 'V', it would probably be best to cut it in
half, for posting, though. (You can see it on the website.)

That's very kind Anne but it would cost a fortune from Perthshire surely?

Depends how much you need - and postage is tax deductable! ;-)

I've sent you an e-mail direct Anne.

Thanks
Bob Hobden

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

In message , lnw
writes

Copper is very expensive so I've bought a few of those copper-coloured pot
scrubbers from Wilko. They're cheapish and appear to have a thin copper
coating, maybe they will work and snarl up the slugs. I intend to pull
apart a pot scraper and make it into a circle to fit around the top of a
pot. At any rate, the slugs will get theyselves cut up trying get through
the pot scraper, I hope.

We have been using adhesive copper tape around large containers of
hostas for the last 3 years and it definitely works as slug barrier. We
started off buying it in gc's at £5 for a 4 metre roll, but this year
found a supplier on ebay selling 3 x 3 metres for around £7.
--
Robert

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"robert" wrote in message
...
In message , lnw
writes

Copper is very expensive so I've bought a few of those copper-coloured pot
scrubbers from Wilko. They're cheapish and appear to have a thin copper
coating, maybe they will work and snarl up the slugs. I intend to pull
apart a pot scraper and make it into a circle to fit around the top of a
pot. At any rate, the slugs will get theyselves cut up trying get through
the pot scraper, I hope.

We have been using adhesive copper tape around large containers of hostas
for the last 3 years and it definitely works as slug barrier. We started
off buying it in gc's at £5 for a 4 metre roll, but this year found a
supplier on ebay selling 3 x 3 metres for around £7.
--
Robert

How do you keep slugs away from ground-grown plants?

Mary

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On 04/05/08 19:50, robert wrote:
In message , lnw
writes

Copper is very expensive so I've bought a few of those copper-coloured
pot
scrubbers from Wilko. They're cheapish and appear to have a thin copper
coating, maybe they will work and snarl up the slugs. I intend to pull
apart a pot scraper and make it into a circle to fit around the top of a
pot. At any rate, the slugs will get theyselves cut up trying get through
the pot scraper, I hope.

We have been using adhesive copper tape around large containers of
hostas for the last 3 years and it definitely works as slug barrier. We
started off buying it in gc's at £5 for a 4 metre roll, but this year
found a supplier on ebay selling 3 x 3 metres for around £7.

Copper... does it just deter slugs or does it kill em?

Ed

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On Mon, 5 May 2008 11:06:44 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

How do you keep slugs away from ground-grown plants?

Carefully lift ground with spade and place in pot...


Geo

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Geo" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 May 2008 11:06:44 +0100, "Mary Fisher"

wrote:

How do you keep slugs away from ground-grown plants?

Carefully lift ground with spade and place in pot...

?

Mary

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
news:D-edna_CSaWetYLVnZ2dnUVZ8uqdnZ2d@plusnet...


Copper... does it just deter slugs or does it kill em?

It don't kill 'em - in my experience :-(

Mary

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

In message , Mary Fisher
writes

"robert" wrote in message
...
In message , lnw
writes

Copper is very expensive so I've bought a few of those copper-coloured pot
scrubbers from Wilko. They're cheapish and appear to have a thin copper
coating, maybe they will work and snarl up the slugs. I intend to pull
apart a pot scraper and make it into a circle to fit around the top of a
pot. At any rate, the slugs will get theyselves cut up trying get through
the pot scraper, I hope.

We have been using adhesive copper tape around large containers of hostas
for the last 3 years and it definitely works as slug barrier. We started
off buying it in gc's at £5 for a 4 metre roll, but this year found a
supplier on ebay selling 3 x 3 metres for around £7.
--
Robert

How do you keep slugs away from ground-grown plants?

We gave up and grow shrubs that are not that attractive to slugs. If we
were still persevering I would use nematodes.

--
Robert

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

In message D-edna_CSaWetYLVnZ2dnUVZ8uqdnZ2d@plusnet, Ed
writes
On 04/05/08 19:50, robert wrote:
In message , lnw
writes

Copper is very expensive so I've bought a few of those
copper-coloured pot
scrubbers from Wilko. They're cheapish and appear to have a thin copper
coating, maybe they will work and snarl up the slugs. I intend to pull
apart a pot scraper and make it into a circle to fit around the top of a
pot. At any rate, the slugs will get theyselves cut up trying get through
the pot scraper, I hope.

We have been using adhesive copper tape around large containers of
hostas for the last 3 years and it definitely works as slug barrier.
started off buying it in gc's at £5 for a 4 metre roll, but this year
found a supplier on ebay selling 3 x 3 metres for around £7.

Copper... does it just deter slugs or does it kill em?

Just deters them.

--
Robert

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

On May 2, 1:54 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would give
it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the plants as
they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when the
slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current formed by
virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little Cathodic
Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

Mike

--www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

Whats the problem with blue pellet slug killer?

Adam

asked nevously after spreading a load over front bed....

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"Adam Aglionby" wrote in message
...
On May 2, 1:54 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
I have some old scrap cable under the bench somewhere. Thought I would
give
it a try on making some rings/hoops and putting them round the plants as
they come up :-)

Could try to be clever ;-) and put two rings round, one inside the other
about 1 Centimetre apart, but one made of tinned copper wire, then, when
the
slug/snail goes over it, there just might be an Electric Current formed
by
virtue of two dissimilar metals thus we have our own little Cathodic
Protection system ;-)

Watch this space

Mike

--www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

Whats the problem with blue pellet slug killer?

Adam

asked nevously after spreading a load over front bed....

I encourage, and we have lots of Birds in the garden AND Blackbirds have
been nesting just above the Veg Garden.

Mike

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

In article
, Adam
Aglionby writes

Whats the problem with blue pellet slug killer?


Coming in a bit late on this one...

I'm not sure how much of a danger they are - eg to birds that might eat
poisoned slugs/snails. Our main problem is snails rather than slugs. I
don't like the idea of using poison pellets but in frustration,
sometimes end up doing so.

I saw something a while back about a different sort of slug pellet - an
iron compound of some sort that isn't poisonous as such - but apparently
kills slugs by blowing them up (in the stomach filling rather than
explosive manner) I think.

If it works, I'd guess it was a double win - as instead of leaving
unsightly slug/snail remains over the garden, you could just go out with
a big magnet and gather them up:)

However, I haven't actually come across it to buy yet

--
regards andyw

Copper Anti Slug and Snail Rings
 

"newsb" wrote in message
...
In article
, Adam
Aglionby writes

Whats the problem with blue pellet slug killer?


Coming in a bit late on this one...

I'm not sure how much of a danger they are - eg to birds that might eat
poisoned slugs/snails. Our main problem is snails rather than slugs. I
don't like the idea of using poison pellets but in frustration, sometimes
end up doing so.

We have no problem with snails - the hens eat them. Get a couple of bantams
:-)

Slugs however, aren't as tasty, it eems.

Mary

I have a large sunflower which i recently repotted into a far bigger pot. (There's nowhere good outside to plant it)

The very next morning after repotting it, some chunks were missing from near the base of the stem, it looked a little like someone had taken a knife and scraped two slices off. There were some trails nearby so I assumed snails/slugs.

I bought copper tape and stuck it around the pot, but this morning even more had been nibbled away and a fresh trail was visible just near the plant.

I've read that slugs can move underground. Is it possible that there's one living in the compost of the pot itself? This sounds strange but I couldn't see a trail on the side of the pot, only right next to the stem base, leading a short distance away from it then disappearing.

If this is possible, does anyone have any idea what I can do, other than using pellets?

Or, does anyone know of anything else that could cause this kind of damage? (Other than sabotage which did briefly cross my mind...)

I'm extremely worried about my sunflower. We're having a small competition amongst friends, and it's grown so huge already I can't afford to lose it!

Pete Hurst

Yes they will bury themselves in the compost. Last year had some compost that had been rotting down for several years and I used it to mix with potting compost and put it in troughs for my runner beans. The next day found that something was eating the beans. There was no way they could get into the troughs from out side so I scattered some slug pellets in the troughs and lo and behold lots of deceased slugs the next morning didn't have any problems after that.

Well, at half past midnight, torch in hand, I found a snail sliming its way up the stalk. The copper strips were obviously ineffective (although I still couldn't see a trail anywhere around the outside of the pot - so perhaps it climbed the greenhouse wall and dropped from a roof pane!)

It's possible I didn't apply the copper very well. It was a little messy. I'm going to try again higher up the pot.

And, based on your info, there could still be slugs in there. I'm personally a little hesitant to use pellets but I guess I might not have any other choice...

Thanks at least for confirming my hypothesis!

Pete

Well, the sunflower was fine. It is now over 6ft tall and beginning to bloom :)

I've stood both sunflowers on a small table, and used copper tape on each leg. A snail occasionally still finds its way up there, but I suspect it would be more like hundreds without the tape.

Also I'm saving a lot of tape by not having to do each pot individually.

I'm now setting up a series of low boards supported on bricks, and coppering the bricks, for all my outside pots.

Pete