I bought copper scourers from the dollar store. I untwist them and wrap it around the small plants making sure to push the bottom part into the ground little ways with my finger then stretch it up the stem as far as it will go. This seems to deter the snails from crawling up and eating the leaves. Good luck and happy gardening.
Hi Carolyn. Thanks for that great tip. I imagine the combination of the sharp edges and the metal works really well together...much better than smooth copper tape. Keep safe.
@@LearnHow2 Yes, I didn't have any problems after I put them on, BUT you need to do it while they are small so you can run the plant through the scourer pad. It is harder to do if the plants are big. Happy gardening
I put serrated copper tape around the stems and supports of my sunflowers, serration pointing downwards. Works perfectly. I've also made a serrated copper ring from the tape around another plant, spikes up and filled with gravel to keep its shape and act as a further deterrent.
I put two wide bands of expensive copper tape not the cheap stuff on pots of delphiniums and watched slugs cross it several times, I wonder why it seems to work for some
This is interesting, thank you. I noticed the pieces you used are very short and electrically isolated from one another by the adhesive, which I know (as an electrical engineer) will reduce the capacitance (ability of the copper to store an electrical charge). I wondered whether the experiment might have been effective if you used a much longer single strip of copper around a ring that the slug was outside of, but with vegetables inside the ring, so that the slug had a choice. I’m conscious that the slug is aware of its surroundings (they can see and smell) and it’s need to find shelter, and wondered whether this might have affected your experiment. I have just been given some of the tape, so I may have to try this myself.
Hi Josh. Thank you for your interesting comments. My understanding is that it is the conductivity that counts and not the capacitance. The tape shorts out nerve endings on the slugs underside. I may try another test with food as you suggest. Keep safe.
I put it around a Guinea pig hutch so that I don’t keep finding their dish of pellets covered in slugs … it seems to work. My lengths of tape are much longer than in this video. Obviously if any leaves (or similar) bridge the tape they’ll have a way in again. As an aside - the mesh on the hutch is effective against medium and large snails … every so often I have to remove a stranded snail who has managed to jam it’s shell in the mesh. 😂
The experiment doesn't mimic field conditions (copper tape on vertical surfacr such a container). Also in your experiment the slug must cross the copper to survive even when unpleasant, in the field it does not have to cross the copper and may avoid it if unpleasant. Great Channel by the way 👏
it crossed without hesitation, it didn't know it was trapped in a circle of copper tape it didn't seem to even notice any change of surface no idea why vertical or horizontal would make a difference.
I stripped the copper out of old wires and wrapped them round the base of my plants , making sure the slugs couldn't crawl underneath, it worked for me.
Copper tap does work. But if you’re dealing with a longer slug like that, you need more layers of tape. Also, in agreeing with other comments, you should’ve left the slug a way out of the copper square so you could see if it at least preferred the non-copper path.
Thank you for your comment. Do you have experience of copper tape working? what was your set up. I have repeated the experiment in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nfplndeN3P8.html trying to make it more like a real life plant pot situation -- and it still fails! Best wishes.
Could it not be argued that the slug can cross because it has no choice? You've essentially built a fence around the slug and, as with humans, you're more likely to try and climb a fence if you're trapped by it rather than a fence trying to keep you out of somewhere.
Any human or slug would look for a gate or hole in the fence. Slugs have poor eyesight and the slug just rolled over the tape without hesitation as if it was not there and made no attempt to find an exit free of this stuff that supposedly causes so much distress. They have poor eyesight and I doubt if it was even aware of the copper surrounding it entirely. I am sure it is keen enough to eat our lettuce to roll over it in the same way.
You need thick copper like old copper pipes we used to use coins but pennys not made from copper no more. As the copper ages it turns white and green thats what gives the slug an electric shock. That copper tape barely tickles the slug .
You need to run parallel track of the tape (picture train tracks side by side), barely separated by a few mm and take a battery holder, connect one side of the battery to one side of the copper tape, the other to the other side of the copper tape...and believe it the slug/snail will not cross it. You can even use a single 1.5v AA battery in a cheap holder. You don't even need to solder it, you can literally tape the battery leads to...the tape.
Exactly! I see so many reviews on Amazon for copper foil tape saying it doesn't work for slugs and I'm sure they are all putting just one strip around the pot.
slug in daylight in that exposed situation wants to avoid predation. It will cross copper to save itself from predation in the same way a human would run through fire to get out of a burning building. For that reason alone the video fails peer review and should be considered as misinformation.
Copper tape always works for me, that’s why I have hostas and salad vegetables 😂 I keep my hostas in plastic pots with tape around the edge and I have tape around the edge of my elho grow tables. We live in woodland, so trust me, no shortage of slugs. I also put plastic containers over my dahlia shoots (and other tender leaves) at night so they get a chance to grow big enough to deal with a nibble! Horticultural grit helps. Short of poisoning everything in sight (which is shortsighted as you’re robbing birds and mammals of a food source, not to mention other slugs) the only foolproof way to keep your tender plants slug free is to go out at night or rainy days and pick them. Mine get a short cheap flight to the compost heap ✈️
it must be a copper that has the valence of +2 in order for it to work. Copper with +2 ions carries a charge that interferes with a mollusc's slime. There are various state of valency in copper and that makes a huge difference in repelling slugs
These tapes work only on extreme slopes like around a pot which makes the slugs slip. A large slug could potential stretch over it though. So you need to have a broad tape.
The tape is simply not wide enough. It needs to be about 3 inches wide to be effective. So wrap it at least 3 times, around your tree or pot. No gaps between each wrap.
You need to take 2 thin straps of copper wire run them parallel to each other, Add a 9v battery "the small rectangle ones" ... Solder the negative to one, positive to the other. When they try to cross, ZAP!!!
I had scale insects attacking my mandarin tree and there were ants protecting them so that I couldn't use beneficial insects to get rid of the scale insects. I put a thick ring of Vicks VapoRub around the trunk of the tree. The ants most certainly didn't want to cross it and they appeared quite upset. Eventually they just walked over it because it was the only way they could go. I'm wondering if this is a similar situation. It would be interesting to do a similar experiment where there is a way out without having to cross the copper tape. Perhaps it just did what it had to knowing there was no alternative. I'd do the experiment myself, but there are no slugs where I live.
Using 2 thin strips which are connected to a small battery will form a 'cattle fence' effect. I have tried this and the slugs refused to cross it.... I don't think they enjoyed the electrical shock! Its would be similar to placing a 9v battery on your tongue - not nice.
Probably need to cut tape into two strips so slug needs to be connecting both bands when crossing. Better still, one strip use copper tape, other strip use aluminium tape.
@@LearnHow2 Hmmm, thanks. I've been using physical barriers to deter slugs and snails so far. One simple solution is to place the plant pot on top of an upside down plant pot. That means twice as much time to catch them before any damage gets done. Another solution comes to mind, though I've not yet tried it,. . . the two tape method, combined with a repurposed solar garden light. The bulb removed and + and - terminals wired to each of the two copper bands. That's a harmless 1.5 volts. Might be just enough to deter slug from crossing. So far, I don't have enough of a slug issue to try this experiment.
Thank you for this video, i was assured it worked on snails and slugs because they are eating my red hot poker flowers before they have a chance to bloom but now i see it has no effect, thank you once again, i now know i am wasting my time using it :-) back to the drawing board so to speak ;-(
You can but slug pellets but a lot of gardeners dont like them as they harm wildlife. There are slug traps but I have no experience of these. Keep safe.
copper wire doesn't really work on these slugs they are a totally different kind of slug altogether ... these don't go for your plants.. you want these in your garden as they eat other slugs.. please read up on tiger slugs... do not get rid of these slugs as these help your garden
Thank you for such an "acid test" to dismantle this theory. That slug had not a clue it was sliming right over copper... There was "no way out" but I would sure show some sign of stress if I was trying to swim out of a swarm of piranahs or some illustration similiar to a slug and copper and the hope or expectation of what will happen. There was not a moments hesitation, not even a glimmer of electricity. Glad that is debunked, now I will try to nuke the little slimeballs chewing on my Winter Density lettuce from Johnnys Seeds. A good 2021 to everyone 🙏
They hate the tape on their antenna and WILL NOT cross it if you place the tape correctly. Ideally a vertical surface to climb up with the tape only attached at the top rim, leave 75% of the width of the tape as an overhang, a bit like the soffit on the roof of a house. No way they are going to cross this.
so in an attempt to see if a certain method is effective, you try it 1 time in a manner it was not intended for and assume it's NFG because 1 slug kills plants, so 1 test is all that's needed....I hope you aren't a school teacher, and if you are, I think I found the problem in society
"Not liking" copper does not mean they won't cross it. You left the slug with no alternative. There are lots of other tests which show, when given the choice, slugs and snails will avoid crossing a copper barrier.
