Is this a rumour? Seems like it could be an urban legend. Has anyone else done this? I saw some people creating loops on wire and placing on the soil, but I thought I'd try putting it on the legs of my seedling table
by most_crispy_owl
Is this a rumour? Seems like it could be an urban legend. Has anyone else done this? I saw some people creating loops on wire and placing on the soil, but I thought I'd try putting it on the legs of my seedling table
by most_crispy_owl
26 Comments
I had some dahlias in pots which were being decimated by slugs. I put some copper tape around the bottom of the pots, about three inches up from the base. Had no slug problem since.
Part of me wants to think it’s the tape!
No.
Absolutely not.
I’ve experimented with copper extensively and seen slugs and snails sitting on top of it repeatedly.
It’s an old wives tale. Doesn’t work.
I think the height itself and that it’s on a wooden patio (so nowhere for slugs to hide) will keep the slugs away for the most part. If you still have problems, probably the only really effective method would be to put the legs in bowls of water. Slugs cannot cross water although some really long ones might try to stretch across.
I’ve read so many of these studies and the answer is *maybe*. Copper does indeed piss them off and act as a deterrent. But it loses that chemical property as soon as it begins to tarnish, which is pretty soon. Plus, it only makes it uncomfortable so a piece of wire won’t do much but three inches of tape is hard going.
I have had moderate but not total success putting things higher up on pallets, quite possibly because they don’t realise what’s up there.
a beer trap will be way more effective and cost pennies.
I havent had much luck with copper tape, but slug and snail pellets have been highly effective in keeping my plants going, mix that with visual inspections and a cloche I am no longer loosing plants down to the root, just the occasional leaf bitten every few weeks.
I’ve found the copper tape works ok until it oxidises – so does the job until the seedlings are no longer tasty enough
My mum swears by literally killing them with kindness, she uses rolled oats which expand in their stomachs after they eat them and then they’re sitting targets for birds and hedgehogs.
I put some coper wire around a container of cosmos once and the the slugs just crawled over it without a care in the world.
A lot of people say no, but it’s always worked for us. Pots and beds with no copper get ruined, ones with copper don’t
Have you had a problem with slugs on that table before? Id be surprised if you have?
It did work for my sunflowers but you need to use a lot more. I wrapped it around the base of the plant or a bamboo stick next/ around the base of the plant.
Okay hear me out. I made garlic tea, and so far I haven’t had any slug issues this year…
If you connect it to a 9v battery it works a treat
attach it to a car battery…sure
You need something prickly, like rose cuttings or a thick line of grease.. like Vaseline. Put duct tape or something similar around the table legs and apply the grease to that
Ring of salt for the witchcraft too
Nah. But a cup of beer at the bottom might… (controversial) and also a bit disgusting having to empty it the next day!
I just net everything. Keeps the big lads off.
I’m quite intrigued by the rolled oats theory…
So far, I’ve had decent success with crushed sea shells around my plants. Slugs had been annihilating my Courgettes but after putting a ring of crushed shells around the planter and around each plant I’ve not seen a single nibble. Have also put up a lot more bird feeders hoping to enlist their help.
Naw but a dish filled with beer will
Nope. But you can waterproof the bottom of your table legs e.g. put them in kids wellies or something, and then put each leg in a dish of deep water. Slugs don’t swim.
Stand each leg in a plant saucer or plate and fill it with salt or rock salt. Dishwasher salt also works.
I have a selection of hostas in pots in a light well. Decimated by slugs one year…..
Now, I have found a solution.
Get a massive pot or two of vaseline/petroleum jelly. Massive bag of table salt.
Prepare to get…..messy. A roll of kitchen roll is your friend here.
Get a good glob of vaseline, apply salt liberally and the smear around the top inch or two of your pots. May work further down, I don’t know. I do mine round the rim. Slap it on THICK. Get lots of salt stuck in the vaseline, and sprinkle more on for good measure if you can tip the pots without soil/plants falling out.
NO. SLUGS.
It’s worked perfectly this year and last. Only have to do it once, seems to last all season.
It would work better if you spiralled it around the leg. The snail can step over a single coil. You could also mix a handful of slug pellets into water and spray the wood.