You may be correct. As I said I am not a chemist. Although I’m not sure that ‘Conducting current’ is the same as ‘exchanging an electrical charge’. But who really cares. The issue is whether or not it works and if so, under what conditions. If you need a bigger ring you can open two large rings, bend them to a larger diameter, and join them nose to tail. Press the slug ring into the soil around the plant. Make sure the rings are scrunched into the soil a little way with no gaps underneath for a slug to sneak through. Wet the soil first if it is too hard.

Copper with +2 ions carries a charge that interferes with a mollusc’s slime, which they don’t like and thus avoid. www.botanical garden.ubc.caAll barriers were applied either according to manufacturers’ instructions or as the consensus of gardening knowledge dictated. The substances weregenerally applied in a continuous ring around the plant (inside of the rim of the pot and in an equivalent circle on the plants in the ground). The copper wasapplied as a foil tape to the outside of the pots, and copper collars wereplaced around the plants in the ground. If I go out at night I will usually see 2-3 slugs oozing circles around the bottom of the barrier but not crossing it. I have seen a slug or two successfully cross it, but it’s rare. If I had to guess I would say I get about 1/20th -1/200th the slug prevalence I used to previously high slug traffic areas I have since “protected”. (tough to say because I am too lazy to count, and I can’t tell how many slugs crossed the barrier vs just live on the other side) 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?

The results of this experiment will be published in a scientific paper and articles will be written for The Garden and other gardening press. We will use our new knowledge to update the advice we provide to gardeners. Further informationSlug Rings are the original patented copper rings - designed and manufactured by gardeners for gardeners.

Organic and sustainable gardeners know that using copper in gardening repels slugs and snails without introducing harmful chemicals to the landscape. Gardeningknowhow.com Slug Rings are solid copper rings that are placed around individual plants to keep slugs and snails out. These pests detest crawling on copper, so Slug Rings make a very effective barrier. The copper rings cause no harm, so your garden can be home to healthy plants, as well as healthy wildlife. So, while they are very similar, slugs and snails are not the same – even though they both leave a distinctive silver snail trail. A lot of people ask ‘what do garden snails and slugs eat?’, but that depends whether they’re carnivores, omnivores or herbivores. Realistically, most things can end up being snail food, but especially tender seedlings, vegetables or leafy hosta plants.

What The Press Say

The experiment was carried out at the Field Research Facility at RHS Wisley. The plant used in the experiment was a gastropod favourite, lettuce, and the experimentassessed the effectiveness of the following gastropod barriers and repellents: If you have scrap copper or old copper pipes in your shed, try bending it around the plants you wish to protect

By testing a range of barriers in both pots and on the ground, this study contributedsignificantly to the literature surrounding gastropod control and enabled the RHS to update the advice it gives to home gardeners regarding which products and substances are effective. Benefits to gardeners Slug Rings are simple to use, and because they have rounded edges and no sharp corners they are comfortable to handle even for elderly gardeners, and safe around children.Plants are at their most vulnerable when thay are young and succulent, so the earlier they are protected the better. For insurance, we put slug rings around our bean when we sow the seeds, and around the delphiniums in spring before new growth starts. I have had a respectable amount of success in slug deterrence using copper mesh as a slug barrier on the outside of wood planters. The mesh is about 5″ wide, which is wider than any of the copper tapes I have seen for sale, and it’s easier to work with compared to the super delicate copper tape I tried, the tape I tried, and it’s easy enough to reuse (although not adhesive on it’s own)