Steel wool

[Kygiacomo!!!]

Hey guys i want to know if this stuff will work to keep snails and slugs off the plants? i got some sluggo this year as well for those little bastards that caused bud rot on a few my plants last year. im thinking about using copper tape then right above it the steel wool around the stalks of my ladys this year. i just want to have a physical barrier along with the sluggo pellets. let me know your guys thoughts on this

 

[Dirty Harry]

Copper definitely bothers snails and slugs. If you can find copper wool, that is easier to wrap a good amount around the plant. Copper strips on the ground around the plant will also help stop the buggers from even reaching your plants.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

I've had good luck using sand. Lay it on thick.

 

[justanotherbozo]

yeah, as Dirty Harry said, copper is what you want, not steel wool.

...anyway, here are some easy solutions.

copper scrubbers

bozo

btw, another option would be copper paint, think a plastic ring cut from a pop bottle and painted with copper based paint, ...if you can't find it in a home improvement store try a boatyard as boat bottom paint is almost always copper based. ...and don't go for just copper colored paint, it needs to be copper based for it to work as a deterent to slugs and snails and such.

 

[St. Phatty]

How about Rifle or Handgun Brass ?

It's copper with Zinc in it.

Can't imagine that tastes too good to snails & slugs.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

How about Rifle or Handgun Brass ?

It's copper with Zinc in it.

Can't imagine that tastes too good to snails & slugs.

I don't think you want that near your plants and leeching into the soil. No joke, the people who work at indoor ranges sweeping shells all the time end up mad as a hatter.

 

[St. Phatty]

I don't think you want that near your plants and leeching into the soil. No joke, the people who work at indoor ranges sweeping shells all the time end up mad as a hatter.

can't help but wonder if that has something to do with lead.

never thought of brass-brass as toxic, it's just copper with a smaller percentage of zinc.


I agree, zinc fumes are not good to breathe. I've seen guys cut galvanized metal with a torch and just breathe it all in. Zinc is not as bad as lead but it's worth not breathing.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

can't help but wonder if that has something to do with lead.

never thought of brass-brass as toxic, it's just copper with a smaller percentage of zinc.


I agree, zinc fumes are not good to breathe. I've seen guys cut galvanized metal with a torch and just breathe it all in. Zinc is not as bad as lead but it's worth not breathing.

That and there's still gunpowder residue left in the shells. But remember that it's going to rain and the plants are going to be consuming that gunpowder.

 

[Kygiacomo!!!]

i ordered the copper tape. i will be laying the sluggo out for those bastards this year.i wish april would hurry and get here i want to get this show on the road. im gonna be trying a few huglekulture beds this year. once they are made with rotting wood u never have to worry about watering again according to all the research i have read on it. im still skeptical about it which is why im only gonna do 1 to test it out

 

[Buddah Watcha]

sluggo works great, you just need to reapply every 2-3 weeks! usually after the plant reaches a foot or two tall the slugs don't really do much damage! but for seedlings is a MUST!

 

[Kygiacomo!!!]

i found some copper wire called "slug sheild". its like chicken wire consistancy but is made of copper..u just wrap the wire around the stalk of the plants and when the 2 ends meet u just twist them around the base. im gonna use this as a physical barrier and sluggo as the killer. i have never had a problem with slugs when they are seedlings. the bastards started getting on mine once the plants starting flowering last year.

 

[meadowman]

i use copper wire, make a 8-12" loop around base n twist together...works great!

 

[Kygiacomo!!!]

sluggo works great, you just need to reapply every 2-3 weeks! usually after the plant reaches a foot or two tall the slugs don't really do much damage! but for seedlings is a MUST!

i also should add that when my plants had big buds on them in late september i found snails crawling around on a few of my plants. that is what caused some my plants to get some bud rot this year,so im trying to prevent that this year