You needed to give them a path out as well - give them a choice and see if they take it. If it's just all copper then they may just 'force' themselves over it however painful... Also with age the copper oxidizes and develops a greenish patina - i wonder if it gets neutralized then...
Nice experiment. I have just placed a 6cm band around some pots after some beans got destroyed - fingers crossed. The positive gradient of the inside of the bowl might help the slugs a little due to more favourable gravity. Normally the tape is on the outside and the slug has to work harder against gravity and has to spend slightly more time on the copper. I imagine having a rim before the copper could help as an obsticle could slow them down so they have to spend more time on the copper so more chance they give up rather than the slug trying to sprint across. For an enhanced experiment you could also include some lettuce leaves within slug sniffing distance.
I was thinking the same thing about the outward slope of most pots presenting a more challenging obstacle. Lifting their bodies over the tape stuck to the surface, especially the tape’s slick surface reduces their ability to remain stuck to it.
If you have metal dental work and you’ve accidentally chewed on a bit of aluminum foil, you may have experienced a nasty shock. In this scenario your saliva acts as an electrolyte allowing electricity to flow from one metal to the other creating the equivalent of a battery in your mouth. Apparently snails are a good source of iron, so I wonder if their slimy bodies are acting as an electrolyte allowing electricity to flow between the metals, and shocking them in the process. I have absolutely no proof of this, but that will be my guess. That may also explain why some snails can endure the potentially uncomfortable experience for a period of time...just like you could continue chewing on that aluminum foil until it was too uncomfortable to handle.
Great vid, ive tried over 10 methods now. The worst being wd 40 and vaseline.. theh love the stuff extra lubricant to cross. Im sure i must have been trolled! Going ro try this next as don't want to use pellets which kill other garden life!
My idea: Make 2 lines of copper tapes close to each other...and connect them to a battery, one to the + the other to the -...so they will short it and receive some DC current, but only when they try to cross over. :-)
Interesting, I've just ordered some of your copper tape, hopefully it'll deter some of the slugs that are determined to get into my house via my meter cupboard! They always seem quite small guys so 🤞
Stick 2 strips of copper with a centimetre gap between all the way around whatever pot, planter, raised bed, whatever... then, attach a 9v battery to them, the positive to one strip, the negative to the other strip... They WONT EVER cross that line! You just have to check the tape is secure and unbroken and the battery still has charge occasionally. The other way of doing it is, same setup with tape, but, have a solar battery pack (taken from old/knackered LED lights) and wire the positive and negative to the separate strips, this way you'll always have a charged battery, and thus always have an electric barrier to protect from those slimy plant eating buggers! 👌👍😉 😎🇬🇧
@@Eeda01 Yeah, it does, but, voltage can still be transmitted between the + & - strips, especially when a snail or slug travels over them. Also using copper strips was just one suggestion, aluminium foil tape strips could be another way, as long as a circuit can be made with snail/slug slime... 😏👍
The actual reason copper tape can be effective is you can use it on combination with a 9v battery to shock them. There are a lot of youtube videos that show you how to do it, but it’s very effective and you only need to replace the battery around once a year.
Wrong, the copper alone creates a shock to them with out any current ran into it due to their body make up. Some just go right through it like a person could go over an electric fence if it wasn't too strong, it'd just be uncomfortable.
Awesome tests! Some guy tried to say it was a myth and didn't bother to bust it with a test! This shows there's positive results but not 100%, so not myth!! Hah!
@@tkjho do the test, learn for yourself. Btw fabric pots are another prevention. Looks like they cannot stick to it. Now to test used/recycled store bags around pots...
@@c.kainoabugado7935 🤦♂️you could have said you don't know or not replied at all, the whole point of this video, was to not have to conduct these experiments yourself
I think the copper has to be polished. It works because the chemical makeup of the slug has a chemical reaction and hurts the slug. I think. Similar to how soapy water dissolves the fatty/waxy armor chitin in beetles, so if you spray them, they die, since soap binds with their skin.
I put a band of serrated copper tape, serrations pointing down, around the stems of vulnerable plants like young sunflowers. It has worked every time. I missed putting some on a plant support so they bypassed the copper on that and completely nommed another young sunflower. The other ones are untouched though.
I have researched and worked with metals here and there in my life a bit and I say yes. The copper turns green like the statue of liberty and fails to work in the same way you need to polish a brass knob in order for it to keep killing viruses.(yes. Polished brass kills them.) The same way a car battery positive terminal will get corrosion buildup and need brushed off or the starter will get no battery energy.
I feel like because they have literally no where else to go, eventually they'll go over the copper line. The bigger ones figured that out quicker. So I think outside it could be more effective in turning them around and heading off the other way
You needed to give them a path out as well - give them a choice and see if they take it. If it's just all copper then they may just 'force' themselves over it however painful...
Also with age the copper oxidizes and develops a greenish patina - i wonder if it gets neutralized then...
Nice experiment. I have just placed a 6cm band around some pots after some beans got destroyed - fingers crossed. The positive gradient of the inside of the bowl might help the slugs a little due to more favourable gravity. Normally the tape is on the outside and the slug has to work harder against gravity and has to spend slightly more time on the copper. I imagine having a rim before the copper could help as an obsticle could slow them down so they have to spend more time on the copper so more chance they give up rather than the slug trying to sprint across. For an enhanced experiment you could also include some lettuce leaves within slug sniffing distance.
I was thinking the same thing about the outward slope of most pots presenting a more challenging obstacle. Lifting their bodies over the tape stuck to the surface, especially the tape’s slick surface reduces their ability to remain stuck to it.
Fascinating experiment 10 out of 10.
If you have metal dental work and you’ve accidentally chewed on a bit of aluminum foil, you may have experienced a nasty shock. In this scenario your saliva acts as an electrolyte allowing electricity to flow from one metal to the other creating the equivalent of a battery in your mouth. Apparently snails are a good source of iron, so I wonder if their slimy bodies are acting as an electrolyte allowing electricity to flow between the metals, and shocking them in the process. I have absolutely no proof of this, but that will be my guess. That may also explain why some snails can endure the potentially uncomfortable experience for a period of time...just like you could continue chewing on that aluminum foil until it was too uncomfortable to handle.
I am cringing at the very thought of tinfoil on my fillings, with the hair on the back of my neck and my arms standing up.
@CB-sr8ee who chews on aluminum foil? 😆
Bruh, its like watching a soccer game.
Great vid, ive tried over 10 methods now. The worst being wd 40 and vaseline.. theh love the stuff extra lubricant to cross. Im sure i must have been trolled! Going ro try this next as don't want to use pellets which kill other garden life!
My idea: Make 2 lines of copper tapes close to each other...and connect them to a battery, one to the + the other to the -...so they will short it and receive some DC current, but only when they try to cross over. :-)
Clearly not concerned about the bugs, I like it.
This works using a battery. Single copper tapes do not work.
Is it the taste of the copper or something about electric connectors when they touch it ???
I did expect to see a bowl with that Cu tape and an other bowl without it.
Interesting, I've just ordered some of your copper tape, hopefully it'll deter some of the slugs that are determined to get into my house via my meter cupboard! They always seem quite small guys so 🤞
Stick 2 strips of copper with a centimetre gap between all the way around whatever pot, planter, raised bed, whatever... then, attach a 9v battery to them, the positive to one strip, the negative to the other strip... They WONT EVER cross that line! You just have to check the tape is secure and unbroken and the battery still has charge occasionally. The other way of doing it is, same setup with tape, but, have a solar battery pack (taken from old/knackered LED lights) and wire the positive and negative to the separate strips, this way you'll always have a charged battery, and thus always have an electric barrier to protect from those slimy plant eating buggers! 👌👍😉
😎🇬🇧
But copper oxidizes really quickly
@@Eeda01 Yeah, it does, but, voltage can still be transmitted between the + & - strips, especially when a snail or slug travels over them. Also using copper strips was just one suggestion, aluminium foil tape strips could be another way, as long as a circuit can be made with snail/slug slime... 😏👍
@@thedarkknight1971 but that would quickly become very oxidized too, being outside in the rain
I actually quite enjoyed this video 😃
Yep, this is why I use at least 4 inches of copper tape.
If you are cheapo like me, paint the strip with epoxy, led it cure enough until it is sticky and swirl the pot in salt.
How about a double band, with a small battery connected across them?
I think that would provide a very strong discouragement!!
The actual reason copper tape can be effective is you can use it on combination with a 9v battery to shock them. There are a lot of youtube videos that show you how to do it, but it’s very effective and you only need to replace the battery around once a year.
Wrong, the copper alone creates a shock to them with out any current ran into it due to their body make up. Some just go right through it like a person could go over an electric fence if it wasn't too strong, it'd just be uncomfortable.
Great video, love your way of talking
Awesome tests! Some guy tried to say it was a myth and didn't bother to bust it with a test! This shows there's positive results but not 100%, so not myth!! Hah!
What if the copper tape is replaced with aluminum foil?
@@tkjho do the test, learn for yourself. Btw fabric pots are another prevention. Looks like they cannot stick to it. Now to test used/recycled store bags around pots...
@@c.kainoabugado7935 🤦♂️you could have said you don't know or not replied at all, the whole point of this video, was to not have to conduct these experiments yourself
I understood its the toxic verdigris that causes them pain. Worth testing an oxidised copper strip.
I think the copper has to be polished.
It works because the chemical makeup of the slug has a chemical reaction and hurts the slug.
I think.
Similar to how soapy water dissolves the fatty/waxy armor chitin in beetles, so if you spray them, they die, since soap binds with their skin.
A long time ago I grew marijuana outside and slugs were eating it and then I made a ring of pennies around the crop and didnt get slugs anymore
That's exactly why I'm watching this lol
What if I put juniper branches all around the garden - will that keep them away?
Because it is copper tape can you connect a wire from tape to a battery would the tape carry the current please?
Good test...
Appreciate your test
I put a band of serrated copper tape, serrations pointing down, around the stems of vulnerable plants like young sunflowers. It has worked every time. I missed putting some on a plant support so they bypassed the copper on that and completely nommed another young sunflower. The other ones are untouched though.
Hey there
is this tape is double side conductive or single side?
Hi there! It should be double-side :)
Does the copper oxidize over time and need reapplying?
I have researched and worked with metals here and there in my life a bit and I say yes.
The copper turns green like the statue of liberty and fails to work in the same way you need to polish a brass knob in order for it to keep killing viruses.(yes. Polished brass kills them.)
The same way a car battery positive terminal will get corrosion buildup and need brushed off or the starter will get no battery energy.
Glad to know my 1/4 inch roll I just got won't work. Unless, batteries...
You need to connect 9 v battery
physics conductive + electric field = antenna
I think we can conclude it makes no difference at all, other than to make my pots look like a child's school project.
4
I feel like because they have literally no where else to go, eventually they'll go over the copper line. The bigger ones figured that out quicker. So I think outside it could be more effective in turning them around and heading off the other way
Does the copper tape oxidize, and does that effect its use?
Try egg shells
you need copper with +2 oxidation state for this to work
4:49 yeee .. young coffee plants ❤️
You did a great job! Thanks for your honesty.
use copper 2 sulphate. spray on them.
No it doesn't work
Good