Anyone valuing their plants will develop a passionate hatred of things like slugs. They eat lupins and veg, and they don't even look decorative while they're doing it! They're like slothful versions of horseflies and wasps, there to do very little that would be called useful. They put the "tesque" into "grow".
We've just created some new raised beds for plants and need some protective barriers against snails and slugs. Sharp sand around the bases of the planters is the first line of defence, and these conductive copper tapes are the second. They should remain decorative enough to actually enhance the sleepers they will be passed around, and have certainly improved the look of our plant pots in which we keep lupins and some other "slug lunch" plants.
We opted for 30mm width because the electrical potential that they create in slugs will not put the slug off crossing the tape unless it is wide enough. If the slug gets even a hint that there is something beyond the tape that might be worth the discomfort, it'll go for it! Best to make it as uncomfortable as possible then.
The only thing to bear in mind is that these tapes can easily be defeated if parts of the plants being protected, or those nearby that may not be protected, droop or bridge the space between pots and allow slugs to bypass the taped off routes. Don't think that they won't find that way - they will!
Provided you space the protected plants aside from unprotected areas and take care to remove drooping leaves (lupins have this habit) you will find the tapes work fine. We had our first "serious lupins" last year after ages of trying other ways to keep slugs away, it was only when we realised that the coppery look could actually enhance things like terracotta that we opted for it.
So far the adhesive is fine as well, but these are fairly newly on the sleepers so only time will tell.
Edit 13-9-17 : I've noticed that a couple of the tapes have started to peel away from the sleepers at the ends, as though water ingress has affected the adhesive. This was fixed by ensuring that the tapes around things are properly lapped over themselves when they've fully gone around the pot or raised flowerbed, you have to lap the tape over itself by two or three inches, after which it tends to stay put.
| Package Dimensions | 17.3 x 13.2 x 3.8 cm; 290 g |
|---|---|
| Part number | 350324 |
| Manufacturer | Direct Products |
| Manufacturer reference | 350324 |
| ASIN | B00DDVFJIG |
