By Frank Ross
In addition to copper’s amazing properties, it is also an effective tool for controlling other bothersome pests such as mosquitoes and slugs.
Photo by Robin Rosetta.
People living in damp climates, such as the Pacific Northwest, are often plagued with slimy, creeping, plant-eating slugs. There are about 40 different kinds of slugs living in the U.S., but only about half of them are considered pests. The good news is, you don’t have to know what kind of slug you have because the methods of control are the same for all of them.
Slugs have voracious appetites and can destroy a garden over night if enough of them slither in. While chemicals are available, a far safer method of controlling slugs is to set up barriers of copper strips. Some people even use a line of copper pennies to establish a barrier that snails can’t cross. Although these coins current value is probably greater for their recycled metal, strips of copper sheeting are far easier to work with and less likely to be disturbed.
According to University of Idaho extension entomologist Bob Stoltz, there is an environmentally friendly method that repels slugs and doesn’t put harmful chemicals into the soil. Barriers made of strips of copper sheeting work very well because copper causes a reaction with the slug’s mucous that is similar to an electric shock, and that is what repels the slugs.
Making your own copper barriers is simple. Cut the copper sheeting into strips at least two or three inches wide and place them along the edge of your garden’s border, pressing the metal down approximately one inch into the soil. Just make sure you’ve removed all of the slugs from the area you are encircling, or you’ll be keeping the slugs inside instead of out.
You can also use copper strips to prevent slugs from climbing the trunks of trees. If you attach the strips at the end using paperclips instead of a permanent seal, the copper strips will be able to expand as the tree grows and the trunk expands.
The all too familiar droning hum of an approaching mosquito is standard fare during summer months, and in warmer climates there really is no down time for this deadly driller. That’s right; a mosquito’s bite can be far more serious than an itching whelp.
These pesky insects may be small, but each year their bite spreads diseases to more than 700 million people worldwide. Mosquito borne diseases include malaria, and viruses such as dengue, encephalitis and yellow fever. And, don’t forget about heartworms in pets.
Copper can’t help you once these bugs are airborne, but the best method of killing mosquitoes is when they’re in the early stages of development. Mosquitoes deposit their larvae in standing water. Without water they can’t reproduce, so the first line of defense is to make sure there are no reservoirs of standing water around your home. It doesn’t have to be much water either, water in the bottoms of planters or birdbaths are common sources for breeding bugs. The best option is to have no standing water, but in areas where it rains a lot this becomes a weekly if not daily task.
A better solution is to take copper scraps and drop them into areas that hold water. Copper leeches into the water and the copper solution is toxic to mosquito larva. A solution of copper water will kill mosquito larva before they can mature. Before you start sprinkling copper scraps into water, remember it is toxic to tropical fish and invertebrates as well, but if your water has tropical fish in it, they should be eating the mosquito larvae.
You may have to do some experimenting to determine how much copper to put into the various places where you need to establish mosquito control, but it doesn’t take much. Start out with a few short pieces of copper tubing or strips of copper sheeting and come back in a few days to see if you have little wiggling larvae in your water. If so, just add a little more copper.
For controlling insects, other than mosquitoes and slugs, copper is still effective. Simply place the insect between two pieces of copper and press hard!
For more information on slugs and gardening issues, check out the Oregon State University Web site.
And, for all your copper sheeting needs, contact the staff at quickshipMetals.com
Thanks for the information. I had been looking for a safe solution and now I have it. Love the blog!
Anne
Hi Just read your article and thought you would like to know of a brilliant slug protector….I like you and most gardeners suffer from slugs and snails in this damp weather and in fact now that the climate has changed we have the slug and snail problem all year round, I have tried beer traps, copper tape, and wire salt, egg shells, even throwing them in my neighbours garden etc,etc all these methods are not practical long lasting and are harmful to our wildlife. recently a lady gardener recommended a new device to control slugs and snails called the slugbell she has used it and found it to be absolutely brilliant at controlling them I have just ordered 6 of them to place around my flowers and vegetable garden ,here is there web page http://www.slugbell.com they use both Organic or Normal bug pellets and that the small amount of pellets needed will last up to three months.!!! as they don’t dissolve in the soil and are pet i.e. Cat , Dog and wildlife Safe Brilliant for us pet owners , I will try anything to keep my pets safe and my garden looking how it should whilst protecting natures cycle. hope this is useful information to your gardeners.