I am new to the list and hope this works correctly--the first time always
makes you a bit nervous... Just recently something was eating my
strawberries like crazy. But when I "carefully examined" the plants I found
nothing. Someone told me that it might be slugs and that beer worked really
well. So I tried it. The first night I caught 83 slugs. The second night I
caught 47. The third 23. Now, I'm the only one to enjoy my strawberries!!!
Beer works on Texas slugs!
Dear Steven
Glad the beer thing works well for you!!
Rather than using "drinking grade beer", you can make your own very simply:
1 Heaping Tablespoon of flour
1 Heaping tablespoon of sugar
1 Quart of water
Plus a bit of yeast...
What you end up with is a cross between beer and bread, but there is no tax
burden.
Would you like to do an experiment to advance the science of slug repulsion?
If so, I'll be glad to send you some copper foil, and you can get the
galvanized iron strip locally.
Heres what is supposed to happen: The slugs contact the copper foil, and they
are repelled, Either because the copper sets up a little electrolytic effect,
and they get a tiny shock, OR the copper ion is toxic to them. If it is the
former mechanism, then standard galvanized iron would work better, in that zinc
is higher on the electromotive scale, and the slugs would get a stronger
tingle. Also, galvanized iron sheet is far cheaper than copper.
Heres the experiment:
Cut copper foil strips into 2" lengths, and wrap around the stem of the plant
to be protected. Stick the foil to itself, tso that there is no constraint to
plant growth.
Get 1" wide strips of 18 to 22 ga galvanized sheet metal, 2" long, and form
into a circle. Open up, slip around the plant stem, and then pinch it back to a
closed circle.
Then note if the copper and galvanizad iron barriers work equivalently well.
And FINALLY: Tell me your results, so that I can figger the best way to keep
the little buggers offa my tomatillos!! :-)
If this experiment turns your crank, please let me know your snail mail
address, and I'll immediately mail you a few feet of 1" wide copper foil.
Happy slugging :-)
Kevin Chisholm
Steven Horelica wrote:
