Slugs - Phosphor Bronze

[Judith in England]

A friend gave me some lengths of Phosphor Bronze draught excluder he found in
his garage - apparently very popular in the 60s.

It is something like 95% copper.

I thought that it would be perfect for nailing around my raised beds as a slug
deterrent: so I tried a little experiment.

I cut four strips of the material and nailed them to a flat piece of wood in a
square. I then put a slug in the middle of the square. It slowly made its way
across the square - and then straight over the "copper" strip.

Does anyone use copper as a slug deterrent and do you think it makes any
difference?

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

Phosphor bronze is about 95% copper but it does not behave like copper
at all. It won't deter slugs and neither will pure copper unless it's
going green. Alternate strips of copper tape and steel tape will deter
slugs because of the electricity produced!

Steve

--
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

[Pete C]

"Stephen Wolstenholme" <eas...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:7ghkp8hjfh8olnnub...@4ax.com...

> On Mon, 20 May 2013 16:27:36 +0100, Judith in England
> <jmsmi...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
. It won't deter slugs and neither will pure copper unless it's
> going green.

I beg to differ Stephen. I've tried copper strips and it seemed to work
until it went green when slugs happily crawled over it.
--
Pete C

[Judith in England]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 17:10:15 +0100, Chris Hogg <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

>On Mon, 20 May 2013 16:27:36 +0100, Judith in England
><jmsmi...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>>

>>A friend gave me some lengths of Phosphor Bronze draught excluder he found in
>>his garage - apparently very popular in the 60s.
>

>Ah yes, Atomic Strip, still available if you Google for it. Effective
>as a draught excluder and durable.

>
>>It is something like 95% copper.
>>
>>I thought that it would be perfect for nailing around my raised beds as a slug
>>deterrent: so I tried a little experiment.
>>
>>I cut four strips of the material and nailed them to a flat piece of wood in a
>>square. I then put a slug in the middle of the square. It slowly made its way
>>across the square - and then straight over the "copper" strip.
>>
>>Does anyone use copper as a slug deterrent and do you think it makes any
>>difference?
>

>Never tried it, and never really understood why it was supposed to
>work. One web site talks about a 'static charge', which it can't be (a
>static charge would almost instantly leak away in those
>circumstances), others talk about 'a small electrical charge', which
>might be nearer the truth. I suppose it's possible that a small
>voltage may be established between the copper and the slug slime or
>earth, along the lines of a battery, that gives the slug a tingle,
>thus causing it to recoil. In which case your experiment might have
>been more successful if the piece of wood and copper strip were wet
>and in contact with the ground (I'm assuming they weren't).


I must admit that did occur to me. But I have seen the copper tape advertised
as being useful round raised beds - so I wasn't certain that there had to be
ground contact.
Also I have heard of people putting the tape half way up large pots - so no
earth contact.

I will try at least wet everything and try it again.

(If I can "catch" a slug that is :-)

[Pam Moore]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 22:25:26 +0100, Judith in England

I understood that for the copper tape to work you have to put 2 strips
with a gap of no more than 1 inch between. The slug will recoil when
it touches the second strip, due to the electric shock it gets when in
contact with both strips. I used it once years ago and decided it
didn't work when I found a snail on the side of the pot between the 2
strips of copper. I had put them too far apart.


Pam in Bristol

[Baz]

Judith in England <jmsmi...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in
news:stfkp8d8rfu3kpju9...@4ax.com:

I read ages ago that dissimilar metals can cause an electric current.
(basics for a small charge). Elecrolite static charge? We can get corrosion
from this and during this process a polaric field can be obtained. It is
arguable that this is how life was formed with the aid of liquid water.

Baz

[Bob Hobden]

"Baz" wrote

>I read ages ago that dissimilar metals can cause an electric current.
>(basics for a small charge). Elecrolite static charge? We can get corrosion
>from this and during this process a polaric field can be obtained. It is
>arguable that this is how life was formed with the aid of liquid water.
>
>
>

That's why you don't use Stainless Steel screws/bolts in Aluminium. The Ally
will just corrode away.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

[Phil Cook]

On 21/05/2013 13:32, Bob Hobden wrote:
> "Baz" wrote
>> I read ages ago that dissimilar metals can cause an electric current.
>> (basics for a small charge). Elecrolite static charge? We can get corrosion
>>from this and during this process a polaric field can be obtained. It is
>> arguable that this is how life was formed with the aid of liquid water.
>>
>>
>>
> That's why you don't use Stainless Steel screws/bolts in Aluminium. The Ally
> will just corrode away.

It depends. Large area of aluminium fastened by stainless steel is
usually considered safe. The other way round and you are asking for
trouble. Up the ante by introducing sea air and it is best to insulate
the joint.
--
Phil Cook

[stuart noble]

On 21/05/2013 13:32, Bob Hobden wrote:

> "Baz" wrote
>> I read ages ago that dissimilar metals can cause an electric current.
>> (basics for a small charge). Elecrolite static charge? We can get
>> corrosion
>> from this and during this process a polaric field can be obtained. It is
>> arguable that this is how life was formed with the aid of liquid water.
>>
>>
>>
> That's why you don't use Stainless Steel screws/bolts in Aluminium. The
> Ally will just corrode away.

So what combination of metals would stand the best chance of success do
you think?

[damdu...@yahoo.co.uk]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 16:27:36 +0100, Judith in England
<jmsmi...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:

>
>
>A friend gave me some lengths of Phosphor Bronze draught excluder he found in
>his garage - apparently very popular in the 60s.
>
>It is something like 95% copper.
>
>I thought that it would be perfect for nailing around my raised beds as a slug
>deterrent: so I tried a little experiment.
>
>I cut four strips of the material and nailed them to a flat piece of wood in a
>square. I then put a slug in the middle of the square. It slowly made its way
>across the square - and then straight over the "copper" strip.
>

I have a small railway around part of the garden. Most of the track is
nickel silver but some is phosphor bronze.
Slugs still crawl over it, even if the power is on. Thats only about
15 Volts but as that does not seem to stop them I don't think the
miniscule amount created by copper strips is going to worry them.
Connected to the mains or an agricultural electric fence it might but
in my case that would upset next doors cat.
G Harman

G Harman

[stuart noble]

Interesting

[David Hill]

> I have a small railway around part of the garden. Most of the track is
> nickel silver but some is phosphor bronze.
> Slugs still crawl over it, even if the power is on. Thats only about
> 15 Volts but as that does not seem to stop them I don't think the
> miniscule amount created by copper strips is going to worry them.
> Connected to the mains or an agricultural electric fence it might but
> in my case that would upset next doors cat.
> G Harman
>
> G Harman
>

That's because...........

Wait for it .........

Wait for it......

You have then trained

[Darkside]

In article <stfkp8d8rfu3kpju9...@4ax.com>, Judith in
England <jmsmi...@hotmail.co.uk> writes

>
>
>Does anyone use copper as a slug deterrent and do you think it makes any
>difference?
>

A friend bought some to experiment. He has two pots with box topiary
where slugs and snails like to shelter: he puts slug pellets on top of
the compost and usually finds plenty of dead gastropods.
With one strip of shiny copper tape around each pot he gets no dead
slugs or snails at all so he deduced that the tape keeps them out.

I told him he should've taped one pot and kept the other as a control:
he blew a raspberry at me and put the kettle on.

All the speculation as to how it works is just that: speculation (with
maybe a smidge of quantum fruitloopery). It's interesting that it
doesn't seem to work consistently. If I could get some I'd try
different species of gastropod in different conditions.

Now, where can I get lily beetle tape?
--
Sue ]:(:)

[RustyHinge]

To be effective you want a zinc strip and a copper one, about a quarter
of an inch apart.

I doubt very much that the draught excluder strip is phosphor bronze,
which is a bearing material.

--
Rusty Hinge

[RustyHinge]

Whelks?

> Now, where can I get lily beetle tape?

The stationer. Double-sided sticky tape will catch them all - and
everything else.

--
Rusty Hinge

[Dave Liquorice]

On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:55:35 +0100, RustyHinge wrote:

> I doubt very much that the draught excluder strip is phosphor bronze,
> which is a bearing material.

Also known as "Atomic Strip" still available and the ads say it's
pure copper. However the old stuff that I have (somewhere) is very
springy, far more than copper from a bit of tube or hot water
cylinder. I guess it might be cold rolled to harden it but wouldn't
that also make it brittle?

Certainly the stuff I have, which is probably in the order of 50
years or more old hasn't tarnished like copper does in air. It's not
bright but it still has a bit of a shine not the matt dark brown that
copper goes in dry air. I'd say mine at least is a copper alloy of
some sort, Phosphor Bronze is what my Dad called it. Beryllium Copper
is also springy and hard but beryllium is toxic and I suspect more
expensive than tin...

--
Cheers
Dave.

[RustyHinge]

On 04/06/13 00:51, Dave Liquorice wrote:
> On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:55:35 +0100, RustyHinge wrote:
>
>> I doubt very much that the draught excluder strip is phosphor bronze,
>> which is a bearing material.
>
> Also known as "Atomic Strip" still available and the ads say it's
> pure copper. However the old stuff that I have (somewhere) is very
> springy, far more than copper from a bit of tube or hot water
> cylinder. I guess it might be cold rolled to harden it but wouldn't
> that also make it brittle?

May be beryllium copper - the stuff Beatty uses for tellingbone wires.
Very springy and not distorted easily. (I use it for UHF/Microwave aerials)

> Certainly the stuff I have, which is probably in the order of 50
> years or more old hasn't tarnished like copper does in air. It's not
> bright but it still has a bit of a shine not the matt dark brown that
> copper goes in dry air. I'd say mine at least is a copper alloy of
> some sort, Phosphor Bronze is what my Dad called it. Beryllium Copper
> is also springy and hard but beryllium is toxic and I suspect more
> expensive than tin...

Hum. Copper will alloy with a surprising number of metals to make a
range of 'bronzes': aluminium, nickel, zirconium, tin and beryllium are
the most common (I think...) but a little silver counterintuitively
hardens it to something like steel.

--
Rusty Hinge

[meow...@care2.com]

On Monday, June 3, 2013 10:58:39 PM UTC+1, RustyHinge wrote:
> On 23/05/13 10:00, Darkside wrote:
> > In article <stfkp8d8rfu3kpju9...@4ax.com>, Judith in
> > England <jmsmi...@hotmail.co.uk> writes

much snip

> >> Does anyone use copper as a slug deterrent and do you think it makes any
> >> difference?

> > With one strip of shiny copper tape around each pot he gets no dead
> > slugs or snails at all so he deduced that the tape keeps them out.

> > All the speculation as to how it works is just that: speculation (with

indeed, no-one seems to know. Electrical hypotheses dont really add up. A single strip of copper on a dry plastic pot wont do anything electrical to anyone.

> > maybe a smidge of quantum fruitloopery). It's interesting that it
> > doesn't seem to work consistently. If I could get some I'd try
> > different species of gastropod in different conditions.
> Whelks?
> > Now, where can I get lily beetle tape?

> The stationer. Double-sided sticky tape will catch them all - and
> everything else.

I tried parcel tape wrapped inside out, slugs crawl over it with impunity. I guess the slime makes them not stick.

After all other measures had failed and plants were on the edge of oblivion, I took a gamble and put copper wire strands round the plant stems. Its worked a treat. I just took one strand from some mains flex, wrapped it 1-3 turns round the stem, job done. Where slugs could get on the plants by other routes I wrapped those similarly.

More established plants of the same species and same location arent affected, so maybe I wont need to do it next year.


NT