Does Copper Tape Slugs Barrier Work? Tested: Pass or Fail?

I’ve been wanting to try out copper tape slugs and snail barrier as a method to stop or at least prevent damage to my plants for a while. Copper is said to repel slugs and snails by giving them a small static shock as they attempt to pass over the material.

Last year must have been the worst year ever for gardeners. The continually wet summer and autumn saw slug and snail populations skyrocket. My allotment plot was stripped, and I brought in absolutely nothing during harvest. I think that it is now time to test the copper tape slugs and snail barrier and find out how much protection it truly offers.

Buying copper tape – Stop slugs & snails!

Initially, I was put off by the cost—typically £5 of copper tape for about 4 metres on a 4 cm roll. However, I found a few suppliers online (eBay) offering the same product for a fraction of the price. I paid around £8 for 16 metres. It’s always worth shopping around for your copper tape.

During March, I started to apply the copper slug tape around the base of my greenhouse staging. I had about 20 trays of seedlings to protect. Later, I applied the same tape around flower tubs and troughs, into which I planted flowers and vegetables that I knew the slugs and snails would love to strip bare.

I had to ensure that whatever I adhered the copper to was clean and dry. It’s very similar to sellotape in its adhesive qualities. However, self-adhesive copper slug tape is very strong. It’s much like thick, high-quality oven foil. If you need extra adhesion, you could try glueing it on. The copper tape slug barrier seems to stay put without further glueing.

Slugs & Snails – nil pois?

It’s now the end of July, and I am reasonably happy to report a modest success rate with the copper tape for slug and snail protection. This year, I’m growing Hostas, Pak Choi, French marigolds, and Larkspur. These plants, in the past, have been magnets for slugs in my garden. So far, they are all looking very healthy, with no signs of damage. I did notice a single solitary snail in one of my planters, but there was no damage to report. Perhaps the experience of crossing the copper tape caused them to lose their appetites.

I also applied the copper tape slugs and snail barrier around the bases of my young runner beans and French climbing beans. I used a 10 cm length of PVC drainpipes with rings of tape applied around the top. Again, as with the other protected plants, there have been no casualties this year.

Copper tape Slug Barrier: My verdict

From my experiences this year, copper slug tape is only partially effective in creating a barrier and protecting my plants. This is because I have to factor in other things, such as dryer weather and the use of several other slug and snail control methods. So, to answer the question, does copper tape for slugs & snails work? I believe it helps, but only to a certain degree. You will need to combine it with other methods of slug and snail control for a satisfying level of protection. Copper tape slugs and snail barrier is just another tool to add to your arsenal in the war against slugs and snails. But I believe it to be a valid one all the same.

It’s all about balance

I would suggest using a mixture of methods to best control slugs and snails in your garden:

• Copper tape for slug protection: This will stop most slugs and snails in their tracks, but not all.
• Hand-picking and disposal: Not the nicest of jobs, but if done every night, will yield good results. Use gloves when picking up slugs. It can be difficult to wash the slime off your hands. I use a head torch and check my garden every night during spring and summer. Your workload will increase during wet weather!
• Reptiles: Attract slowworms into your garden. They love eating slugs and snails. Give them an incentive to call your garden “home”. A piece of corrugated iron is a perfect dwelling for most slow worms.
• Chemical intervention: Use ORGANICALLY APPROVED slug pellets. They work exceptionally well. An excellent method if you are overwhelmed by slugs and snails. Organic, Ferric phosphate-based pellets will shut down their digestive system. Slugs and snails will bury themselves in the soil and die after digesting these pellets, leaving no mess.
• Beer traps: Bury a jam jar up to its rim near your crops and fill it with beer. Slugs and snails aren’t picky. Cheap beer will do.
• Avoid Metaldehyde-based slug pellets: Unless the pellets have the organic seal of approval, they are likely to contain very harmful chemicals that will harm other animals and perhaps even children. They are not as effective as organic slug pellets. Avoid it at all costs!
• Do not count on hedgehogs! Yes, you heard me correctly. Slugs and snails often carry a parasite called a lungworm. Lungworms are very harmful to hedgehogs and possibly account for half of their population decline in the UK. You are better off trying to encourage slow worms, frogs, and toads into your garden to keep down the slug and snail populations.

Use the methods above, and you will be amazed at how slug and snail-free your garden has become. I am certainly impressed. It is lovely to grow many of the varieties of plants, that in the past, I called “slug food”.

Watch the following video to see how they react to copper tape slugs and snail barrier placed around a pot:

Still a sceptic? Do you really want to push the topic of using a copper tape slug and snail barrier to a shocking level? How about you electrify your copper (or conductive metal) with a 9-volt battery? That should work!

Further reading on slug & snail control

• Natural organic slug and pest control
• Here is another article and opinion on this topic

Frequently asked questions regarding Copper Slug & Snail barrier tape