View source for Blog:Slug sleeve keeps out slugs without pesticide

[[Image:Slug collar-IMG 6348.jpg|thumb|300px|Copper pipe sections as slug barriers.]]
I've known for years that strips of copper a couple of inches wide make an impenetrable barrier to [[snail]]s and [[slug]]s.  On bigger, more established plants, I can usually manage these pests by plucking them off in the morning, but the damage to tiny seedlings can be lethal.  After losing some of my [[bean]] and [[pepper]] plants this spring, I went out looking for some copper sheets at Home Depot, without any luck.  Because the plants are so small though, I decided to just use a few inch long sections of copper pipe I cut to size (3.5 inches in this case) and just slide it over the plant.  It's been in place a few days now and the weather has gotten warmer, and the plants are loving it!  They've already grown noticeably since this photo, and not one bit of slug damage since.  Every morning I've checked, and the pipes have been impenetrable to the slugs.

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