This year is the first year I decided to create a raised bed for my vegi’s. I didn’t know if it would save me any money on buying produce but I was given a small box (yes I love free) by a friend that fit perfectly on the ugly electrical box in my front yard that gets full sun. I painted the outside of the box to match the other fences in the yard and filled it with organic soil and got to planting. It is the cutest little garden and I was thrilled.
* I go out early one morning and my little leafy plants are all eaten and I see these nasty little slugs having breakfast. Yuck those little slimy things love my kale.
How do I get rid of them you ask?
* Google is a great thing, I researched and found that snails/slugs don’t like copper
* I just happen to have some copper screen in my garage that I picked up at a reclaimed building store for 3 bucks.
* Wrap the box in copper and the slugs disappear (you could also use copper tape)
* My little garden is growing by leaps and bounds. I am cutting and eating lettuce, kale, basil, and peppers each week.
Update: Today I go out to check before work again and guess what those damn little guys are back. I could not believe it, what happened?
1. There is a bush behind my planter bed that the leaves are in bloom and now hang over the top of the planter box
2. Those smart little nasty slugs figured out how to climb the leaves avoiding the copper and falling into the planter bed to eat.
3. Needless to say that plant has now been scalped and no longer hangs over my box.
4. As punishment for them coming back I picked them all out individually and covered them in salt, yep I tortured them.
5. I normally catch and release all critters but in this case I see no beneficial reason for a slugs, they died today RIP…
SsGreenBean 