Baby plants can get eaten overnight at this time of year so Esteban & I came up with a unique way to protect them from hungry slugs & snails using a 9V battery connected to two loops of galvanised steel representing the negative and positive. I put the LED in there so we can get a clear visual which tells us the connection is good.
The idea is that when the slug tries to pass it makes a connection between the two wires with its slimy body and gets a shock. Keen to see if this worked we ran a test with live slugs.
I also heard recently that copper can be used to deter slugs without any electric current so we put this idea to the test at the same time.
The slugs were all acquired from around our garden, hiding under rocks and pieces of wood.
Four little beauties ready to fly :)
Not easy to get them out without touching them.
Our experiment course looked like this at the beginning.
A lettuce or rocket flower treat was left in the middle of each circle.
As I mentioned, our goal was twofold, to investigate the effectiveness of copper alone and a 9V battery connected to steel loops.
Waiting is the name of the game now.
Excitedly we watched as the slug went between two of the copper circles.
Initially it appeared as if the slug didn't like the copper and moved away from it.
But then it went directly to the thinner copper and passed right over it.
Straight to the lettuce treat within.
No time for eating! The same slug was then tested on the smallest copper circle, made by Esteban.
This time a rocket flower awaited it within.
Again it was unaffected by the copper and went gliding right over it, straight past the flower which ended up getting stuck on its bum.
Approaching the final test now. Can it get past the two wires?
Initially it appeared to be no problem...
...but after a moment the slug suddenly recoiled like this.
You can't feel anything with your hand making the connection but to a slug it probably feels quite intense.
Twice the slug tried the manoeuvre and twice it failed. On the third attempt it knew to change direction, going now towards my hand.
Not terribly scientific and definitely cruel to slugs but I would call this proof of concept.
A few moments later the slug showed us clearly how even the thicker copper was not an issue.
Sorry copper, on this occasion you are no good. Electrified steel wins.
The children insisted the experiment was not yet over so I watched as they placed the slug inside the circle to see if it could escape.
It was a joy watching their joy, despite the evident cruelty to slugs!
The slug made its way onto the first wire without any problems.
But as soon as it made contact with the second wire it recoiled again like this.
As before it seemed to recognise the danger ahead and immediately started to turn away from it. So was ultimately trapped inside the circle.
I told my two little torturers this was enough now.
There is no doubt this works and it is now protecting an overwintered physalis in our courtyard which keeps getting its new growth eaten.
The blue Lakovsky coil has been there for a month already, aiding the overall strength of the plant.
Final thoughts
If you are going to try this yourself I recommend a more solid design! Mine is a bit temperamental with a high potential for the connection to be lost. A better system would involve one of these which you can buy at minimal cost.
I believe this slug protection system would be particularly effective around the top of a raised bed. No matter how big. You just want to make sure your two pieces of wire are well attached to the wood (flat to the surface) and close enough together to account for the smallest of slugs. At this time of year some of them are so tiny but still very hungry!
Wonder if you could even power this with an earth battery?
The above collection of copper tubes, zinc plated screws and damp soil produced over 5V so I don't see why not. The amperage on the other hand is a lot lower than the 9V battery so would it still provide sufficient power to deter the slug? Not sure.
Perhaps you could let us know if this is an experiment you would like to see?
There are so many different experiments on the go at the moment it is getting difficult to keep up!
I know I told you in my last post that electroculture updates were coming soon but it would appear this little slug adventure has taken more words to create than I anticipated, so the updates will be in the next post, posted in the new electroculture community which if you are not already a part of, please come and join us.
The more of us who post our electroculture results there, the easier it will be for newcomers to believe it is possible and embark immediately upon their own exciting journey of discovery back towards the knowledge which was once commonplace to us.
Love & Light everyone π±
If I remember correctly, it was strips of thin copper tape that are used, on trunks of plants/ trees, or around pots, to deter slugs. Or dried eggshells, or hair cuttings from a hairdresser, or coffee grounds from a cafΓ©. Or traps with water and sugar/ similar, dug into the earth.
My gardening techniques tend not to attract slugs (that overly intrude on my edible plants), as I wouldn't plant anything particularly in a solitary position: all the plants grow thickly together, and this allows abundant eating for any insect or slimey-one, without 'taking' from us... :-D Most insect 'problems' stem from us over-controlling the environment, rather than allowing nature to fully express herself, and us walking beside her (rather than standing in 'opposition'). I don't mean that to sound patronising or anything! - it's just a different overall approach, and gets vibrant results, but perhaps slower cycles of more abundance. I think Fukuoka speaks to this.
Exciting to see your children learning about electricity like this - beautiful to see them so engaged and passionate.
Strips of copper hey. Hadn't thought of that. Would be interested to run another test with this. Coffee grounds is another good one. We produce a fair bit of that which usually goes to the compost. Are the sugar traps designed to kill them? Am guessing they can't swim!
Grouping everything close together keeping it tight is a good idea for sure. Just having an abundance of everything helps a lot to divert attention from those few small bits which get eaten. It's more the young plants which are just starting I can see getting eaten. A few tiny sunflowers and cucumbers have gone in recent days.
I very much feel the need to let go of my desire to plant things in neat groups and am grateful to now be in my second year on this land because so many things choose for themselves where they want to grow. Like those sunflowers I mentioned. All you have to do is plant them once and let the wind do the rest! My new rule is that whenever I see an unexpected and useful plant where it shouldn't be, I let it stay there. To me it seems as if this is nature expressing herself.
Googled Fukuoka but couldn't see anything which seemed to relate. Other than a city in Japan?
https://www.permaculturenews.org/2020/07/25/the-philosophy-of-masanobu-fukuoka/ Here's a link to some info about Masanobu Fukuoka to get started, dear @samstonehill - I actually never studied much about him, but got a very general overview when I was immersed in permaculture things a couple of decades ago, and was always hearing references to him - he's highly revered for the kind of in-tune harmony with landscape and plants that we're learning.
It's fab to hear your thought process... yes, getting out of neat groups/ lines... and yes, the young seedlings in pots or solitary positions: I didn't do a huge amount of potting up or seedling beds in my growing career, but cold frames in the UK worked well, and are easier to mulch selectively, to grow seeds up to a hardier state - buuuuut, then when they get replanted it just creates a similar 'tourist' kind of a vibe, where Nature will see a weak spot and be attracted to something 'out of place' (mugging tourists!).
I had a wee download reading your response here too, about my own inability to Trust the young plants to grow themselves where they choose - my over-coddling them, and creating weakness so that they can't fend for themselves - that classic 'thinking we're helping' which causes further and more complex problems. Again, this is linked to scarcity thinking, and the fact that we've been conditioned into buying tiny packs of just a few seeds, which then are not likely to flourish - when Nature creates VAST quantities, and Fukuoka spoke to that - to throwing handfuls of seeds into areas which we know will support the plant that we're seeding: tweaking selectively, but doing no more than that. π
So yes, a big part of my learning curve in Italy has been to study local wisdom around wild plant foraging, and then add to it via books and cross-referencing/ seeing how plants relate to ones I know in Scotland. The more I do this, the more I recognise that almost ALL the plants growing freely here are EDIBLE - almost none are poisonous or not-useful. That kind of blows my mind, as it opens the horizon significantly for creating a garden rich in food and useful plants, and also immune to both natural invasive destruction as well as human invasive distruction! (There's a culture of theft here that can be problematic as folks earn less money and the cost of food rises.)
It's great to chat with you here, Sam! Thanks for the stimulating conversation always!
Beautiful. Have been teaching my children exactly this for years already though I didn't have much evidence for its truth till this moment ;)
Thanks for the super interesting response. Lots of nuggets in there!
Having collected seeds for a few years now I have 100% moved on from that scarcity feeling you mentioned and sewing in huge swathes seems logical. Though for the most part I have realised that sewing is no longer needed at all. Lettuces for example are popping up everywhere at this time of year and the only action I need to take is to move them off the paths. Coz they will get squished if I don't.
Love the borage forest and the hidden cat!
Checking the link now...
Ah, beautiful, and YES to just watching nature throw things up in front of us!! Me too, finding lettuce and cabbage all around: even if I planted them in a pot, they tend to move somewhere else mystically :-D Heheh! Glorious work we're doing, guardians in Nature...
Hey @samstonehill
This looks like a fun project as I see a lot of kids getting involved. Though I feel for the slugs maybe one could try it with a lower voltage and see if it still does the job so that the slugs are driven away without any harm.
Indeed a very ingenious project and deserves applause and plenty of attention.
Looking at all the green in the open spaces you share in your post I am tempted to share todays daily prompt on leo threads which is #greentuesday
I see posts with a lot of greens and The occasional Slugs photobombing the image.
If you tell these people about your DIY invention here
it would be might help
Let me know if you need any help logging onto leo threads with your existing hive user name.
A little tip: you can do it easily using the hive keychain.
Hey there! Good call using a lower voltage battery. I would certainly be interested to see if it works with 3V.
I was able to log in to Leo but are you sure it is appropriate? Not too many open spaces in this post!
yes leo threads is legit, appropriate and open to all hive users
While leo finance.io is finance centric.
Leo threads is like the twitter and anyone on hive can create a thread here.
Also if you use some relevant tags then you get greater visibility.
Also do not forget to join the $10000 thread promotion quest here
Do drop me a comment if you need any assistance and here is a quick guide for thread
This one is for the the $10000 quest
Before I leave a quick reminder
Once you click the thread you would see a pop up from hive keychain click confirm
One more thing: add the #hivegarden tag to your garden related thread so that the hivegarden curation team can spot your thread and curate it.
Do share your first leo thread with me.
Love it will get one set up this year. Slugs are rife in my area as big as your hand and that is not an exaggeration. Be interesting if it does work with the earth battery!
At some point I still want to dig my existing earth battery into the ground to see if I can get a higher voltage than I did on the table. Just haven't quite reached that moment yet...
But I suppose once this is done it would be very simple from there to create another test. Will keep you informed!
Nice one. Yes not experimented mu h here yet been wild times. Struggling with living in England currently, focusing on keeping my energies high and how to escape this island ππ½
"The amperage on the other hand is a lot lower than the 9V battery so would it still provide sufficient power to deter the slug?"
Another experiment for the little torturers?
Have just ordered lots of little crocodile clips so you can be sure that experiment is coming...
i just use egg shells...
Nice! Have tried this before with a bit of success, till the wind blew too many pieces away or the children squished them into the ground under their naught little feet ;)
I like the battery design because it is clear and simple (especially with the LED) and if you build it well you have a 100% guarantee of no slugs or snails for life, with no further effort required. Except for the occasional change of battery.
How you doing?
I never got an answer to my last question on telegram.
I'm good!
had to reinstall win7 on my old laptop
all programs are not yet installed, cause i still have some issues...
Fair enough.
Hope you get it all sorted...
if you don't mind to ask the last question again
[email protected]
was unable to install telegram anew...
this version of win7 is called "untouched/untouchable" :D no updates available and i think even ports are blocked cause i'm unable to download even .NET framework, which is needed for most of softs.. :P
still happy cause my 11old veteran laptop is running fast with a pure system..
also experimenting with live linux bootable usb drive for more independent experience :P
Tried this in Bali when I first discovered crypto but found it to be slow. Perhaps things have improved now? These days I am running linux manjaro on my desktop and it seems pretty good. Though sometimes a bit unstable.
Will get back to you with that email.
i liked linux mint (cinnamon) and one very basic - puppy linux - only 200+ mb and working fast...
still having some windows software with no analog on linux tho...
Many thanks!
I am a City girl, always have been but I love reading your experiments and feel inspired, even to try to grow my own vegetables.
If you do, just make sure to add an electroculture device to your plant! It will make a world of difference ;)
Thanks for sharing your excitement.
Even if they are indoors?
100%. A copper spiral plugged into any plant with soil indoors or out, will have a positive effect.
Thank you so much. I will definitely try itπ