I have a small magnolia, ~4ft, that struggles to grow because of
predation by slugs & snails. I have tried phosphate-based slug pellets
around the base, but they get carried away and presumably eaten by
field mice who live in the stone wall nearby (I have one such mouse on
camera!). I suspect the S&S live there as well.

I have some short off-cuts of 1.5 and 2.5mm domestic wiring cable,
collected over the years. If I strip off the insulation, would this be
suitable for wrapping around the trunk of the magnolia, or is the wire
in these cables also enamelled, such that it would have to be removed
first?

--
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall, very mild, sheltered
from the West, but open to the North and East.

On 30/12/2023 08:46, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I have a small magnolia, ~4ft, that struggles to grow because of
> predation by slugs & snails. I have tried phosphate-based slug pellets
> around the base, but they get carried away and presumably eaten by
> field mice who live in the stone wall nearby (I have one such mouse on
> camera!). I suspect the S&S live there as well.
>
> I have some short off-cuts of 1.5 and 2.5mm domestic wiring cable,
> collected over the years. If I strip off the insulation, would this be
> suitable for wrapping around the trunk of the magnolia, or is the wire
> in these cables also enamelled, such that it would have to be removed
> first?

There's no enamel in domestic cables - it's all bare wire. It'll fairly
soon get a coating of copper oxide and/or carbonate, though, which won't
help. I wonder if it would help to alternate copper wire and some other
metal like galvanised iron wire a few mm apart. The slug might then
create some sort of connection between the two when crawling over them
which could dissuade it from passing. By the way, if any of the
magnolia's branches are touching the wall, that's another route of access!

--

Jeff

On 30/12/2023 08:46, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I have a small magnolia, ~4ft, that struggles to grow because of
> predation by slugs & snails. I have tried phosphate-based slug pellets
> around the base, but they get carried away and presumably eaten by
> field mice who live in the stone wall nearby (I have one such mouse on
> camera!). I suspect the S&S live there as well.
>
> I have some short off-cuts of 1.5 and 2.5mm domestic wiring cable,
> collected over the years. If I strip off the insulation, would this be
> suitable for wrapping around the trunk of the magnolia, or is the wire
> in these cables also enamelled, such that it would have to be removed
> first?
>

Bits of bramble stem cut to about 4 inch lengths scattered around
susceptible plants, works very well for me, they don't like it up 'em.
I've before and after images, snail slime trails zeroing in from all
directions , before adding bramble bits and circle tracks around the
outside, after.

--
Global sea level rise to 2100 from curve-fitted existing altimetry data
<http://diverse.4mg.com/slr.htm>

Thanks, both. I have some thin galvanised iron wire I can try for
Jeff's suggestion, and there is plenty of gorse in the neighbourhood
that would probably substitute for the brambles that NC suggested.
I'll probably try both at the same time - I don't care which works or
if both do, just so long as the S&S don't get at the leaves of the
magnolia.

--
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall, very mild, sheltered
from the West, but open to the North and East.

In article <mq11pi5m43mpjkmtvhem2u8mp77ringglf@4ax.com>,
me@privacy.net says...
>
> Thanks, both. I have some thin galvanised iron wire I can try for
> Jeff's suggestion, and there is plenty of gorse in the neighbourhood
> that would probably substitute for the brambles that NC suggested.
> I'll probably try both at the same time - I don't care which works or
> if both do, just so long as the S&S don't get at the leaves of the
> magnolia.

When we had a wood stove, I found a circle of ash was
an effective slug deterrent; also a circle of cut
comfrey leaves (in summer).
If you have any old/leftover copper pipes, they could
be bent into a circle.

Janet

On Sun, 31 Dec 2023 08:47:50 -0000, Janet <nobody@home.com> wrote:

>In article <mq11pi5m43mpjkmtvhem2u8mp77ringglf@4ax.com>,
>me@privacy.net says...
>>
>> Thanks, both. I have some thin galvanised iron wire I can try for
>> Jeff's suggestion, and there is plenty of gorse in the neighbourhood
>> that would probably substitute for the brambles that NC suggested.
>> I'll probably try both at the same time - I don't care which works or
>> if both do, just so long as the S&S don't get at the leaves of the
>> magnolia.
>
> When we had a wood stove, I found a circle of ash was
>an effective slug deterrent; also a circle of cut
>comfrey leaves (in summer).
> If you have any old/leftover copper pipes, they could
>be bent into a circle.
>
> Janet

Good suggestion. Yes, I think I have a couple of feet of small-bore
copper pipe lying around somewhere. I'll look it out. Thanks.

--
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall, very mild, sheltered
from the West, but open to the North and East.

On 31/12/2023 14:19, Chris Hogg wrote:
> Good suggestion. Yes, I think I have a couple of feet of small-bore
> copper pipe lying around somewhere. I'll look it out. Thanks.

I suspect you'll have a job getting it all lying on the ground with no
bridges of earth over it, nor tunnels underneath.

Andy

On 31/12/2023 14:19, Chris Hogg wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Dec 2023 08:47:50 -0000, Janet <nobody@home.com> wrote:
>
>> In article <mq11pi5m43mpjkmtvhem2u8mp77ringglf@4ax.com>,
>> me@privacy.net says...
>>>
>>> Thanks, both. I have some thin galvanised iron wire I can try for
>>> Jeff's suggestion, and there is plenty of gorse in the neighbourhood
>>> that would probably substitute for the brambles that NC suggested.
>>> I'll probably try both at the same time - I don't care which works or
>>> if both do, just so long as the S&S don't get at the leaves of the
>>> magnolia.
>>
>> When we had a wood stove, I found a circle of ash was
>> an effective slug deterrent; also a circle of cut
>> comfrey leaves (in summer).
>> If you have any old/leftover copper pipes, they could
>> be bent into a circle.
>>
>> Janet
>
> Good suggestion. Yes, I think I have a couple of feet of small-bore
> copper pipe lying around somewhere. I'll look it out. Thanks.
>

Last year Lidl had packs of slug copper mesh.
I bought some but found bramble bits worked fine and never used it.
I suspect it was from scrapped screened cabling of larger diameter than
TV co-ax, it was loose woven like hosiery or Brillo pad steel wire.

--
Global sea level rise to 2100 from curve-fitted existing altimetry data
<http://diverse.4mg.com/slr.htm>

On 30/12/2023 08:46, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I have a small magnolia, ~4ft, that struggles to grow because of
> predation by slugs & snails. I have tried phosphate-based slug pellets
> around the base, but they get carried away and presumably eaten by
> field mice who live in the stone wall nearby (I have one such mouse on
> camera!). I suspect the S&S live there as well.
>
> I have some short off-cuts of 1.5 and 2.5mm domestic wiring cable,
> collected over the years. If I strip off the insulation, would this be
> suitable for wrapping around the trunk of the magnolia, or is the wire
> in these cables also enamelled, such that it would have to be removed
> first?
>

From what if seen in the past copper does deter slugs and snails but
the barrier needs to be much wider than the size of the fully extended
slug/snail. With a wire barrier they can stretch over it with minimal
contact. A single width of the copper tape often sold for the purpose is
ineffective at stopping all but the smallest slug/snail. You may need
a width of perhaps 4 to 6 inches.

Remember also that slugs can burrow.

--
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