Every other garden I’ve had has been trashed by slugs in early spring.  Baby lettuce? Nuked.  Fragile tomato and pepper seedlings?  No match for the slimy destroyers.  They are so gross and frustrating.  HOWEVER, in Spring 2010 the slugs had no chance.  I think the combination of raised beds and this magic copper tape (well, it’s magic to me) kept them at bay.

Copper tape

I put the copper tape all the way around the bottom of my raised beds, about an inch or so up from the ground.   Slugs won’t crawl across it because it supposedly gives them a mild electrical shock when they touch it (mwah-haa-haa, take that!).   You can see it in the background of this picture:

Copper tape on beds in background

It was not an easy installation as the copper was kind of thin (and sharp — think paper cut but with metal.  Ow.)  But it was definitely worth it, and it survived last summer’s rain and heat, and is still intact after our record-setting cold days this winter!