Slugs and copper wire

hull, United Kingdom

I am new to gardening and want to try my hand at growing veg, we have lots of slugs in our garden and a clay soil (fertile soil).

I hear that copper rings and cable give slugs a small electric shock and prevent them from attacking your crop..

My question is could I strip some 1.5 mm cable or 2.5 mm cable and use that around my crop or would I require a larger diameter of copper to deliver the required sock to stop the slugs?

I ask about the above cable as I used to be a electrician and have a lot of old cable available to me in my shed..

Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b)

I would use what you have. Usually I see the copper is not just a strand of wire, but a wider band, such as 1/2" wide, stapled to pots, raised beds, and similar structures. There must not be a gap where the slugs could slip under the wire and into the garden.
Maybe you would have to run several strands along the rim of whatever bed edging you are using.

Make sure there is no other path the slugs could travel to reach the vegetables. Add the wire to the base of any fences or trellis systems, as well as all around whatever planter beds you have.

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