Electric Fencing for Snails

In November a query came in for an environmental solution to prevent slugs and snails from feeding on valuable plants. The object was to exclude them from raised beds without the use of poisons or chemicals.
After some thought I suggested using two lengths of the insulated cabling used in pigeon systems glued onto the brick risers. One cable used as the live wire and the other the earth. These were glued about 3 cm from the top of the boards. They were to be glued adjacent to each other so the wires were 1 cm apart. This meant the slugs would not be able to climb up the perimeter walling without touching both wires. A small 9v Electric Fence energiser was attached to the wires.
After installation a physical search for slugs already inside the bed was carried out and the unit switched on. A slug was seen to attempt entry and retreated from the wire without visible injury or side-effects.

The customer has reported that the level of slug damage this year was negligible and the cash return has been greatly increased due to the lower number of discarded blooms due to slug damage.