GB2368256A - Gastropod guard - Google Patents

Abstract

The gastropod guard comprises a flexible plastic strip 1, with braided metallic conducting strips 2 bonded to it. Integral plastic spikes 3 are used to fix the guard in the ground. A battery box (not shown) is connected via a clip (not shown) to the conducting strips and includes a testing / short circuit indicator light. The device may be manufactured as a continuous strip and then cut to a required size. In use the voltage across the conductors is low enough to deter but not kill gastropods thereby preventing them from attacking plants enclosed by the guard.

Description

Terrestrial Gastropod Guard This invention relates to a slug and snail fence which can be used to protect vulnerable plants from these animals.

Slugs and Snails (Gastropods) are a notorious pest of'organic'growers who eschew the use of chemicals for their control. Few non-chemical control measures have proved very successful and in wet Springs whole sowings can be wiped out by slug and snail attack. Most control measures involve killing the animals and this may indiscriminately destroy beneficial species and interfere with essential natural food chains..

The Gastropod Guard is essentially a low voltage-therefore garden safeelectric fence which deters Gastropods because their slime is an excellent conductor and their ciliated'foot'very sensitive. Vulnerable sowings and plantings can be ring-fenced and will be kept 100% gastropod free. The principle of this fence differs from other electric fences in that the voltage is so low that all other organisms without slime will be unaffected and therefore it is gastropod selective.

The fence consists of 10cm high stiff but bendable plastic eg 0. 2mm PVC (1) with two oppositely-charged parallel strips of eg. braided copper or aluminium ribbon 2-3mm apart and bonded to the plastic (2) (Fig 1. ) The metal is braided to allow it to bend with the plastic without breaking. The lower edge of the fence is sunk 1-2cm into the soil and anchored with plastic spikes (3). A simple low voltage wire and connection is made to a 6v battery so that one ribbon is negative, the other positive. When a slug or snail joins the two strips by attempting to cross, a tiny current flows through it acting as a deterrent without causing injury. Trials have shown that after two attempts the animal turns round.

Rain or dew are poor conductors and do not affect the operation of the fence in any way at such low voltages. Since current only flows for the millisecond of 'foot'contact, one battery will last a whole season.

The Gastropod Guard would be manufactured as a continuous strip which could be cut to any length and joined by a simple clip which would also incorporate the connectors. In this way it could be used to protect a large area or just particular containers such as seed trays.

The battery-box would contain a flashlight bulb which would light whenever the fence was tested by placing a conductor across the metal strips. The same bulb would also indicate a short circuit eg. if a foil wrapper was blown against the fence.

Claims (3)

1. CLAIMS 1. A Gastropod deterrent consisting of a small upright, flexible plastic fence with two low voltage (3-6v), oppositely-charged strips of conducting material bonded to the outer surface of the plastic about 3-4cms above the soil level and anchored into the soil with integral plastic spikes.
2. 2. A Gastropod deterrent as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the fence is manufactured as a continuous strip which can be cut to the required length and joined end-to-end with a plastic clip which incorporates the connections to the battery.
3. 3. A Gastropod deterrent as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the battery-box has a water-proof, transparent lid with a flashlight bulb in the fence circuit which lights when the fence is tested or when a short-circuit occurs.