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Originally Posted by Waterdog111
Copper tape huh, you wouldn’t happen to know a way to keep catapilliars off our blooms(plants ) that would be a great bit of knowledge. Maybe you could brush on some type of cleaner to take the patina off, just a thought
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A product called Thuricide BT works really well for caterpillars and fungus gnats. I used to have really bad fungus gnats, and the control was incredible. Simply drenched the pots and sprayed on leaves. The active ingredient is a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis, you might find other products that contain that bacteria.
I think I bought it from Ray but if he doesn't have it, Arbico Organics usually has all the bio-pesticides.
Another product is Diatomaceous Earth which you can place as a barrier around your pots. I don't particularly like it because it's basically finely milled silica, like perlite, which is terrible for your lungs. Maybe using perlite might also help. The little crystals seem to harm the critters preventing them from continuing their voyage into the buds.
The copper might work for caterpillars, make sure it's at least 2 inches wide and that it is at least 60% copper. It works as a barrier for arthropods and molluscs, which have hemocyanin in their "blood." Hemocyanin uses copper to bind to oxygen, as opposed to human blood which uses iron. It's believed the contact with the copper tape causes discomfort or perhaps suffocation to the slugs as their slime reacts with the excess copper. But non-slime producing insects might not interact with the tape. On the benches where I use it I don't get any pests, only an occasional jumping spider which is able to jump over the tape. However, these are great hunters, so they are welcome in my garden anytime.
Copper tape with patina?
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