[moose]

This was sent to me by a Canadian relative:-
Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices of cucumber in a small aluminium pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

[sunshineband]

No I have never heard of this.

Do let me know hwo well it works 

[Auntiemogs]

Yes, do let us know Moose (the thought of a slug fleeing in terror made me smile so thanks for that  ).

[Kleftiwallah]

It sounds a bit like clear plastic pop bottles full of water keeps cats away ! ! !     Cheers,     Tony.

[Trillium]

I'm in Canada and even I haven't heard of that one. Must be another Mark Cullen tip 

[DD.]

Rubbish.

Put the whole text into Google and see how many exact matches you get back.

It's one that's doing the rounds.

[AndyRVTR]

Just a thought DD, where does it say it doesn't work?? All I can see are numerous sites copyinging each others articles, but the ones that I have looked at doesn't say that it doesn't work?

[Trillium]

http://ipm.illinois.edu/hyg/insects/slugs/index.html

The above doesn't say that a plate of cucumbers doesn't work, but it does say that slugs need to drown in some sort of liquid. There's nothing about 'drowning' in a plate of cucumber slices. If anything, the strong scent will have the slugs munching on the cuke slices since they can now bypass the tough cucumber skin. If you added water to the pan of slices, this might work, but again, not kill sufficient quantities since slugs are everywhere and will go for the closest strong food smell. I can't find any results that state the chemical reaction of cucumbers and aluminum foil. Surely, if this method works, the chemical results would have been discovered and published by someone.

[DD.]

Just a thought DD, where does it say it doesn't work?? All I can see are numerous sites copyinging each others articles, but the ones that I have looked at doesn't say that it doesn't work?

By the same token, have you seen one that says it works? It just the same glib quote.

[mattwragg94]

id say the only way of knowing is to give it a try - so give it a go and see how it goes! and let us know how you go on.

[AndyRVTR]

The IPM article does indeed say that slugs need to drown in some sort of liquid, however, the OP said something along the lines that the scent from the cucumbers acts as a repellant, not that it would kill them.
After reading another webpage, it appears that the original article was printed in The New York Times in 2009, but I cant seem to find the original one.
After having quite a bad year with slugs last year, I for one am quite happy to give it a go, nothing gained and all that, and for the first time I'm also introducing companion planting to my plot in the hope of beating some of the more problematic pests.... hopefully this year will be better than last 

[lacewing]

I bought some slug traps, pack of 2 for 99P. from the 99P shop. Filled each one with out of date beer that I found in the garage and placed one each end of my cabbage row. Checked them one week later and they were full to the brem with dead slugs.
I'm going back to the shop this week for more traps!

[JayG]

The claims for the aluminium/cucumber pest deterrent are not exactly modest  , and without any further details it's impossible to say on what scientific principles it's supposed to work.

Aluminium is actually quite a reactive metal but the useful side-effect of that is that in normal circumstances it  forms a thin protective oxide layer on its surface which resists further corrosion. If something like the humble cucumber really is able to dissolve the protective coating I would expect it to eat its way through a foil dish in no time at all.

My own scepticism rating is nearly 100%, but I have to admit it's certainly a cheap enough idea for anyone wanting to try it.

[jrko]

Google-foo put to good use

Cucumbers and almost all members of the Cucurbitaceae family produce Cucurbitacin.  Cucurbitacin is any of a class of biochemical compounds that some plants — notably members of the family Cucurbitaceae, that includes the common pumpkins and gourds — developed in order to defend themselves.  This compound attracts cucumber beetles but repel other insects, such as aphids and spider mites.  No mention of slugs or snails.

I've read up on aluminium, aluminium oxide, aluminium sulphate etc etc.   Aluminium sulphate has been used as a 'green' slug/snail killer but I can see no reaction that would make cucumber special.  

Aluminium sulphate is created by adding aluminium hydroxide to sulphuric acid.  Now aluminium foils natural oxide 'might' degrade because of the rain and release hydrogen = aluminium hydroxide (if yer ridiculously lucky).  If the rain were 'acid enough' you might get aluminium sulphate.  

But it'd be a flipping long shot.  It would take less time to test it that read what I've just been thru - thank crunchy I speed read