Oh, and the snail bait (Sluggo) didn't stop them either.

Reminds me i need to go snail hunting tonight..I hand pick them..I've tried beer that doesn't work..

Sluggo takes a few days to work and is not a barrier. Think buffet, they eat some sluggo, some plant, then die 3-4 days later after the first consumption of sluggo.

Apply sluggo 2-3 weeks before transplanting, then after transplanting, then every 2-3 weeks for a couple of months.

if you have snails, you also have snail eggs. Slugs too where I live.

regarding the copper, my father thinks it takes two strips located about 1/2" apart

Sluggo has worked well for me...as long as I remember to sprinkle it around every few weeks. Took about 3 years to get rid of the 1" snails that were hiding everywhere. Vigilance, and perseverance. Shallow dishes of beer attracted slugs for me but it got to be a pain cleaning the refilling, to say nothing about wasting good beer.

Here's a page explaining why copper isn't all it is cracked up to be.

Copper and snails myth.

-Babka

Don't bother buying decollate snails to eat the brown snails. They only eat the little ones, and when they run out of snails to eat, they eat your seedlings.

I stepped on a snail on the walkway, oh, about 10 pm. Had to go out again about an hour later and every snail and slug in the vincinity had come to dine. Forget the delphiniums.

Sluggo works but not as used by many gardeners. Snails can travel at 13 feet per hour. If you want snail protection you need to use it everywhere in your yard, not just near a certain plant. Some locations will need the support of neighbors who may be snail incubators.

Slugs are horrible in my garden. I think the copper needs to be bright for it to work. Once it oxidizes it doesn't work as well. If it is oxidized, rub with fine steel wool...

The copper barrier must be 4 inches wide.

Techniques & strategies

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7427.html

Another Sluggo advocate here. After using it for a few months (once every couple of weeks or so), I haven't seen a snail other than an empty shell. Love the stuff.

One has to be very diligent about the Sluggo, applying regularly without fail. The minute you let up, they take over.

I go out every night on The Hunt. Last night I only found two. Maybe the Sluggo has started to work as well.

The best control I ever had was when some Alligator lizards took up residence in our yard. These guys love snails! I once accidentally found their nest under some old boards and there must have been 3 or 4 dozen empty snail shells! I think the regular fence lizards will also eat snails. Having lizards in your yard really helps with getting control of ground living insects. Besides snails, they eat earwigs, sowbugs (pillbugs, rollypollys) cut worms, grasshoppers, etc.

I've found the best way to attract them is to have some areas of large rocks or flat pavers or a low stone or brick wall. They should be in the sun, or at least part way in the sun.

Also having a few short lengths of boards left in a little pile out of the way of garden traffic, a corner or side yard is good. It could also be a small pile of logs or thick sticks. They like to hide in this at night and hibernate under it in winter. A medium pile of large rocks will work too.

And the best way to attract all kinds of beneficial animals is some kind of permanent water feature. We put in a small koi pond and now have so many different kinds of birds too! It has a short stone wall around it to sit on, and the lizards love to sun there.

The populations of all kinds of pest insects have really gone down since the lizards move in.

Yesterday I found at least 8 BIG snails all over the Aprium tree ruining the baby fruit. ARG!