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How to install a slug fence

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have a plastic kit, a collar, a roll of mesh, or a battery band on the path, and the lettuce is still in the bed you mean to close. How to install a slug fence is the sequence that stops the usual leaks: animals already inside, a gap at the soil, a leaf on the rim, and a circuit that has gone quiet after rain. The [snail fence comparison](/hub/garden-supplies/snail-fence) lists the ten amazon.co.uk products these steps refer to. A qualifying purchase from that page can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. read those listings and the public UK pages named below. This page does not rank the products.

You have a plastic kit, a collar, a roll of mesh, or a battery band on the path, and the lettuce is still in the bed you mean to close.

Our top picks

HanYun HanYun slug collars, 12 pack

Best overall

HanYun HanYun slug collars, 12 pack
6.7/10about £12.99
View offer
Isotronic Isotronic 10 m electric fence

Rank 2

Isotronic Isotronic 10 m electric fence
5.6/10about £61.57
View offer
Swissinno Swissinno slug fence kit

Rank 3

Swissinno Swissinno slug fence kit
6.0/10about £25.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Empty the inside first
  2. 2.The base and the corners
  3. 3.Nothing may touch the top
  4. 4.If it uses a battery

Empty the inside first

A fence changes who can walk in. It keeps whoever is already there. Kerbl's guide says clear slugs and eggs first, and suggests a board trap. That is not a catch rate for the about £23.45 listing, and it prints no voltage. FiBL says the same split: immigration can fall, residents stay. Look under pots and in the top of the compost before you close the line. A UK review of the Isotronic net says animals inside stay inside. A fresh sack in a closed bed opens the population again. Perimeter sums are on the slug fence for a raised bed page. An unidentified pellet tin, rodents in the house, or a swallowed cell are past this job.

The base and the corners

For a sheet of about 25 cm, a UK edging note says about 10 cm in the ground and about 15 cm above, with soil pressed on both sides. Do not bury a 12 cm collar to 10 cm, and do not treat mesh as that sheet. Swissinno is plastic panels. Seat every clip, because a half-clicked corner is a door, and follow the pieces rather than the 30-degree bullet against the 135-degree item type. A UK review still saw a slug climb a fence that was up. Push the HanYun ring in before the plant is wide, lip as the pack intends. FACIACC reviews say no fixings are supplied, so have ties ready. A gap you can see at dusk is a gap at night.
HanYun HanYun slug collars, 12 pack

Testsieger

HanYun HanYun slug collars, 12 pack
6.7/10about £12.99
View offer

Nothing may touch the top

BBC Gardeners' World names the usual bridge on young plants: a leaf from one pot lies on the next. A cane, a label or a hose does the same. Lift them off, or accept that two pots are one enclosure. A FACIACC buyer watched slugs cross mesh laid on the compost, so stand the roll as a sleeve or ram it into a hole. The TOONGEEN cage that stopped animals was a wall, and the reviewer said the metal did not repel them. Why that word is a weak promise is the copper mesh or plastic fence page. After rain, trails over the top mean a bridge or a resident. Change type on the slug fence buying guide if the object was wrong.

If it uses a battery

On Isotronic, a UK review describes the LED moving between green and red. Look after rain, brush the wires, and fit every bracket you were sent. The listing wants four C cells. A bullet says 16 brackets and that review says eight. The 0.1 cm print is not a size you can build to. Use the 10 m you can hold. Keep a Kerbl tape vertical. Do not copy a voltage from another manual onto the about £23.45 box, which prints neither voltage nor cell type. Reviews say mucus can break the conductor after about a month, and a gap over about 2 to 3 mm is a reason to keep the band continuous. Do not connect a car battery or a mains adaptor. Harmless on a listing is a claim. A swallowed cell is an emergency, and rewiring past the stated cells is for an electrician.

Common questions

How deep does a sheet fence sit?
For a metal sheet of about 25 cm, a UK edging note says about 10 cm in the ground and about 15 cm above, with soil pressed on both sides. That is for that sheet. If your fence is shorter, burying 10 cm will swallow it.
What if my fence is a low plastic kit?
Firm the base and seat the clips. Swissinno is panels, not a 25 cm sheet, so the 10 cm bury is the wrong instruction. Reviews still say slugs get under a loose base, and one UK review saw a climb-over. A reviewer's rectangle was about 66 cm by 33 cm.
Can I lay copper mesh on the compost?
A shared FACIACC review says slugs crossed mesh laid on the ground. Treat a flat mat as a path. Stand it as a sleeve and tie it, or ram it into a hole. Rolls often arrive without fixings. One TOONGEEN cage worked as a wall, and the reviewer said the metal did not repel them.
How do I stop a leaf becoming a bridge?
Lift any leaf, cane, label or hose that touches the far side. Gardeners' World flags leaves between pots as the usual bridge. Separate the pots, or accept one enclosure. Check again after rain, when leaves flop further.
What do I check on a battery fence after rain?
Look at the LED if there is one, wipe slime off the tape or wires, and replace cells when the light drops. Isotronic asks for four C cells. Kerbl does not name a cell, so do not invent one. Do not raise the voltage.
Do I clear the bed before or after the fence goes up?
Before. Once the line is closed, the residents are on the lettuce side. Kerbl's guide and a UK Isotronic review both say so. Eggs are easy to miss. If you add fresh compost later, look again.
When is this a job for someone else?
Stop if you cannot identify a pesticide, if rodents are in the house, if you want to rewire past the listed cells, or if a child or pet has swallowed a battery. Fitting the fence is a garden job if you can close the gaps you can see.

Related pages

Root barrier comparison

Snail fence

Best slug barrier UK: which listing fits which job

How to choose a slug fence for beds, pots and gaps

Copper mesh or a plastic fence for slugs and snails

Slug fence for a raised bed: measure, then close it

Sources

Public UK sources on barriers, the metaldehyde phase-out and product safety, plus the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf prices read 21 October 2026. Updated 22.10.2026.

  1. RHS, how to stop slugs and snails (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. RHS, slugs and snails (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. RHS, gastropod barriers experiment (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. GOV.UK, outdoor use of metaldehyde to be phased out (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. AHDB, chemical and biological control of slugs (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. Garden Organic, slugs and snails (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. Watz and Nyqvist, Crop Protection 2021 (retrieved 21.10.2026)