Bigger slugs require a wider barrier. What works well in the rest of the country requires a doubling up on the copper tape to work here - but it does work. Copper is used because it is a very good conductor of electrical charges, which is why it's used in electrical wiring. Aluminum is also good but not quite as good a conductor as copper is. Gold and silver are between copper and aluminum in conductivity but obviously you don't want to be using them for this project ... Aluminum foil is cheap though, and you already have it around the house probably. As a bonus, aluminum foil mulches are known to repel aphids. Wire would probably not work because of not being wide enough, since I have to use a double wide band of the tape to keep the slugs out. The college I work at here in Olympia was considering the banana slug as its mascot but UC Santa Cruz is already using it. The true banana slugs, btw, do not eat garden plants much. They prefer decaying stuff like dead vegetation and dog poop. The real ravagers of your garden are the huge brown european slugs and the myriads of little bitty slugs you can barely see. The banana slugs around here are not the bright banana yellow that the CA slugs are, like UC SC's mascot, but more of an olive greenish yellow, often with big black patches. Hiking along the Hoh River last summer I noticed that nearly all the banana slugs are a pale ghostly ivory color, very pretty against the green moss, so there are different species of banana slugs. Who knew???

There are epoxy type finishes that will prevent copper tarnishing for a long time, but they are not generally available. Lacquer will provide a reasonable level of protections. The copper must be clean and completely degreased before spraying on lacquer. Deft spray lacquer is pretty available. Look for full gloss for metal work.

You can also check out Outwater Catalogue; they have adhesive-backed metal laminates that might be the best way to go for this application. Link is below - scroll through the pages for the copper sheet. If you're using regular copper sheet, you won't need the heaviest gauge, especially if you're going to glue it flat onto the wall. I used 20oz weight copper sheet for my countertop, which is probably thicker than you need. You might try using a roll of regular flashing from the hardware store? The glue is another issue: some contact cements work and others don't. We used something called Better Bond TC-20 made especially for gluing copper to mdf board; not sure whether it would work for drywall. The one thing to remember is to get your wall extremely level beforehand, since the copper will telegraph any irregularities or unevenness. Ask me how I know ... ;-) cheers and looking forward to seeing the end product! (PS: Here's the DIY thread from the metalworking forum with tons of tips and pictures for working with copper sheet.) Here is a link that might be useful: NuLam metal laminate sheet

I have replaced that kind of copper(have seen the brass as well) weather stripping with new stuff of the same type---to satisfy the home owners desire to remain period compliant. The latest design that would be the best replacement would entail the removal of the doorstop section of the jamb and cutting a 1/2" deep dado in the stop(or replacement stop) to allow the rubber weather stripping to be installed in that slot. That also would mean the door stop would have to be relocated and the jamb refinished/repainted. The new rubber collapsable weather stripping is much more energy efficient as well as maintenance free(other than an occasional cleaning if needed). The major problem with the copper type is getting clothing snagged and tearing the metal. And it can be noisy in high winds. The other nail on types of weather stripping are less functional than the copper, IMHO.