WO1990000876A1

WO1990000876A1 - Snail repellant material and plant stand of such material

Info

Publication number: WO1990000876A1
Application number: PCT/US1989/003080
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert H. Bendig, Jr.
Original assignee: Bendig Robert H Jr
Priority date: 1988-07-18
Filing date: 1989-07-17
Publication date: 1990-02-08
Also published as: AU4038989A

Abstract

A microwave reactive gas generator (10) including a microwave power source (14) with a waveguide (12) coupled to the power source (14) for transmitting microwave radiation. A cavity (22) for establishing a microwave mode is attached to the waveguide (12), and there is a passage tube (24) through the cavity (22) transverse to the direction of propagation of the microwave radiation in the waveguide (12) for passing the gas to be excited through the cavity (22). The generator (10) also includes a device (16, 18, 20) for matching the impedance of the load to the microwave power source. The cavity (22) couples the microwave power from the waveguide (12) to the passage tube (24) to energize the gas into a reactive state.

Description

SNAIL REPELLANT MATERIAL AND PLANT STAND OF SUCH MATERIAL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to pest control and more particularly, to an improved barrier- type material for repelling snails, slugs or the like.

The material may be used in support stands for supporting objects such as a potted plant for display elevated above an underlying surface and more specifically to a rigid wired support stand which is a simple and low cost structure and provides a stable surface upon which to mount potted plants and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Snails and slugs and other such pests are a major nuisance for home gardeners as well as in broader agricultural applications. The use of toxic snail baits to control this problem creates a hazard to small children and pets and requires repeated applications in order to replenish the bait after it has been washed away by rain or watering. Consequently, there has been an effort to control this type of pest in ways other than the use of toxic baits. One such control contemplated has been the use of electrical barriers.

Patent No. 4,756,116 to Cutter is directed to a snail repellant formed by a pair of dissimilar metals for producing an electric potential when in contact with an electrolyte. The snail barrier is formed by a pair of conductive strips. One such strip is formed of copper and another such strip is being formed of zinc, each being located at opposite edges of a backing tape or ribbon. As a snail or slug attempts to cross the barrier, the exudate at the snail's skin is an electrolyte which produces the electrochemical potential between the two dissimilar metals, causing the snail to quickly retreat from contact with both strips. The disclosed technique uses two separate and distinct electrodes.

Patent No. 4,747,229 to Chambers is directed to an exterminator for slugs and snails. Although battery powered, the exterminator of this disclosure is formed by an elongate strip having a plurality of spaced conductive wires secured to an insulating plastic ribbon. When a slug or snail passes between two conductors of opposite polarity, the battery voltage, nine volts, begins a process of electrical dissociation, and disintegration of the pest.

Patent No. 4,471,562 to Brucker is directed to a snail protective barrier device for preventing snails from damaging vegetation. The barrier is formed by a band formed of a copper material and configured with a plurality of flaps or webs which are bent outwardly. However, rather than utilizing an electrochemical effect, the barrier simply prevents the snails from traversing the extended horizontal surfaces. Patent No. 4,241,532 to Fancy is directed to a worm trap having means to electrocute the worms. The worm trap extends within a ditch or channel and includes a pair of electrical bus bars across which there is provided a suitable high voltage from a source which electrically destroys the worms.

Patent No. 4,274,123 to Rogers, Jr. is directed to an animal repellant system. An electrical potential is utilized to repel animals from a particular area. The repellant device comprises a flat mat formed by a flexible insulating material having alternating grooves and ridges or ribs. Each of the ribs is provided with electric wires and for providing alternate polarity connections to a power source, the voltage being adjusted to shock and repel the animal, as opposed to electrocuting it.

The above referenced Cutter patent. No. 4,756,116 is clearly the most relevant to the present invention in that it discloses the use of dissimilar metals for producing an electric potential when in contact with an electrolyte such as the exudate at the snail's skin. Unfortun tely, implementation of separate dissimilar metal strips such as copper and zinc, even in the form of a flexible adhesive coated ribbon or tape as disclosed in the Cutter patent, is relatively expensive to manufacture. However, more importantly, the repellant effect of such a device only occurs across the gap between the two dissimilar metals and thus limits the effective repellant surface area on which a snail would receive an electric shock and therefore be repelled. Because this gap must be limited to accommodate the typical length of snails, slugs and the like, the only practical way to increase the repellant surface area is by providing multiple strips of the dissimilar metals having additional gaps therebetween. Unfortunately, the addition of more such dissimilar metal strips further increases the complexity and cost of the Cutter device.

There is therefore still a continuing need for a snail and slug repellant device which exploits the dissimilar metal/electric shock characteristic of the prior art, but which does so in a manner which reduces the cost of manufacture, permits the use of shapes other than elongated strips in the manner disclosed by the aforementione prior art and which provides a selectively greater surface area without increasing the cost and complexity of such prior art devices. While the plant stand of the present invention can be used to support virtually any device having a size, shape and weight within a preselected range, the invention finds particularly advantageous use for supporting potted plants. Potted plants have become increasingly popular as a simple and inexpensive way to bring beauty, life and color into an environment such as the home, the office and the like. While potted plants can be simply placed on a floor, carpet or patio surface, such placement can cause a number of problems. For one thing, the potted plant can stain the underlying surface. Furthermore, crawling creatures such as snails, slugs and the like can easily gain access to potted plants when they are so positioned. Furthermore, it is often desirable to raise a potted plant above an underlying surface in order to increase the aesthetic beauty of the plant by bringing it closer to eye level. It is sometimes also necessary to raise the level of a potted plant to increase the likelihood of sunlight reaching the plant in sufficient levels to assure that the plant will be sustained and remain attractive. There are many prior art designs for plant stands which accomplish the principal purposes described above, but which unfortunately suffer from the disadvantage of being too complex and therefore too costly for the described function. The following U.S. Patents represent the most relevant known prior art.

1,001,416 Lloyd

1,006,328 Widenhofer

2,399,498 Messick

3,013,758 Smith

3,784,044 Bruggeman et al

3,863,875 Olson

4,025,012 Chan et al

4,083,457 Dromboski

4,215,514 Horowitz

4,534,130 Rogers

4,623,113 Studebaker

D 229,575 Dallas

Patent No. 3,013,758 to Smith is directed to a flower pot holder constructed from wire. The holder makes use of two members, "A" formed by relatively light bar material, the diameter of which is not specified, welded at right angles. A looped portion maintains the flower pot "P" above the ground level.

Patent No. 1,001,416 to Lloyd is directed to a combined display stand and carrier for flower pots constructed from wire. Parallel bars and are secured together by article supporting members which receive and support the flower pots. However, the parallel supporting bars and are defined as heavy metal rods.

Patent No. 4,534,130 to Rogers is directed to a wire mesh basket for carrying and displaying potted plants. As shown in FIG. 4b, each handle may be used as legs for supporting the basket above the floor surface for displaying plants.

Patent No. 4,083,457 to Dromboski is directed to a bracket arrangement for supporting flower pots or similar articles. Although not formed from wire, the bracket arrangement shown in FIG. 6 support a flower pot is suspended by cord or chain. Patent No. 4,215,514 to Horowitz is directed to a suspended wire frame for supporting a plant. The frame is manufactured from a single length of wire having straight portions and a plurality of loops which form the support for the plant.

Patent No. 3,863,875 to Olson is directed to a supporting frame for a table. The frame assembly is formed from two sets of leg frames disposed at right angles with respect to each other. Thus, four lengths of tubing are used to form the support.

Unfortunately, all of the aforementione prior art relates to support structures for plants and the like which are more complex and therefore more costly than the present invention and therefore less likely to be commercially desirable for the use described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the aforementioned continuing need by providing a novel snail, slug and the like repelling device which is more readily manufactured at lower cost, which may be provided in the form of virtually any shape surface including surfaces which may be fabricated into plant/pot configurations and which, most importantly, provides a much larger surface area for producing electrical shock in response to the electrolytic action produced by the exudate at the snail's skin.

More specifically, the present invention contemplates the use of dissimilar metals in a patentably novel and unobvious configuration wherein one such metal constitutes a base material and the other such metal constitutes a very thin layer of plating or otherwise deposited coating on the base material. The thickness of the coating is selected to assure an ample amount of porousness of the coating. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the underlying base metal may be, for example, a thin layer of steel and the overlying coating of the dissimilar metal may, for example, be a zinc plating wherein the plating thickness does not exceed about five thousandths of an inch.

It has been found that when the plating thickness is selected to be no greater than about five thousandths of an inch, the inherent non-uniformity of the plating thickness results in a relatively porous coating so that virtually everywhere along the surface area of the zinc plated steel, the exudate or slime of a snail creates an electrolytic bridge between the steel and the zinc. This porousness produces electric shocks to the snail, virtually irrespective of its location along the plated material of the present invention. Furthermore, it has been found that by utilizing a relatively thin underlying base material such as steel having a thickness in the range of twenty to fifty thousandths of an inch, the overall material structure is sufficiently thin to provide a degree of flexibility which permits cutting, folding and shaping the material into virtually any desired configuration such as that which would be suitable for manufacturing plant pots therefrom. In addition the material may be provided in the form of a ribbon which can be readily placed around the periphery of a garden area, around the trunk of a tree or other plant or around the periphery of a pot made of another material such as clay. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this ribbon -like material may provide a tacky adhesive coating on the surface of the underlying metal opposite the plated surface to permit more convenient installation as will be more fully described hereinafter.

In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a unique support structure for potted plants and the like which, in its preferred embodiment, is formed of two bent rigid wires joined at about their centers to form a spider-like configuration which provides a stable flat elevated surface upon which to mount a potted plant or the like and four legs each of which generally resists most crawling creatures such as snails and slugs from reaching the exterior of the potted plant. In addition, the present invention provides an elevated surface which prevents the bottom of the potted plant from staining the underlying surface upon which the support structure of the present invention is mounted. In its preferred embodiment, the present invention provides legs terminating in generally horizontally directed feet each of which may be placed within a plastic or hard rubber-like shoe. The shoes may be optionally used to increase the aesthetic appearance of the invention and to further reduce the possibility of any staining of the underlying surface. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the bent rigid wires is made of 3/16 inch diameter steel and each is bent to provide a trapezoidally shaped elevated horizontal portion and a pair of diagonally directed downwardly formed opposed legs, spaced apart and terminating in generally horizontal feet. The elevated horizontally disposed trapezoidal portion is in the form of three sides of a trapezoid typically having equal length sides and a shorter central portion. The two bent rigid wire members forming a single unitary structure of the present invention are typically joined by affixing the abutting central portions such as by welding and the like so that the central portion of each such rigid wire member is joined to the other along what becomes the spine of the support structure. This spine, along with the two equal length sides of each trapezoid shaped portion, form a stable, horizontal platform supported by four diagonally directed legs which elevate the horizontal portions above the underlying surface and provide a firm stable support structure for an object such a potted plant. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the resistance to snails is further increased by thinly plating the wire structure with copper, zinc, cadmium or alloys thereof which appear to further repel such annoying creatures. For purposes of this disclosure, thinly plated is defined as a plating thickness no greater than about four ten-thousandths of an inch and encompasses other forms of material coating such as painting, sputtering and vapor or chemical deposition.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an article of manufacture for repelling snails, slugs and the like wherein the article comprises at least two dissimilar metals for producing an electric shock therebetween when bridged by the electrolyte exudate or slime of such pests, one such dissimilar metal provided as the base material and the other being provided as a thin plating or other coating on a surface of the base material.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a material for repelling snails, slugs and the like and which utilizes as the repellant, electric shock generated between two dissimilar metals bridged by the exudate or slime of a snail, slug or the like which is of an electrolytic nature, the dissimilar metals being provided in the form of a plated or otherwise coated material, one such metal forming the base of such material and the other such metal forming the plating or coating thereof, the latter being sufficiently porous to permit contact of the electrolytic slime with both materials simultaneously. It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a snail and slug repellant material designed to provide an electric shock to such pests over virtually the entire surface of the material and which is of a sufficiently thin and flexible configuration to permit the forming of ribbon barriers for gardens and the like as well as for other articles such as pots for plants, tree fences and the like.

It is still and additional object of the present invention to provide a simple and low cost support structure which may be used advantageously for supporting potted plants and the like in an elevated position above an underlying surface wherein the simplicity and low cost of the structure overcome or substantially reduce the noted disadvantages of the prior art.

It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a potted plant support structure comprising a pair of bent rigid wires affixed to one another along a central portion thereof and shaped to provide a stable elevated horizontal surface capable of withstanding a substantial weight and in turn supported by a plurality of generally vertical, diagonally directed legs which contact the underlying surface. It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a plant stand comprising two zinc, copper or cadmium plated bent rigid wire members, each shaped to provide half of a horizontally disposed support surface and a pair of space apart diagonally directed legs each terminating in a foot to which may be optionally attached a shoe for further enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the stand and for further reducing the likelihood of any staining or other damage to the underlying surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementione objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood hereinafter as result of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a typical structural configuration of the material of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a pot for a plant that is made out of the material of the present invention along at least the exterior surface thereof;

FIG. 3 illustrates the use of a ribbon configuration of the material of the present invention for protecting a garden from snails, slugs and the like;

FIG. 4 illustrates an additional pot for plants wherein the material of the present invention is used only along the base portion thereof; FIG. 5 is an isometric illustration of a plant stand embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the plant stand embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a front view of the plant stand embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the snail repellant material 10 of the present invention comprises an underlying metal base 12 upon which there is provided an overlying metal coating 14. It will be understood that the actual metals used for base 12 and coating 14 may be selected from a large plurality of dissimilar metals between which there is developed a substantial voltage or current flow in response to the presence of an electrolyte therebetween. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the underlying base is made of steel and the overlying metal coating is made of zinc. The use of steel and zinc permits the coating to be applied by means of a plating process wherein the plating process is controlled to provide a coating thickness of not more than about five ten-thousan ths of an inch. It has been found that a coating that is that thin, provides a plurality of pits or pores 16 shown in FIG. 1 through which the underlying base metal is accessible. As a result of this accessibility to the underlying base metal, when a snail, slug or the like crawls onto the metal coating 14, the exudate or slime of the snail or slug constitutes an electrolyte which permits the transfer of electrons between the two dissimilar metals thereby producing of electric shocks to the snail or slug which repel such pests.

An optional, but not necessarily limiting feature of the present invention, may be provided in the form of an adhesive 18 coated on the surface of the metal base 12 opposite the overlying metal coating 14. Adhesive 18 provides a tacky or sticky surface which may be used to secure the repellant material 10 to other surfaces. This feature of the invention is especially desireable when the material 10 is configured as a ribbon for interface with other materials. However, the present invention may be implemented in any desired form or shape suitable for carrying out its repellant function while simultaneously serving other functions. By way of example, referring to FIG. 2 it will be seen that the snail repellant material 10 of the present invention may be configured on a plant pot as the exterior surface 21 thereof or alternatively as the sole material of which the plant pot is fabricated. However, the present invention may be readily configured in relatively thin ribbon-type implementations which permit the use thereof in the manner shown in FIGs. 3 and 4. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, snail repellant material 10 of the present invention may be configured as a circumferentially enclosing ribbon 24 designed to protect a garden 22 enclosed thereby. However, unlike the dissimilar metal ribbon configuration of the prior art, the shock generating portion of a ribbon configured in accordance with the present invention, constitutes the entire surface area thereof as opposed to only the border area of two metals configured εide- by-side on opposing sides of a gap such as disclosed in the Cutter patent previously described. As a result, the ribbon configuration of the present invention can be made smaller, that is narrower and thus less obtrusive, while performing its repellant and snail barrier function in the manner shown in FIG. 3.

The ribbon configuration of the present invention can also be utilized in the manner shown in FIG. 4, namely as a base enclosure ribbon 28 for a plant pot 26. Of course, it will be understood that the base enclosure ribbon 28 may be instead place at a higher level on the plant pot or at several levels thereof for establishing an electric shock-generating barrier to prevent snails, slugs and the like from crawling up to the top of the pot where it can consume and thereby damage the plant. It may even be desireable to provide the repellant material of the present invention in flat, large surface area configurations such as trays and the like upon which potted plants may be placed, thereby obviating the requirement for actually attaching the material to the pot itself. It will be understood that the unique coated or plated configuration of the present invention permits the material thereof to be configured in virtually any desired shape.

Referring now to FIGs. 5-7, it will be seen that the plant stand 10 ' of the present invention comprises a first rigid wire member 12' and a second rigid wire member 14* configured in symmetrical contiguous abutting relation at a joint 15'. Each such wire member 12' and 14' comprises a central portion 16', a pair of angled portions 18', a pair of legs 20* and a pair of feet 22'. It will be seen that the central portion 16' may be considered the top of a trapezoid and the angled portions 18' may be considered equal length sides of a trapezoid. Each angled portion 18* is, at its end opposite the central portion 16', gently turned through an angle of approximately 110 degrees to form a diagonally oriented leg 20' which extends in a general vertical direction toward the underlying surface. The lower end of each leg 20' is also gently turned at an angle of approximately 110 degrees to form a foot 22 * which is substantially parallel to the underlying surface.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGs. 5-7, each foot is provided with a shoe 24' having a pocket 26' thereon for receiving the foot 22'. Shoe 24' is a circular disk shaped member preferably made of a plastic or hard rubber-like compound for increasing the surface area and thus reducing the pressure of the weight of the plant stand 10' and any plant or other device supported by the stand. However, it will be understood that shoe 24' is an optional portion of the invention as feet 22' may be provided without a shoe 24' either in the short straight configuration shown in FIG. 5 or in other configurations such as curved or circular which would also have the effect of increasing the surface area of the foot. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the rigid wire members 12' and 14' is made of a 3/16 inch diameter steel wire which may be readily bent into the configuration shown herein by conventionally machinery, but when so bent by machinery, remains relatively rigid and resists further bending either manually or as a result of the weight of any device or potted plant that may be placed on stand 10 ' . Also in the preferred embodiment, the joint 15', formed between adjacent central portions 16' of members 12' and 14', is formed by a bead of welding. However, those having skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that a variety of alternative joining processes may be used to form the joint 15'. By way of example, such a joint can be formed by soldering or metal-gluing or by placing a small rivet or screw through the central portion of the respective wire members 12 ' and 14 * .

Although the angled portions 18* of each wire member 12' and 14' are shown to be generally straight and lying in a horizontal supporting surface plane 19' in the accompanying figures, it will be understood that angled portions 18' may not necessarily be straight throughout their entire lengths. More specifically. it may be desirable to provide angled portions 18' with a slight rise, either throughout their entire length or only immediately adjacent the legs 20' in order to reduce the possibility of a device being inadvertantly knocked off of the supporting surface plane 19*. The steel wire members 12* and 14' are preferably plated with zinc, copper, cadmium or alloys thereof to further reduce the likelihood of snails climbing the stand to reach a plant thereon. When such plating is relatively thin, (i.e., no more than about five ten-thousandths of an inch) an electrical voltage is produce by a snail's exterior fluids which tends to further repel such pests.

The actual dimensions of the plant stand of the present may, of course, be varied depending upon its particular application. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the height between the top of feet 22 * and the supporting surface plane 19* is in the range of 2 1/2 to 12 inches and the overall length measured at the integral interface between the angled portions 18* and legs 20* of each rigid wire member 12* or 14' is 6 to 12 inches. However, it will be understood that the various dimensions defined herein may be varied by simply selecting different length rigid wire members and their bend points and angles and are not deemed to be limiting of the present invention.

It will now be understood that what has been disclosed herein comprises barrier material for repelling snails or slugs and the like and comprising two dissimilar metals for producing an electric shock therebetween when in contact with the electrolytic exudate or slime of such pests. More specifically, the present invention comprises a material configuration in which one such dissimilar metal functions as a base material and the other functions as a coating or plating material which is applied in sufficiently thin configuration to provide pores or pits permitting external access to the underlying base material.

Also disclosed herein is a novel plant stand or support structure embodiment of the invention for carrying an object such as a potted plant and specifically for holding such an object at an elevated position above an underlying surface. When used for supporting potted plants, the plant stand 10 of the present invention (especially when plated with zinc, copper or cadmium) is particularly advantageous for isolating the potted plant from crawling creatures such as slugs and snails which might otherwise crawl up the side of the potted plant and attack and destroy the plant. The thin wire structure of the present invention and particularly the thinly plated legs thereof, reduce the likelihood of such creatures crawling up and reaching the potted plant. An especially novel feature of the present invention iε its simple and low cost construction being formed of two rigid wire members appropriately bent and joined to form a planar supporting surface elevated from and isolated from the underlying surface by a plurality of thin wire legs. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned rigid wired members are each shaped to provide the central portion and equal angular portions of a trapezoid. The angular portions terminate in gentle turns of approximately 110 degrees to form the generally vertical, diagonally directed legs. The legs, in turn, may be provided with feet formed at the lower ends of the legs. Each such foot may be optionally provided with a shoe having a pocket for receiving the foot and providing a larger surface area, reducing the pressure applied by the combined weight of the stand and object thereon on the underlying surface. Those having skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will now, as a result of the applicant's teaching herein, perceive various modifications and additions which may be made to the invention. By way of example, while the thin plating of one metal material on another has been disclosed herein as the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that there may be numerous other coating application techniques which may be employed to achieve the desired dissimilar metal configuration for producing electric shock in response to the presence of a snail, slug or other pest thereon which has associated therewith an exudate or slime which acts as an electrolyte for generating such electric shock. In addition, it will be understood that while specific configurations of the snail repellant material of the present invention have been disclosed herein, a highly advantageous feature of the present invention iε its suitability for being configured in virtually any shape deemed desireable for simultaneously serving the repellant function and an additional function such as supporting a plant pot or hanging a plant pot such as in the form of a plant stand or links of a chain, respectively. Accordingly, all such modifications and additions are deemed to be within the scope of the invention which iε to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A barrier for repelling snails, slugs and the like by electric shock from. issimilar metals wherein the exudate of the snail, slug or the like enables an electrochemically-generated current to induce a shock; the barrier comprising: a first metal forming a base of said barrier; and a second metal forming a coating on at least one surface of said base; said second metal being porous to permit said snails, slugs and the like to contact both metals simultaneously over substantially the entire surface of said coating.

2. The barrier recited in claim 1 wherein said first metal iε steel and said second metal is zinc.

3. The barrier recited in claim 1 further comprising an adhesive applied to another surface of said base for affixing said barrier to object surfaces.

4. The barrier recited in claim 1 wherein the maximum thickness of said second metal is no more than five ten-thousandthε of an inch.

5. A snail repellant article comprising: first and second dissimilar electrode materials adhered to one another over a common surface, at least one such material being porous to induce simultaneous contact of a snail's body with both materials for generating an electric shock for repelling snails.

6. The article recited in claim 5 wherein one of said first and second materials iε a coating on the other of said first and second materials.

7. The article recited in claim 5 wherein said first and second mater ialε are metals and said first material is electro-plated onto said second material,

8. The article recited in claim 7 wherein said first material has a maximum thickness of about five ten-thousandthε of an inch.

9. An electro-chemical εhock-generating material comprising: diεεimilar metals adhered to one another over a common εurface, one εaid metal having pourε therethrough for enabling simultaneous contact of an electrolyte with both metals for generating a voltage therebetween.

10. The material recited in claim 9 wherein one of εaid metals iε plated onto the other of εaid metals.

11. The material recited in claim 10 wherein the maximum thickness of said metal plating is no more than about five ten- thousandths of an inch.

12. The material recited in claim 9 wherein one of said metals is steel and the other of said metals iε zinc.

13. A support stand comprising: a pair of rigid wires, each such wire bent to form the top and sides of a horizontally disposed trapezoid, the trapezoid sideε extending integrally into reεpective generally vertical legs, the respective trapezoid tops of said wires being affixed to each other to form a unitary member having a stable elevated support εurface.

14. The support stand recited in claim 13 wherein said wires are made of steel the surface of which is plated with a material taken from the group consiεting of zinc, copper, cadmium, alloys of zinc and alloys of copper and alloys of cadmium.

15. The εupport εtand recited in claim 14 wherein said plating material has a thickneεε which does not exceed about four ten thousandths of an inch.

16. The support εtand recited in claim 13 further compriεing a plurality of feet, each such foot extending from a respective one of said legs at an end of εaid leg opposite said elevated support surface.

17. The support εtand recited in claim 16 further compriεing a plurality of shoes, each such shoe being engaged with a respective one of said feet for increasing the surface area of said feet.

18. The support εtand recited in claim 13 wherein said trapezoid tops are affixed to one another in contiguouε abutting relation by at leaεt one common weld joint.

19. A support stand comprising two unitary rigid wire members bent and joined together to form a generally planar first surface suitable for supporting a potted plant and a plurality of legs extending from εaid first surface for supporting said first surface in a position elevated from a second εurface upon which said legs may rest.

20. The support εtand recited in claim 19 wherein said legε of εaid stand are coated with a layer of a dissimilar electrically conductive material the thicknesε of which does not exceed about four ten thouεandthε of an inch.