[John]

Do the new ferrous phosphate organic slug pellets work as well as the old metaldehyde slug pellets?

Do The New Slug Pellets Work?

[rowlandwells]

 basically I think the old slug pellets did the job but with all this wet weather here its a job to really tell if the new pellets are as good the old ones at doing  the job because like the old ones they don't seem to last in wet conditions and its rife with slugs and snails on our allotments this year

slugs have even started on our new potatoes I'm always looking out for a ways to get rid of the slugs and snail population the trial spray I'm using with a base of Garlic and chilli powder has proven to work provided one sprays both the plants and the soil beneath the plants and on a three week cycle

so to answer your question to me its a very grey area some mite say yes and some no and as I've always said i use what i feel is the best for the job i don't put all my time and effort into feeding slugs and snails or any other pest that comes along

[Growster...]

No.

[lettice]

I have been using the Westland Advanced 'ferric' pellets for many years and they have worked very well.
But, they have become harder to find last few years and have become quite expensive, so I have moved over to Doff ferric pellets and they have been just as effective.

The important thing is to follow the instructions, 5g per square metre. Weigh it out your first time and you will be amazed how few you need to spread about.
So often, I see people spread loads about, almost like in clumps. That is when I would worry about any pets or wildlife.

Of course, as well as pellets;
Well worth trying beer or I use a home bread yeast mixture traps around the plot (yogurt pot inside another, so easy to lift out and top up and they have the perfect fitting lid).
Th traps work well for me and always find after a night of heavy rain I have  traps containing plenty of slugs and snails.
A torch light brigade late evening, especially after it has rained to pick them off, especially your paths.
Cooper tape under the ring of all your pots I have found to be effective too. Never found a slug or snail in any of my pots. Mind it is important also for pots to sit t  on a hard base like concrete or a gravel mix over some weed control to stop slugs coming in from the bottom of the pot draining holes.

Finding and saving slugs and snails is also a good idea, as you can save them and make a nematode bucket, which I have done for about a decade now.
Spread over my new potato raised beds and over the soil underneath the new and maincrop potato bags and not had any sign of a nibble from a slug.
Do also water some into the veg plots, before planting.
Nematodes do not stop snails, as they do their work underground.

Can't say any year including this one has been any different, you will always get slugs and snails, but you can certainly keep them under control, with regular visits and techniques.

Also, get to know your slugs, as some are actually good for the compost heap or mulching and do not eat/harm your produce.
The Green and Yellow cellar slug do not eat plants, they are mulch eaters and good for your compost heaps.
Leopard slugs are also good as they are also mulchers plus attack slugs, they do not eat your produce.

[coldandwindy]

I've never used metaldehyde but ferric certainly work better for me than traps etc alone.
Used to have a big problem with slugs and snails in the polytunnel but pretty much no damage at all since I started putting pellets along paths & around the "hard-standing" where the bench is (They last longer there than on the soil & the intended victims still seem to find them !)
What I don't like about them is they go mouldy when wet rather than just dissolving, so if you don't want blobs of big furry white mould around your plants use them very sparingly.

[coldandwindy]

The important thing is to follow the instructions, 5g per square metre. Weigh it out your first time and you will be amazed how few you need to spread about.

Absolutely - very little is needed.

A torch light brigade late evening, especially after it has rained to pick them off, especially your paths.

...or just take old scissors with you, cut each one you find in half & leave where it is - much easier & still feeds & encourages the slug eaters! 

Also, get to know your slugs, as some are actually good for the compost heap or mulching and do not eat/harm your produce.
The Green and Yellow cellar slug do not eat plants, they are mulch eaters and good for your compost heaps.
Leopard slugs are also good as they are also mulchers plus attack slugs, they do not eat your produce.

Very useful thank you - off to look for photos of those.

[coldandwindy]

Slug Identification - Photo Gallery

[coldandwindy]

Should also mention my favourite snail killer. Planting native trees and bushes round the plot has given us shelter and nesting thrushes. I regularly hear the tap, tap tap of a thrush bashing a snail on the path. Don't know how many he finds in a day but its got to be more than my nocturnal rambles in jim-jams and his singing is certainly better than mine. 

[snowdrops]

I don’t use either type of slug pellets & never have. I’ve found using the composted mulches that I use in tge garden & allotment has really helped & also removing the type of habitats that they like to hide in is a winner too. If I find a load of mainly snails it has to be said hiding in a certain plaice I remove them & regularly check that place to find them, then I collect them up & take them for a ‘walk’ or deposit them in next doors green waste bin on bin day for them to be recycled. If I find the leopard slugs etc in the compost bins I just leave them working to help me.

[JayG]

I've still got a carton of metaldehyde pellets which I only use on netted crops - hopefully that avoids potentially causing harm to wildlife other than slugs and snails.

Elsewhere I use the ferric phosphate pellets - I think they do 'work', but more slowly than the other type, which I reckon does mean that slugs and snails have a window of opportunity to munch my crops before it takes effect.

I'm experimenting with scattering the pellets in the areas of known hiding places (mainly the hedges in my garden) rather than in and around the vulnerable crops in the hope of getting at them at the start rather than the end of their mission...

[Debz]

I've used a mixture this year.  I've used the wee blue ones where I have my crops netted and protected from birds and I use the sheep pellet ones in un-netted areas.  I do think they work as I have harvested the most beautiful cabbage this week with many more to go and very few munch marks on them.  Not so sure about the sheep wool ones but I just love the smell.