[mr Isaccs]

Sorry DD 

[Aunt Sally]

I use this stuff and it works well - It's organic too.




It will only kill slugs and snails.

There is no secondary poisoning of birds or hedgehogs etc. and they are completely safe even if they eat the pellets so long as the product has been used as directed.

It is based on ferrous phosphate (iron phosphate - which is an organic compound) plus a bait, thus making it attractive to slugs and snails.

The slugs and snails are attracted to the bait, ingest the pellets and then crawl away to die, leaving no dead slugs or snails around and no unsightly slime.

Any bait not eaten breaks down rapidly to iron and phosphate nutrients as part of garden soil.

It is safe to handle and apply

It can be used safely around ornamentals, fruits and vegetables
It is suitable for organic gardening.


Suitable for organic gardening. Approved for organic farming under EEC Directive 2092/91

SIMPLES

[savbo]

my twopenn'orth...
if the instructions say don't use on veggies, then we shouldn't really be going against them on this site?
the logic that because some allotment societies sell the pellets, they must be OK on veggies isn't very sound?

personally I use the iron salts pellets rather than metaldehyde, but I'm not anti them totally, just think they need to be used with care - and that includes following the instructions!

(retires to safe distance...)

MS

[DD.]

Sorry DD 

I wasn't specifically pointing at you!

As for the instructions, they quite rightly say not to use ON, (you wouldn't eat slug pellets after all), but they don't say not to use it AROUND veg.

[ex-cavator]

As an keen conservationist, I'm horrified that you lot are still chucking metaldehyde slug pellets around as if they were going out of fashion. It wouldn't be so bad if song thrushes, hedgehogs, frogs, and toads were not also killed, as they feed on the infected slugs. And even dogs have an affinity for the little blue pellets, and have been shown to suffer terrible deaths as a result. These things should be banned. Our wildlife has a tough enough time in today's countryside as it is, without you lot adding to the toll. You grow your own veggies so that you know where it comes from and that it is good & wholesome. But your poison your slugs so that the poor unsuspecting birds and animals with which you share your plot suffer a prolonged and quite possibly painful death. I urge you - please think again before buying this killer substance 

Rant over ....

Good rant, but mostly unfounded.
There has been no direct correlation between the use of Metaldehyde and poisoning of non targert animals.

Likewise for smoking and lung cancer, or nuclear power stations and leukemia, but we all know that there is a correlation, even if the scientists can't quite put a finger on it. The poor old Song Thrushes are having a tough enough time already at the moment, as with many other species down to modern intensive farming methods, habitat destruction, and lack of suitable nesting sites (destruction of our hedgerows due to indescriminate use of the flail cutter). Widespread use of metaldehyde, particularly in the gardens & allotments to which the birds and other animals may turn to for refuge, is just another nail in the coffin

[penance]

Until there is irrefutable evidence with supporting white paper I will keep an open mind.

The only sources saying there is a danger is from people with a slight bias to say the least.

And yes, there are scietific studies to say smoking can cause lung cancer, rather poor comparison.

[ex-cavator]

Each to their own ex-cavator

If you are worried about the wildlife eating pellets or killed slugs there is an easy answer (apart from stopping using them ) and that is to net the areas they are used on. Simples

That's fine for my own plot, but 'my' wildlife continues to be at risk from all those around me that continue to use them indescriminately. There are other, more wildlife friendly alternatives that should be explored - such as the Iron Phosphate compounds mentioned elsewhere on here, or slug traps / physical removal.

And I'm sorry, DD, if I came across a bit strong. Not intended to offend  

[noshed]

Steady on ex-cavator, we are not the people you should be having a go at. Most people here go out of their way to encourage wildlife etc. I use slug pellets, but very sparingly and usually under cloches and in cold frames where the birds can't go.
This forum is to share experiences and information, not for giant arguments.

[harry]

I seem to have opened a real can of worms (or is it slugs ) I must admit it worried me when i read the instructions on the packet. I may try the stuff Aunt Sally suggested. Do you just scatter it around the plants or put it on the soil before they come up, and how often do you need to use it? I am a complete novice where allotments are concerned, but the slugs did eat the veg i tried to grow at home.

[DD.]

OK 'nuff said, I think we know the forum stance.

Back to the friendly discussion.

[Aunt Sally]

I may try the stuff Aunt Sally suggested. Do you just scatter it around the plants or put it on the soil before they come up, and how often do you need to use it?

Just a very light sprinkle around the young plants harry.  Re-sprinkle when they have dissapeared.

[bailey]

I understand the comments about wildlife ect and I personally try not to do too much harm ect,, however i,m getting a little tired of being told what I can use, put on my garden ect,, it seems nearly everything we use is harmfull to something and eventually folk will be put off growing their own because they are losing too much produce to either disease or wildlife/pests.

a bit of common sense should be allowed, as said some use pellets, like me but in a controlled area, polytunnel or cloche ect..

as i live on a farm as such which has cats to keep the mice/rats down, however the same cats kill birds which try for an easy meal in the grain store ect..

[mrs bouquet]

Keep it friendly please.

This is always an emotive subject when it crops up.

The mods are keeping a careful eye on this thread.

Well done DD.    Chill out everybody. Mrs Bouquet

[Foxy]

I have the perfect method for slug removal and completely organic, my ducks are terrific! They chatter away at each other while busily unearthing scrumptious bugs!

[DD.]

Shame about the sprouts, though.