Help please! - Slug pellet made it in to pond

[gecko]

It may well be in vain, mrs fish, but if you write to someone who works for one of the environmental parts of the council, whether as an ecologist or some other nature conservation role, perhaps they can influence the policy of using slug pellets by whoever is responsible for the flowerbeds?

[m1.carson]

Hi,

Just posted on walnut trees and in the Readers Digest book on trees it states that an infusion of walnut leaves is a good slug killer.

Tried most other daft ideas, will give it a go, I presume that you water the plants with it, but I've no idea how long you should leave it before eating them.

Max.

P.S. Gill, I shouldn't waste your time with gravel, tried that, no go.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by m1.carson

Hi,

Just posted on walnut trees and in the Readers Digest book on trees it states that an infusion of walnut leaves is a good slug killer.

Tried most other daft ideas, will give it a go, I presume that you water the plants with it, but I've no idea how long you should leave it before eating them.

Max.

P.S. Gill, I shouldn't waste your time with gravel, tried that, no go.

I tried a beer trap last night - well a stout trap I used an old tray and filled it with stout and the slugs turned up there must have been over thirty of various shapes and sizes.... However, they just drank their fill and left!!! no dead slugs today Booooo I don't like killing them you see but if they want to commit suicide in beer who am I to complain...! Maybe my tray wasn't deep enough?

[naturelover]

Originally Posted by NickBarthram

Hi

I'e got a small pond (it's half a whisky barrel) in my garden with 4 fish in it . This morning I was putting slug pellets down and although I thought I was being careful, I think a solitary pellet made it into the pond. I know this is a very bad thing, and am desperate for any advice anyone can give to stop it killing my fish.

I've scraped away at the bottom of the pond and cannot find the offending article. Is it a good idea to overfill the pond and let water run out to dilute the pellet? Any help would be most gratefully appreciated.

FYI - After spending the last hour looking around the net, I now realise how bad slug pellets are for the environment, so please be assured they won't be being used again.

Kind regards

Nick

hi sorry to hear about your slug pellet troubles,i dont agree with them myself because of the birds that eat snails and slugs,i have always thought it would kill them if they ate a slug or snail that had eaten a slug pellet.i dont believe in any sort of poison because of this,i have rats at the bottom of my garden but i wont get rat poison,i have an elctrical rat scarer and it seems to work,also works on cats,( that i love ) BUT i have a large pond pluss an avery and they just dont mix.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

I tried a beer trap last night - well a stout trap I used an old tray and filled it with stout and the slugs turned up there must have been over thirty of various shapes and sizes.... However, they just drank their fill and left!!! no dead slugs today Booooo I don't like killing them you see but if they want to commit suicide in beer who am I to complain...! Maybe my tray wasn't deep enough?

watch out for hedgehogs drinking the beer ... no seriously - they get drunk then cant roll up when danger threatens

i once found a hedgehog that had got absolutely paralytic drinking all our beer traps and eating the marinaded slugs - I but him in a box with some food ,water and straw and in the morning he wa fine - bet his head hurt though , he probably staggered off to eat some birch bark

[m1.carson]

Hi People,

The slug pubs do work, but you need to drown the slugs, [what a way to go eeyore ] we use the cut off tops and bottoms of coke bottles sunk into the ground, that makes them about 3 inches deep with vertical sides, you can always put the slugs out for the birds after.

Max.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by m1.carson

Hi People,

The slug pubs do work, but you need to drown the slugs, [what a way to go eeyore ] we use the cut off tops and bottoms of coke bottles sunk into the ground, that makes them about 3 inches deep with vertical sides, you can always put the slugs out for the birds after.

Max.

I read somewhere that you can collect the slugs up in a plastic bag and freeze them to kill them too eeuurrghhh poor wee beasties, maybe I can just borrow someone's ducks for a night or two esp call ducks love slugs apparently

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Kymba

Might be a good Idea if anyone tries any of the above to let other members if they work or not and how good they are

Live and let live I say. I have very holy hosters but what the hell, I like the feeling I get when a blackbird eats the slugs. I know its had a good safe meal. What's the problem with slugs and snails they have to eat and be eaten.

[elmodiddly]

Some of the lesser educated websites claim whatever they like do get people to stop using slug pellets. This destroys that and in turn kills this and destroys soil for tens of billions of years etc.

People need to be a bit cleverer about it.

Slug pellets can be a hazard to other slug and snail eating wildlife, birds and hedgehogs, although hedgehogs will leave alone the dead slugs and snails preferring to eat live instead.

The active ingredient metaldehyde is broken down to harmless components after three weeks and the rest of the pellet is blue dye and bulking starch based matter. In order to make a slug pellet there are certain rules that must be followed in order to gain a licence. The stipulation of 5% metaldehyde is one of them.

They do not harm the soil. Cats are not attracted to the drug metaldehyde whatsoever. Cats might eat a pellet or two and realise they don't like them although some maufacturers are including cat repellent in the mix.
Despite what other websites say to get you to stop using slug pellets, most of it is lies. Pure and simple.
Other soil dwelling forms like worms and beetles are not harmed by slug pellets and they are coloured blue so they are not ingested by birds and rodents.

I am in no way a fan of slug pellets although they can be usefull in severe infestations and once down to manageable levels can be controlled by other methods but sheer numbers mean they can get over most barriers after a matter of time. They can even cross broken glass and travel over a razor blade with no injuries!

Nematodes are the best way by a long, long way to kill them off and are becoming a cheaper alternative every year. They are specific predators of slugs and snails, cause no hazards to anything else around and the dead slug can be eaten, safely, by other animals.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

I read somewhere that you can collect the slugs up in a plastic bag and freeze them to kill them

once you've done that gill deep fry them in batter and have them for your tea

im going to try and sell this idea to McDs - Mcsluggets