Organic slug pellets?

[starlight]

I have put some down, even though the makers claim the pellets dont harm wildlife, I am worried in case I have been really stupid in using them.

Shall I go and pick them out? Or are they safe as claimed?

[ron1863]

I would imagine that they are safe or the manufacturers could get sued if they harm any wildlife

[Mercadante]

Some metaldehyde-based slug pellets claim to be 'wildlife-friendly' - because they have something added to them to deter animals from eating the pellets. However hedgehogs (etc) can still eat the poisoned slugs. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society recommends you don't use them, though the manufacturers claim there's no risk to hedgehogs if you use the pellets as sparingly as the instructions say.

Ferrous sulphate-based slug pellets are supposed to be safe, I think.

[Kayleigh]

I never use them, live and let live I say.
I love watching the birds, frogs, toads ect eating the slugs knowing they will be safe. I do get annoyed when my hosters get eaten.

[bleeper]

If you have one of those chimnea burners, I find that woodash around the plants helps alot.

[stripee]

Organic slug remedies are quite expensive and not always effective. I think they can be a waste of money. Although I don't know if they are positively harmful. I agree about the ash working, but, for example, I had to cover the leaves of courgettes as well which meant they couldn't function properly in their dusty state. In the end, the only things that have worked for me, are copper tape around the pots or woody stems of selected precious plants (would be too expensive to use extensively) and most effective of all, soon after dusk, with a torch, go and pick off the snails and slugs and then transfer them somewhere else far away. A combination of barrier methods and physical removal seems to help to limit the damage.

[Kayleigh]

I saw the other day about a garlic wash.
You boil some garlic then let it cool and keep it in a container. Then add a 1 tbsp to a watering can of water, then just splash the plants and let the liquid dry on the plants. This keeps the slugs off. Cheaper and organic.

[galanthus]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I never use them, live and let live I say.
I love watching the birds, frogs, toads ect eating the slugs knowing they will be safe. I do get annoyed when my hosters get eaten.

Me too, after an initial population burst when I began growing stuff in the garden I found nature takes care of them via frogs etc. Get yourself a hedgehog from animal rescue

[demicav]

Always interesting to hear about natural ways to avoid slugs. Mind you I leave them to it, they don't bother me at all. My garden is overgrown and full of wildlife, that's how I like it. Hedgehogs and Slow worms are natural predators of Slugs so it seems to me that they should be encouraged into the garden which they definately won't be if pellets are put down. In fact Slug pellets can cause agonizing deaths in Hedgehogs so I stay well clear, in fact I can't say they would be beneficial to anything other than the plants and there are other interesting ways to protect them.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I saw the other day about a garlic wash.
You boil some garlic then let it cool and keep it in a container. Then add a 1 tbsp to a watering can of water, then just splash the plants and let the liquid dry on the plants. This keeps the slugs off. Cheaper and organic.

How come my garlic gets eaten by slugs/snails? Is it, perhaps, just some slug species that are deterred?