Slug petllets ok to use on veg

haze,

Are slug pellets ok to use on veg that you will be eating. Slugs seem to be starting on my corgette plants. Flowers just starting to form so dont want the veg to be eaten aswell. Any advice please? I'm growing in veg planters (pots basically) about 10 inchs off the ground. Thanks

HardyEustace

Slug pellets are never ok to use.

If you search through the forum, there are plenty of alternative ideas. There was a post a few weeks ago with lots of alternative suggestions.

bmaxi

haze, wrote: »

Are slug pellets ok to use on veg that you will be eating. Slugs seem to be starting on my corgette plants. Flowers just starting to form so dont want the veg to be eaten aswell. Any advice please? I'm growing in veg planters (pots basically) about 10 inchs off the ground. Thanks

As long as you don't eat the slug pellets yourself I can't see what harm they can do you.
The argument against slug pellets is the potential harm they do to wildlife, e.g. slug eats pellet, bird eats slug or feeds it to chicks, bad for all concerned.
If you are growing in pots there are other, preventative, ways such as a layer of grit or vermiculite on the soil surface or a layer of vaseline smeared around the pot. Do a search here and you'll find plenty of suggestions. One thing, before you try any of the preventative measures, make sure the fcukers have not already made their home in the pot.

Macy0161

HardyEustace wrote: »

Slug pellets are never ok to use.

There are certified for use in organic gardens/ farm versions that are "safe".

HardyEustace

Macy0161 wrote: »

There are certified for use in organic gardens/ farm versions that are "safe".

Oh, didn't know that. Thanks. I assume that "safe" means, safe to birds and wildlife etc..

Just abhor the "normal" slug pellets. Practically get a twitch in my eye when I see them. Mind you, having had several lovely plants scarified this year despite manually de-slugging the garden and putting out enough beer traps to keep a belgian monk happy, I can understand how tempting they are.

inigo

Check these out:

http://www.theorganiccentre.ie/node/816

simonj

Beertraps, Nemaslug and you can get ferramol pellets from Irish seed savers and others.

Making weatherproof beertraps is easy - heres a link

Most effective way is lamping, i.e. go out at dusk with a torch, jar of hot salty water and a pair of gloves - pick em off and drown the bastards - each one you kill takes out hundreds of offspring.

If you can buy a duck, thats another option

Macy0161

HardyEustace, as per the posts above, or there are a couple of branded ferramol pellets (advanced slug killer is one, and bayer have a version too) that can be brought in some garden centres. They don't leave residual chemicals that can kill things that eat the slugs, but the slugs are supposed to bury themselves to die after eating them so are not there for secondary poisoning anyway.

I wouldn't use traditional slug pellets, and tried to resist using even these, but the practicalities of night hunting and the sheer loss of plants made me change my mind. As with any method, it doesn't mean 100% protection, but I have found it reduced enough to get the plants up and growing that they can resist attack.

HardyEustace

Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated.

@Simonj, love the thought of having a duck but sadly size constraints and setting wouldn't allow it.

My garden is new, in a relatively new estate so the slug population hasn't established itself yet. As I said, I've had a few munched plants this year which has frustrated me no end, and I only expect the problem to get worse next year as I grown more things and the slugs get more established. I'm hoping that I'll be in a position to attract more birds into the garden next year which should help.

JonWiseman

Contrary to what bmaxi said, slug pellets, when properly used, pose little threat to other wildlife. Modern slug pellets use a substance called Metaldehyde to poison the slugs which consume them, the amount of the poison consumed by a slug is enough to kill it but would pose no danger to larger animals such as birds or hedgehogs.

Of course it is also likely to be against an animal's natural instinct to eat dead insects, after all there are plenty of lives ones outside of your garden!

The only danger to your wildlife would come if the critters ate a large quantity in its concentrated state, this shouldn't happen if you follow all the instructions on the packaging.

If you are worried about the danger to animals you should consider an advanced formula such as Eraza, which uses more, smaller particles of metaldehyde so is more efficient with low active ingredient. http://www.eraza.co.uk

For your veggies, make sure that you don't get any pellets stuck in the leaves. They are usually brightly coloured so you can see them pretty easily!

Jon

haze,

Thanks for the info- obviously as I will be eating these (corgettes, not pellets) I would rather not use traditional pellets. Great info, thanks

Mothman

Simonj has given the advice I'd give. I also do night hunts. Very effective and economical. I have a stream that borders the garden. They get relocated to the other side.

One other point, I don't have clean veg beds, Any weeds pulled are left. It means there is alternative food for any slugs still about. Surprising how effective this is to distract them.

simonj

Mothman wrote: »

I have a stream that borders the garden. They get relocated to the other side.

Kill every last one of them - kill 'em all kill, kill, kill - sorry - frothing at the mouth now

Mothman

simonj wrote: »

Kill every last one of them - kill 'em all kill, kill, kill - sorry - frothing at the mouth now

I wasn't put on this planet to wage war against everything else.
If I don't feel the need to, I won't No froth

gsxr1

i went mad with the pellets for the last 2 years.

this year they are nearly all gone.


Pellets 1
Slugs 0

magicbastarder

they're nearly all gone this year, compared to last year - but don't forget that the harsh winter and better summer means their numbers would probably be naturally reduced anyway, so don't peg it all down to the pellets.

simonj

Mothman wrote: »

I wasn't put on this planet to wage war against everything else.
If I don't feel the need to, I won't No froth

When it comes to slugs I tend to revert to Abbot Arnold Amaury's attitude of "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius" -
Kill them All - God knows the innocent.
:P

dardevle

.....



while its hard to be selective when faced with the loss of your beloved plants, it is worth remembering that slugs form an important part of the diet of many species-birds, frogs, hedgehogs etc, so relocation is probably the better method.
also, not all slugs are herbivores - some are carniverous and actually hunt by following the slime trails of other slugs, so indiscriminate killing of all of them will remove some that could be benifical.



....

bmaxi

JonWiseman wrote: »

Contrary to what bmaxi said, slug pellets, when properly used, pose little threat to other wildlife. Modern slug pellets use a substance called Metaldehyde to poison the slugs which consume them, the amount of the poison consumed by a slug is enough to kill it but would pose no danger to larger animals such as birds or hedgehogs.

Not my personal opinion, I am neither a scientist nor a biologist, but that of one Bob Flowerdew,whose opinions I value. He reckons that even small amounts of Methaldehyde are enough to kill or injure nestlings. Take it up with him.

joseph brand

simonj wrote: »

Beertraps, Nemaslug and you can get ferramol pellets from Irish seed savers and others.

Making weatherproof beertraps is easy - heres a link

Most effective way is lamping, i.e. go out at dusk with a torch, jar of hot salty water and a pair of gloves - pick em off and drown the bastards - each one you kill takes out hundreds of offspring.

If you can buy a duck, thats another option

Haha 'Lamping'. Reminds me of Pat Shortt in The Mother, out lamping maggots.

You could also use a hedgehog. Hard to get a hold of, literally.