I know most of us on here are fairly seasoned dogs owners and already know better, but after witness a very distressing incident in the vets last night with a 7mth old puppy who had somehow managed to eat half a box of slug pellets I would like to please please ask dog owners not to even have them in the house then there is no chance of such a tragedy. The dog was in severe distress, foaming at the mouth and screaming and died in the vets.


There are several natural alternatives which I'm sure someone will be along to tell you about soon...

It can be harder than you think to be safe ...

We NEVER use slug pellets, nor do our friends but we took the boys to Keith's best friend's house who had borrowed a handful from a neightbour because his melon plants were getting destroyed.

We ended up at an emergancy vet having to wrestle a rottie to the ground to get a diamorphine drip into his leg.

Luckily though, it was a case of neurotic mothers and he hadn't actually eaten any

I wasn't going to take that chance though!!

Tash

My friends cat died of eating slug pellets. They are leathel - Ive bnought some pet friendly granules - they didn't work!

Having started trying to make my garden nice but being inundated with slugs I am very much aware of why slug pellets should not be used.

We took Elsa in a year ago from a crop- farm in the northeast where she lived with a family, she is very lucky to be alive, she is a doggie that got into the slug pellets that are used on the farms, she was about 9months old when this happened, (this informtion was passed on from her vets at the time of taking her on to my vet in case there was future issues-thankfully there have no been any)
She too nearly died and spent days sedated while they tried to battle the damage the slugs pellets were doing to her-she is very well thankfully and seems to have had no lasting effects from her run in with pellets.

......... but I am so aware when even out walking that they don't get access to any in the hope she never comes to harm again as so many of them don't make it through the other side

Tigga, our beautfiul retriever also ate slug pellets. I'll not forget that weekend for a long time.

Natural remedies:

Copper bands -either around pots or around specific plants. They'll work to a point, but not if they get covered over with soil.
Gravel
Beer - Bury a container of cheap beer and the slugs who are really attracted to the smell and will fall in an drown.

But the best and safest method is hand picking them up yourself.

I believe that slugs and snails have a good sense of "home", so throwing them over the garden fence won't actually help.

Rest in peace little seven month old one, always a pup over the bridge.

A timely reminder about these horrible pellets - I long ago resigned myself to sharing my garden with snails and slugs - the chance of the dogs or cats eating them is just too scary. I still worry about the cats picking them up from elsewhere though.

Ann

Same here. One of my neighbours irritates me greatly. I grow veg (beans, lettuce, potatoes) and have lost some to slugs and snails. It's ok, I just plant more. She keeps telling me to put pellets down. I keep saying no, because it's too much of a risk to the 4 leggeds (dog and two cats) and I'll live with it. She tells me I'm being silly and of course they won't eat them

Not worth the risk IMO.

I use slug pellets - was worried at first, but it does say on the packaging that as long as they area scattered thinly over a wide area (ie not put down in a big pile) that the risk to pets is minimal. I was cautious at first to make sure that my dogs weren't interested in them and it's been fine - they don't sniff them or eat them, nor do they eat snails or slugs.

I think most slug pellets these days also have some ingredient in them to repel dogs or cats eating them.