Dear All,
The old-style highly toxic slug pellets will become illegal (for both garden and commercial use) when metaldehyde is banned from the end of this March. If you do have some lurking in your shed please get in touch with us for help and advice on how to dispose of them safely.
The reason for the ban is the very high toxicity to other wildlife, including birds and hedgehogs who may eat the poisoned slugs, and the long persistence in watercourses of metaldehyde.
The pellets we sell in the EWAA shop* are based on ferric phosphate, which does not have the same impacts as metaldehyde and are still safe to use if you need to.
If you’re looking for other ways to control slugs on your plot, there’s always the classic “come down when it’s dark and rainy and collect them in a bucket”! Or there are more ideas here, including using chopped up brambles around precious plants, and spot watering directly rather than creating lovely damp paths for the slugs to move around on.
*not currently open until we have a volunteer to run it – get in touch if you fancy giving this a go.