Slugs are one of the most annoying pests to deal with in the garden. It feels like they provide little-to-no benefit whilst causing havoc across your plants and vegetables. The go-to solution is slug pellets. But, do you know how to use slug pellets effectively?
You can use slug pellets by placing them in the soil and near any plants, you want to save.
Slug pellets are an efficient and effective way to get rid of slugs if you are looking for a quick solution. You can get slug pellets from most garden centres and DIY stores and then sprinkle them on the soil or near the plants which are vulnerable to slug attacks.
Where Do You Put Slug Pellets?
It can be confusing to know how to use slug pellets when you are doing it for the first time. You must follow the manufacturer’s instructions when you use them. However, you can take a few routine steps to ensure that you use slug pellets effectively.
It would help if you did not scatter the slug pellets everywhere in your garden, which is usually what people do the first time. Ultimately, just a light sprinkling around the base of vulnerable plants is all that is needed.
You don’t need to flood your garden with these chemical-laden pellets nor do you need to waste them on plants that tend to be fairly resilient. Instead, focus your attention on those plants which tend to suffer from slug damage.
Can You Put Slug Pellets Near Vegetables?
Using chemicals in your garden can be questionable, especially if you are growing edibles like fruits or vegetables. If you have slugs in your garden, you will want to get rid of them immediately.
It is normal to be hesitant in such a situation since you will be consuming the things you grow in your garden, and you do not want to be poisoned.
Fortunately, you can use slug pellets near any vegetables you are growing in your garden. You can scatter the slug pellets close to the vegetable plants. However, you need to ensure you do not directly apply the chemicals to the vegetables.
How Long Does It Take for Slug Pellets to Work?
It is important to get a number and a time frame for using any pesticide in your garden. This will enable you to keep track of the chemicals, know when to reapply them, and understand if the application is working.
If you decide to use slug pellets, you will need to apply them once every two weeks until you notice that there are no slugs in your garden.
The pellets attract any nearby slugs and kill them for between three to six days. Slug pellets will also remain active after rain and wind, unlike many other slug deterrents.
Why You SHOULDN’T Use Slug Pellets
While slug pellets may be a fast solution to your slug problems, they may not be the best ones. Whichever methods you use in your garden, you must know about the benefits and drawbacks – slug pellets have many drawbacks!
Commercially available slug pellets usually contain one of two chemicals, including methiocarb, which can cause extensive damage to the wider environment. Due to the dangerous nature of these slug pellets, they have been banned in various countries.
The slug pellets which people tend to use in their garden includes metaldehyde. While commercially available, the poison is still harmful and works by dehydrating slugs.
Unfortunately, slug pellets attract not only slugs but also other animals. The pellets react differently when ingested by other animals than with slugs.
Many different animals are slug predators. Slugs are particularly slow animals that fall prey to many animals, including hedgehogs, frogs, and birds. When these animals feed on slugs, they will ingest the poison.
Since the animals are small, the poison can be fatal for them. In recent years there has been a decline in the population of many slug predators.
One of the dangers of using slug pellets is attracting animals that you do not wish for. The covering of the slug pellets is made from a kind of cereal that attracts slugs but also other unwanted animals like rats.
Since the slug pellets are colourful, they are attractive to animals, so many of them die from being directly poisoned through their consumption.
In addition, slug pellets can also be harmful to children. The pellets are small and of bright colour which makes them susceptible to being eaten by children since they are quite curious. If you have children, you must ensure not to let them out in your garden or keep an eye on them.
Slug pellets are not only harmful to animals and children but also to the environment. These chemicals can get washed away and end up in water sources and harm the wider environment.
Summary
Slug pellets are a common method used by gardeners to get rid of slugs as fast as possible. Using slug pellets effectively kills slugs within three to six days. However, it would help to keep reapplying slug pellets in your garden until the infestation goes away.
Slug pellets can be used in the soil and under any plants you wish to protect. It is perfectly safe to use the pellets around fruit trees and vegetables as long as you do not apply them directly to them.
However, slug pellets can kill other wildlife, kill slug predators, harm the wider environment and cause long-term damage to the biodiversity in your garden. Ultimately, slug pellets should be avoided, no matter how frustrating the infestation of slugs may be.
