Slug Pellets and Cats?
BRISTOL86
Posts: 78
Since I got a cat and stopped putting slig pellets down, my plants have been ravaged. My choisyas are full of holes and I put a new clematis in a week ago which has had 95% of its flowers demolished in a week.
So...
1) are there any definitely 100% pet safe pellets available?
2) if not, is there anything else I can do to alleviate the situation?
thanks!
0
Posts
get rid of the cat????
JUST KIDDING.
I was hoping he would enjoy a diet of slugs but sadly it appears not
frogs and birds do eat slugs and snails, but unfortunately, cats kill frogs and birds in huge numbers.
I'd stick with the frogs and birds personally.
At the risk of being slated for repeating myself (I posted to another thread yesterday on the subject), try beer traps, soaked porridge oats, a sacrificial lettuce. Anything that the critturs will enjoy but placed near their hideouts, so they don't have to journey far to find a meal and, importanty not placed near the plants to be protected or they might get distracted and munch on the wrong thing. Plus, water in the mornings so that the ground is dry by evening when they come out and that makes it more difficult for them to move around.
H-C
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I have both a cat and a dog and use some slug pellets, the effective ones!
Neither the cat or the dog show any interest in them!
They should only be scattered at SIX pellets to the square yard, no more!
On the other hand,there was a post on here some time ago from some vet who said, that every week he /she had lovely cats dying in their arms that had been poisoned by slug pellets as there was no cure!
But then there are always some who swear they were abducted by aliens and everyone else is out of step who disbelieves them!
Give these a try http://www.wickes.co.uk/Westland-Eraza-Slug+Snail-Killer-1kg/p/209354
I use them in all my pots and large containers, and they really do work on the slugs.
They are supposed to have an animal repellent, though I don't have any pets so can't confirm either way.
But if you are not to sure, then best not to put Kitty at risk.
Sheps...
Last edited: 28 July 2016 23:47:12
Picking them off just before you go to bed is very effective. You can also put something down like bits of tarpaulin which they'll almost certainly hide under after eating themselves into a clematis-stuper. Then you can just turn the tarpaulin over in the morning and remove the slugs from it.
Personally I don't really like killing things so I'm trying to grow mostly things that slugs won't touch and keep the things they do in hanging baskets and pots on the patio where they're less likely to travel to. It's not always practical, though, Dahlias are one of my favourite flowers!
a snip with a pair of scissors is my method. Instant and I'm sure painless for them ( compared with other methods ) and the remains can still be eaten by other animals.
Not for the squeamish though.
When I use pellets I just put a few under a broken tile or upturned plant saucer. The slugs sneak under and scoff them but they're inaccessible to other animals.
Scissors for me too, although I'd have to spend most of my life out there snipping to get them all.
I grow plants which are less susceptible - much easier to control the ones which are attractive.
And for anyone who thinks eggshells or anything else will keep hungry slugs away...
that's a thistle...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...