I have read that the ferrous sulphate pellets are not good for earthworms and I find them not effective against slugs but definitely an improvement on metaldehyde. The ferrous pellets kept my hostas in Belgium safe for years.
I fail to be impressed by flower gardens where I know the gardener has resorted to this stuff or any other kind of mass extermination.. it makes me question just who is the villain...
@Obelixx I have heard this about worms and there is some concern about dog's picking them up but no firm evidence as yet.
@Marlorena I try to be as organic as possible and agree but at times the snail / slug population just overwhelms the wildlife's ability to keep up and so just occasionally we have to intervene a little if we want any flowers or veg.
I use just a few ferrous sulphate (organic) pellets on plants under cover and in pots, in the spring I will use nematodes just as the slugs and snails are hatching this seems to knock them back the rest of the time I just let nature take its course.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
Yes HH - the trick is to use them sparingly but regularly round susceptible plants and start early so you get them as the hatch from eggs or emerge from hibernation and before they can munch and breed.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I have some of the metaldehyde pellets, but I make sure they have that bitter tasting ingredient in them, can’t think off hand what it’s called, something like Bretex, not quite, but similar, the taste is so vile that nothing will touch them. Then I use four grains to a plant, once the plants grow on they seem to be ok it’s only new shoots.
I cringe when I see a ring of the things around a plant, (if I see it on this site, I don’t look at the thread again) absolutely no need so I’m glad it’s banned, it’s just that people who use them like that have probably contributed to the banning.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I have a very old pack of metaldehyde slug pellets which I have no intention of using, plus various other garden chemicals from way back when I used to use such things (ie before I saw the light...), including Imidacloprid for killing vine weevil, which has been shown to be harmful to bees, so I won't use it.
I took these to my local waste transfer station to ask what to do with them. "Just chuck them in with the household waste!" I was told. I brought them back home again... but what can I do with them??
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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Here in France, all sunthetic chemical based pesticides and herbicides are banned as of Jan 1st but we can still use stuff based on plants apparently.
https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/centre-val-de-loire/interdiction-pesticides-synthese-glyphosate-particuliers-1er-janvier-2019-1601859.html
@Marlorena I try to be as organic as possible and agree but at times the snail / slug population just overwhelms the wildlife's ability to keep up and so just occasionally we have to intervene a little if we want any flowers or veg.
I use just a few ferrous sulphate (organic) pellets on plants under cover and in pots, in the spring I will use nematodes just as the slugs and snails are hatching this seems to knock them back the rest of the time I just let nature take its course.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
I cringe when I see a ring of the things around a plant, (if I see it on this site, I don’t look at the thread again) absolutely no need so I’m glad it’s banned, it’s just that people who use them like that have probably contributed to the banning.
I took these to my local waste transfer station to ask what to do with them. "Just chuck them in with the household waste!" I was told. I brought them back home again... but what can I do with them??