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dirty_gardener

Question about slug and snail bait

8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

I'm ready to pull out the chemicals now. I found a baby slug on my milkweed, and they are already getting lots of aphids (which I leave to the ladybugs) and what looks like the beginnings of spider mites, although I don't see any on the plants.

But my biggest problem is slugs. I found a baby slug on one plant today. This bed is between a concrete wall and a sidewalk, so snails and slugs are pretty much guaranteed. The thing is, the bed is full of earthworms, and I don't want to hurt them. I've tried beer in the past will very little luck. Does anyone know if the chemicals in the slug pellets harm earthworms? It's been raining so much lately, I don't want poison running down into the soil is I can help it.

ETA: I found this article about the iron phosphate baits, and it seems they do harm earthworms.

Another problem I have is a very curious neighbor cat who loves "treats," so I'm scared she'll find the baits and try to eat them thinking they are treats.

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