Slugs are a nuisance and can destroy your lovely bedding plants very quickly. Last month after I had planted my bedding plants in the tubs and borders and done my hanging baskets I was suddenly over run with them. There was easily 100's of them in all my plants, and borders and openly slithering around my patio. The damage to my plants was extensive and I lost quite a few of them.


The big problem is how to get rid of them, as we have got a dog a chemical pesticide was not an option at this point, I was scared in case he would eat anything I put down and end up dead along with the slugs. Also we have a bird feeder in the garden and I was scared these would kill the birds as well.


We read up about how to get rid of them, apparently they like beer so if trying this method you need to get a container with a lid on with the beer inside, make a hole above the beer line and the slugs are said to go in and drown. We put about 8 containers out but not one slug went in. Salt is an option, but cruel it burns into the slugs and I couldn't bring myself to do this salt can also kill the plants.


Collecting them was not an option, as I said there were literally hundreds of them; the soil was teaming with them and many all over the plants. Slugs can lay a lot of eggs in the spring and summer and as soon as they hatch they are active just like the adult slugs chomping away at everything.


After failing with the beer and not knowing what else to do I starting researching on the internet for a chemical slug killer, and I discovered Bio slug and snail killer. I needed to make sure that these would only kill the slugs so I read some independent articles from different gardening specialists.


Bio slug and snail pellets contain 3% metaldehyde which is the active ingredient used to kill the slugs but is not strong enough to kill any other wildlife or pets if used correctly. They also contain an animal and bird repellent to put off anything else eating it. They are also coloured blue which is a colour that is known to put of birds from eating it as well. A large number of these pellets would be needed to kill any other wildlife in the garden; this is why it is so important that they are used correctly. Most wildlife will not eat dead slugs either so there is no fear that the poison will be transferred from the dead bodies of the slugs, but it is still better to remove any dead bodies that are found.


Bio slug pellets attract the snail as a food that it will eat before it gets to the plants and once eaten they will quickly die. They are useful for mass destruction of slugs quickly as obviously once dead in great numbers there will be no more adults left to breed more.


Bio slug pellets come in an easy to sprinkle green bottle and it is vital that they are sprinkled thinly around the affected plants and in the borders; each pellet must be separate so they are not piled up they can also be used in hanging baskets as well.


I didn't sprinkle mine directly in the tubs I put a few pellets on the ground around the tubs and this was good for me as the slugs died before getting into the tubs and I was able to sweep them up.


Bio slug pellets are shower proof as well so if there is a light rain then there is no need to apply more.


These slug pellets were a success for me, all traces of snails were gone within a few days, and some of my plants recovered once they had stopped being attacked. I then swept all the pellets off the patio and gave the borders a raking to bury any leftover pellets. Our dog (Huxley ) ignored them and I didn't notice any birds trying to eat them either.


Where it would, according to the manufactures and several articles I have read, need a very large amount of pellets to harm pets or children if consumed, I would advise not to leave children or pets alone in the garden during this treatment.


Bio slug Pellets must be stored in a dry place and out of reach of children, kept away from foodstuffs and needless to say hands need to be washed after use.


I bought mine from Homebase £3.98 for 1kg tub, which goes a long way I still have three quarters of it left.