Snail Bait: Possibly the Worst Idea in Human History
It is spring in California, and people are starting their gardens. Gardens have a way of attracting unwanted guests. Snails and slugs rank high on the list of pests that most gardeners would be happy never to see.
Many people therefore purchase innocuous looking boxes of snail and slug bait. The boxes contain seemingly innocent granules containing an ingredient called metaldehyde. The granules can be placed in gardens to keep them snail- and slug-free.
But those granules are far from innocent. The other day at the emergency hospital a client brought a box of snail bait for me to evaluate. She also brought her Labrador Retriever, who was suffering from massive seizures after consuming a small portion of the box’s contents.
The side panel of the box contained a warning, about a third of the way down, in print that was almost too small to read: “May cause fatal reactions if consumed by dogs.”
May?!! If I had my way, boxes of snail bait containing metaldehyde would be imprinted with a giant skull and crossbones. The warning would be printed in bold all caps, would take up half of the box, and would read something like this:
THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS METALDEHYDE, A POTENT NERVE POISON. DOGS THAT CONSUME THIS PRODUCT WILL DIE HORRIFIC DEATHS UNLESS THEY RECEIVE RAPID VETERINARY ATTENTION. THIS PRODUCT IS FORMULATED TO BE PALATABLE TO DOGS.
The client who brought the dog and the snail bait to the emergency hospital had purchased the product not knowing that it could be toxic to her dog. She felt horribly guilty that her beloved pet, after six hours of intensive treatment, still was at risk of death.
But it wasn’t her fault. Nobody could be expected to find and read the measly warning printed on that box.
When I was a child, my father would put saucers of beer in the garden. Slugs and snails crawled in and drowned (after, I assume, getting too drunk to navigate their way out). The strawberries thrived, and no non-molluscs were harmed.
But if push came to shove, I’d let the snails have their way with my garden before I’d ever think about purchasing snail bait made with metaldehyde.
Photo credit: macrophile. Photo license: CC.
You have questions. 
A couple other things besides beer that works well is egg shells or sand. You can get regular beach sand and sprinkle it around your plants. It’s like walking over broken glass to slugs. As for the egg shells, I keep a bag in the freezer and each time I crack an egg shell I throw the shell in the bag. When I have lots of them saved up, I get them out, wash the insides and take out membrane if possible. Then I put them on a cookie sheet and stick them in a hot over for a few minutes. You are just drying them out very well in there, not cooking them so watch closely so you don’t burn them. Take them out and cool. Then put them in a bag and crush finely with rolling pin or can of veggies. Sprinkle these fine egg shells around your plants and it will kill or discourage slugs. They wont cross over the crushed shells or sand and live to talk about it! Plus it adds calcium to your soil. Works great! I use this especially around columbine and hostas!
At a previous house we had amazon sized slugs! I went out in the early mornings before daylight when I would take the dogs out and bring a salt shaker with me. A grain or so of salt on a slug makes them melt like the wicked witch from the Wizzard of Oz!
I used to imagine the slugs saying “I’m melting” as I sprinkled them!
Just becareful not to sale your plants or you could kill them.
Well that sounds extremely dangerous. Hopefully this article will go a little ways towards saving a few dogs.
-Dan
3Brothers Billiards
Prior to using any poison the entire “box” or instructions should be read. Especially the small print. Taking a few seconds more to read the label will prevent much heart ache and needless expendatures.
It’s all about common sense
We used to use salt…pour it on slugs, or leave a trail of it around places we don’t want slugs/snails. Salt dissolves the nasty critters into goo and doesn’t harm pets.
Yep. Salt’s what mama uses. Seems the slugs REALLY like the cat food that mama puts out for Pretty Bit on the front porch. Mama puts a circle of salt around the bowl and the slugs don’t even come on the porch, much less near the bowl! She checked and, yep! They can smell… probably know the salt is there and stay away. ^~~^
We do hope the doggy mentioned is ok!!!
Plant a row of marigolds around your garden. Most critters don’t like the “taste” of them, and will stay away.
Whoops! I was wrong. Sorry about that.
Ok, here’s a couple really good articles with solid scientific-based advice.
From Washington Toxics Coalition: Protecting your Plants from Slugs.
From GoatWorld: Companion Planting.
I put fresh food and water out for any neighborhood or stray kitties that want a snack or refreshing drink of water, but these gigantic slugs are all over it at night. I don’t want to kill or melt them (I guess slugs need to eat too), but I’m trying to find a way to DETER them. I used to have a big toad that lived under the dogs water bowl on the back patio. I left him there and after awhile there were no more slugs back there. Now if I could find a big toad who wanted to live near my front entry way, that might solve my problem….LOL
Saucers of beer have worked very very well for us over the years..
Seaweed is a great deterrent, if you live on a coast. It has the salt content and it also breaks down for mulch. I placed it around the outside perimeter of my garden.
Thank you Dr. Barchas for having such STRONG feelings regarding the Snail Bait labeling. I will hopefully be bringing my 65 lb. Black Lab home today after suffering from Snail Bait poisoning.
I understand Forrest’ comment about “Common Sense”, but how sensible is it that there’s so much poison in snail bait that just a few teaspoons can KILL a dog! My God, you’re only trying to get rid of snails!
While I was at the emergency last night there were 5 other dogs being treated for snail bait poisoning. It’s killing dogs all over the country.
The labeling should state that “This product WILL be FATAL to a Dog if not treated immediately”. How do we go about making a change to the warning label on this product? Does anyone know where I can start? Thanks. I don’t want this to happen to other dogs.
When I was four (in 1950), my dog Bounce died from slug bait that was on my grandaunt’s garbage pile (not even the garden!) next door. (Probably Corry’s. There was a very old ox of it in the collection of stuff on her porch even years later.)
My last memory of my dog was him barking and growling and foaming at the mouth and my father yelling “Get back! Get back!” before taking him to the vet…never to return.
I have refused to use the stuff at my house ever. I almost never use poisons of any sort. The only exception I ever make is spray put directly into a hive of stinging insects, yellowjackets or other wasps usually, that are actually living in part of my house. And then, only after they’ve proven themselves to be a problem that cannot be dealt with any other way.
My mother said it when she said that the problem with poisons is that you never know who or what it is that you’re going to kill. Poisons get loose.
I deal with slugs by walking about with a trowel and removing them one by one. We used to kill them, but that just calls in more slugs. Since there’s a creek on my property with woods on the other side, I’ve been pitching them across the creek into the woods. There are native slugs and snails and therefore something that eats them.
By the way, one of my cats died from the neighbor using mouse poisons only a couple years ago. The mice don’t die immediately and go wandering out where they put dogs, cats & children at risk. My indoor-outdoor cat found and ate the mouse and we didn’t realize the significance of the barfed up mouse with white stuff around it until too late. (Though it might have been too late when he heaved the mouse…poor thing.)
Personally, I feel that nearly all poisons used in, and by, households should be reviewed and possibly banned…including the cleaning solutions that take out children. (Don’t get me started about my niece…forever aged 21 months.)
i just lost my dog 5 days ago to what i know believe is slug bait poisoning ! my brother lost his dog today to what we know was slug bait poisoning
i had my dog yoda for 14 years my brothers dog was just 4 years old !! it makes me sick to death that they have no huge labels saying it is so harmful to our family pets !! very sad in maple ridge bc canada
OMC – what a horribly sad story.
This is something Mum has worried about for ages, but never heard of a casualty before. There are many slug deterrents, including pellets out there, which are animal and child safe, so it’s hard to inderstand why the others are still on sale. We can confine our pets and children to a certain extent, but the natural food chain brings in external threats that we can’t control.
No little creature should ever have to suffer this, there are enough threats to our furry/baby friends without this. We are going to mail all the bad guys on this in the UK. If anything ever comes of it, we’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, purrs and hugs to Yoda’s sad family, we feel for you.
We lost our dog Daisy yesterday to snail bait poisoning. She was seven years old and a bundle of energy. My tribute is here: http://goodrichlife.blogspot.com/2009/05/sad-goodbye-to-loyal-friend.html.
Thanks for raising people’s awareness of this. We too feel horrible that we didn’t see the warning on the box. Until this changes, I’m afraid a lot of dog lovers will learn the hard way that snail bait is not as innocuous as it seems.
We are in day 3 of treatment for our dog who knocked the box of snailbait off of a shelf due to something attractive in it’s scent and has been seizing for days through intensive care. Last night, she had yet to move her limbs. She is moving them this morning. We still do not know if there is permenant damage to her nervous system. I hope people get informed before more dogs suffer and/ or die.
[...] the person who tends the lawn in question had recently applied some horrific pesticide such as snail bait to the lawn. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want dogs or cats on his [...]
[...] the person who tends the lawn in question had recently applied some horrific pesticide such as snail bait to the lawn. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want dogs or cats on his [...]
[...] the person who tends the lawn in question had recently applied some horrific pesticide such as snail bait to the lawn. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want dogs or cats on his [...]
[...] the person who tends the lawn in question had recently applied some horrific pesticide such as snail bait to the lawn. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want dogs or cats on his [...]
[...] the person who tends the lawn in question had recently applied some horrific pesticide such as snail bait to the lawn. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want dogs or cats on his [...]
Thanks for the great information. The remainder of my box of Corry’s slug bait is going in the trash! My puppy is far too valuable to lose versus a couple of slugs.
With nearly every home in America having pets, there is no way the manufacturer will EVER put a huge warning on their box that says it’s harmful. They’ll only go with the minimum warning as required by law. I think we’d need to start a campaign with whatever government alphabet agency is in charge of such things (EPA, FDA, etc.) in order to force them to change their labeling.
Until then, whenever I see someone buying snail bait, I tell them how toxic it is for dogs. And I’ve thought about making my own sign to put up in the stores or stickers to put on the boxes that tell how toxic it is. Of course, that would probably get me banned from the store if not arrested, so I haven’t done that yet.
Snails and slugs are super-nasty around our house this year. I’ll have to try the beer thing, but not in our back yard. I don’t need a herd of drunken chihuahuas running around. lol. We mostly use salt and sand but the egg thing or DE sounds like a great plan, too.