Plea for gardeners to avoid poisonous slug pellets

Mon, 23 May 2022

Gardeners on the Island are asked to avoid using poisonous slug pellets to protect their gardens and allotments, due to the risk they pose to wildlife and the environment.

It comes after the UK banned the use of Metaldehyde slug pellets last month, having already made it illegal to sell them a year earlier.

The pellets contain a pesticide used to control slugs in crops and garden plants and is also toxic to snails, birds and other mammals, such as hedgehogs.

The UK ban was imposed after their Expert Committee on Pesticides and Health and Safety Executive, both labelled the product an ‘unacceptable risk’ to wildlife.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) is urging people to stop selling and using the product, while it looks at whether legislation is needed for similar measures on the Island.

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