Will Sluggo kill earthworms?
anney
14 years ago
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jean001
14 years agoanney
14 years agoRelated Discussions
do pesticides kill earthworms?
Comments (6)Some pesticides are like nuclear bombs to earthworms. Sevin is one of the worst for them. Other pesticides actually appear to benefit them. Neem oil may be such a pesticide. If it's pill bugs you want to get rid of then use Spinosad as it is one of the few things effective on them. Here is a link about spinosad. Whlie it isn't considered particularly toxic to worms, it may well be toxic to other soil organisms. Just the way it goes with most pesticides. I spose the real question is do you need a pesticide to control the pill bugs? Often it's a cultural issue such as a wood mulch that attracts them in droves. Removing it from the area plants are being bothered in decreases their numbers in the area....See MorePoochella-can't get Sluggo Plus in NYS apparently
Comments (3)How curious Phylrae. Does NY want to protect their earwig population???? It's certified for organic use. I know I stopped at several nurseries last year who were not going to order Sluggo Plus until their stock of regular Sluggo was sold, so my cynical side wonders if the Agway guy was just wanting to clear their shelves of product before ordering a new product. Total mystery. Couldn't find any mention of Sluggo Plus on the NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation banned pesticides etc, but I did find Sluggo Plus, quite allowable, on the list at the link. I don't know why it would be banned, but get it at Amazon and see if they can ship it to you. Don't call me for bail money when the Sluggo Plus Police come a-knockin' though LOL! Here is a link that might be useful: scroll down to Sluggo Plus...See MoreHow does Sluggo and Metaldehyde work?
Comments (11)Bill Meyer posted this on Hallson's forum. Perhaps Sluggo is not as safe as thought. by Bill Meyer Jan 05, 2010 9:57 am Hi Everybody, I've had doubts about those iron phosphate slug baits for a while now and recent studies are starting to come in that raise very real questions about how these products got the reputation that they have. These products are sold as "safe and non-toxic" in their advertising, based on the claim that they use only iron phosphate to kill slugs. The ingredient labels show only 1% iron phosphate under active ingredients and 99% inert ingredients. The latter is wheat gluten. Actual analysys however shows that they contain over 1% EDTA in addition. If these slug baits really were what their label says, they would be as safe as they are advertised to be. They also would not kill any slugs or snails. It is only the addition of EDTA that makes them work, and that EDTA makes them far more poisonous than they are advertised to be. In Switzerland (study below) the organization that decides if a product is to be certified for organic farming reviewed these baits and denied them because of the EDTA. In their report, they said that EDTA is more poisonous than metaldehyde and that they didn't think the products would be much safer than metaldehyde baits. This is turning out to be true, as animal poisonings are starting to be reported. Below are links to two reports of dogs being poisoned, and the Ohio State study (also below) says the EPA reports "5 domestic animal deaths, 8 major domestic animal incidents and 106 moderate and minor domestic animal incidents from the use of iron phosphate slug and snail baits". These products do not contain Bitrex as do the metaldehyde products, so they are more likely to be consumed by pets and widlife, and worse yet by children. These are mainly caused by iron poisoning, which is very serious itself. Additionally, excess iron builds up in the system and is very hard to get rid of so continually eating small amounts of these pellets slowly increases the amount of iron in the system until it reaches toxic levels. I have contacted the EPA about this, and others have as well. I think we'll see a re-evaluation from them in the near future, but I don't know how long that will take. It will almost certainly involve reclassifying these baits as poisonous and requiring that the EDTA content be shown on the label. If you have these products or are planning to use them, I strongly recommend that you treat them the same way as you would the metaldehyde baits, and consider them equally dangerous until we know more about them. Be extremely careful to keep children and pets out of the containers. Use only sparingly as directed, don't put big bands or piles anywhere, and clean up spills. Do not allow children or pets to play unsupervised in treated areas, and watch for neighbor's dogs or kids when the product is down. It is ultimately our responsibility to keep kids, pets, and wildlife safe from poisoning when we use or store poisons. Both metaldehyde and iron phosphate baits are pretty safe if used properly, but they are both dangerous poisons. Remember too that the iron phosphate baits as far as I know do not contain Bitrex so they are much easier to eat in large quantities. .......Bill Meyer Dog Poisonings: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/avj/2009/00000087/00000007/art00011 http://blog.oregonlive.com/pethealth/2008/07/gardners_beware_of_socalled_pe.html Earthworm Poisonings: http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~soilecol/Full%20articles/2008/Crop%20Protection%2028.pdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4B-4JKJT15-1&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f73325d8a5e3b2c97804dd3ac845cb8c Swiss Investigation for Organic Certification: http://www2.eduskunta.fi/kerhot/luonto/eurosiili/pdf/FIBL_FeP_Jan06_E.pdf Sluggo Label and Advertising: http://www.montereylawngarden.com/pdf/sluggo_03_bilingual.pdf http://www.neudorff.com/index.php?id=181 http://www.growercentral.com/UPLOADS/PDFS/ferramol%20brochure.pdf NY Department of Environmental Conservation Statement: http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/insect-mite/fenitrothion-methylpara/iron%20phosphatic%20acid/ironphosphuricacid_500.pdfIf you thought the auction was fun, come to the meeting! I've used both baits and found metaldehyde works better and I rather like seeing the slug carcasses as proof that the stuff is working. Mark...See MoreCan't find Sluggo
Comments (11)Iron phosphate based slug killer is sold by other brands besides Sluggo. Look for Ortho Ecosense at Ace and other hardware stores. Home Depot carries Dr. Ts' Slug bait. and Espoma is another brand carried at many box stores. But Ken is right, the easiest source is to let your fingers do the walking on the internet. I have to make a comment about the Bill Mayer article. Although he does raise a valid point, he forgot to mention that even TABLE SALT ingested in large quantity can be fatal. If your dog gets into the slug bait bag and eats it like dog food, yes there is going to be a consequence, but a few pellets sprinkled around a hosta is not likely to kill or make sick much more than very small creatures.... hopefully slugs, and unfortunately yes earthworms are also at risk.... For that matter 10% ammonia solution is hardly a safe alternative either.... Lets just keep things in perspective, ounce per ounce iron phosphate bait is by far a safer pesticide than metaldyhyde....See Morejustaguy2
14 years agoanney
14 years agojean001
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agoanney
14 years agonygardener
14 years agotulsacityfarmer
14 years agoTL123
11 years agoKimmsr
11 years agooliveoyl3
11 years agojolj
11 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years agoMark LaPolla
9 months ago
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