i didnt bother to read it..

but when vinegar is a few bucks per hundred gallons.. i just dont understand why you would pay more money .. without the attendant risks?????

ken

Thanks for the link, caliloo. Now I don't know what to think. I have used the product containing iron phosphate for three years and no harm has come to my dog. She does walk in the garden, but has never shown any interest in eating anything in it, including the tiny pellets. And I have used it only once a year and it has lasted all season each 0f the three years.

On the other hand, I certainly don't want to do anything that will hurt her, she is more important to me that all the hosta I have! I also get the feeling that any use of ammonia or vinegar sprays require repeated applications, like after each rain?

chris

Bill Meyer seems to be very thorough, and I certainly trust the Swiss, Australian and US university studies which do not seem to be dependent on manufacturer's support.

There seems to be some money to be made, especially when considering that Sluggo costs 3 times what I have to pay at HD for Bug Geta.

Though it kindly proves some shadiness in the market for iron phosphate products. It doesn't make me want to discontinue using the iron phosphate based slug killer I'm using now. It says a child of 45lb would have to eat 2.5lb of this product to have a 50 percent chance at the iron poisoning being fatal. So my beloved shih tzu of 15lb would have to eat .83lb.
A bag for treatment of 1000 square feet is probably half of small box of cereal and weighs 1lb. So in one treatment there's enough in my yard to L50 Pepper, but not enough for a small child. But Pepper would have to go around 1000 square feet and eat every little pellet. Trust me... he's not that hungry or determined. And if anybody doesn't watch their beloved dog close enough to keep them from doing that as well... well they probably don't love it anyways

i-like-to-grow.
Your thought is based on the ASSUMPTION that the product is equally toxic to humans as dogs. We all know that there are plenty of substances that are not toxic to humans, but are indeed toxic to dogs (caffeine and grapes come to mind).

thisismelissa
"The iron LD50 for dogs is about the same as it is for people, but they have no mechanism for getting excess iron out of their systems."

This came from the report... so we're both correct..dogs cannot digest much of the iron.. about like lead for us. So they are at a bigger risk than a small child. BUT like I said.... If you care enough about your pets you won't let this happen. Either you'll keep an eye on them or you won't use the bait.. I never said I agreed with the false marketing of this product. Just so happens that we're human and we all make mistakes.. even large government organizations. So I'll be aware of the facts and take care of my Pepper. As far as the neighbors strays go...they shouldn't have been in my hosta beds to begin with =)

When I read that referenced Miller article I had the impression, that no one would eat the Bug Geta from Ortho I am using because a bitter ingredient is part of it, and now has been increased 10 fold. There was also no reference that animals or children actually ate it and got sick from it.

But adding that non-listed ingredient to iron-phosphate within Sluggo, made Sluggo poisonous because it made iron-phosphate digestable to kill slugs, and Sluggo had no bitter agent to let pets and children spit it out upon putting it into their mouths. From that I must say Sluggo is a dangerous product.

By the way, I am not in any way connected to Ortho, am only a retired gardener who tries to think correctly.

I've used iron phosphate type slug bait for years. My big dog loves to munch on it when I'm not looking. I have noticed his stomach grumbles loudly afterwards and the (pardon me) gas he passes is atrocious, so I can pretty much tell when he's sneaking slug bait again!!! He does weigh 125 lbs. so I would imagine his weight buffers him from any lethal side effects, not that he is eating that much of it though.

what kinda dog is this shady

ILTG, we adopted Sullivan when he was a puppy, abandoned by his former owner at the vet's office. He is a mixed breed, we think pit bull and labrador, or maybe mastiff and great dane, just don't know.

sounds fun

"He does weigh 125 lbs. so I would imagine his weight buffers him from any lethal side effects"

You mean the acutely lethal side effects. The real danger in this product is the focus put on the lethal dosage. Smaller exposure could result in organ damage that doesn't manifest itself for a couple of years. And when it does rise up will a correlation be made?

tj