# Gardeners, pet owners beware --



## susanne (May 25, 2010)

I've never been one to trust herbicides or other chemical products, no matter how safe their manufacturers claim them to be. But here in the northwest, slugs and snails can gobble down plants overnight, so when Sluggo came onto the market, it seemed ideal. The active ingredient listed is iron phosphate, which the label says is safe for children, pets and wildlife.

My sister is a dietitian and took many chemistry classes (and is equally suspicious of chemicals in the enivornment), agreed that iron phosphate should be harmless.

Recently my neighbor's Papillion died of unknown causes. In trying to save him, they checked through the neighborhood for anything he may have gotten into. I told him of my caution with using anything, and that the worst things we used were vinegar and Sluggo.

He mentioned this to the vet -- Dove Lewis Emergency Hospital, the best in the area.

The vet told him that they had recently had several dogs die after eating Sluggo. The iron phosphate is safe enough, but Sluggo is not required to list EDTA, a chelating agent that causes the iron phosphate to release its toxins. For some reason, the EPA has not yet declared EDTA to be toxic, so the Sluggo ingredients label reads: 1% iron phosphate, 99% inert material. Guess what's in that 99%?

The vets at Dove Lewis called Monterey, the manufacturer of Sluggo, reported the deaths, and asked them to change their labels.

Their response was: Well, you're not supposed to feed it to them. They said that they WOULD NOT be changing their label to warn users of the risk.

I hate the chicken little alerts often seen on the internet, and I hate to see products condemned with faint evidence. In truth, other slug baits are even worse. Each gardener must make their own choice.

But how can anyone make an informed decision or take the necessary precautions when the label (and most of the internet, gardening websites, forums, publications, etc.) proclaim Sluggo to be safe and the best thing since sliced bread?

I am infuriated most of all by the manufacturer's callous response when a veterinarian presented them with clear evidence that their product was not safe. What would they say if it were a child who died? It is all too possible.

As it turns out, our neighbors do not believe their dog got into our garden, but I am now on a mission to let everyone know that while Sluggo and other iron phosphate slug bait claim to be "safe for children, pets and wildlife," they are anything but. If you must use it, use a cloche or other device to protect those who could be harmed.

I'm embarrassed to say that I let down my guard and trusted that Sluggo was safe. Sadly, my usual suspicions about chemical companies once again has been proven correct. I guess I'll have to go back to beer and copper strips to save my hostas.


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## Shari (May 25, 2010)

Sorry to hear that.

If people can, a duck or two are great at eating all the slugs and other creatures like that. Works better than any other method. Down side, is if folks have dogs, they need to keep them safe from them.


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## susanne (May 25, 2010)

Shari said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> If people can, a duck or two are great at eating all the slugs and other creatures like that. Works better than any other method. Down side, is if folks have dogs, they need to keep them safe from them.


Shari, Do you mean keep the ducks safe from the dogs or keep the dogs safe from the ducks?

Our dogs are smaller than everyone except our banty hen, Anita. Dogs and cats are afraid of the chickens...although Anita sleeps next to Willoughby, our long-haired black cat.

I'd love to add a couple of ducks. Do they interact well with chickens? I wanted to get a turkey (as a pet, not for Thanksgiving), but too many health risks when they are kept together.


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## Sue_C. (May 25, 2010)

I have always assumed that anything made to kill one species, could very well be harmful to another. This isn't just with chemical pestisides either...there are many "natural" pestisides/products etc...that will kill/harm more than one species.

On another note, I don't find anything that relates to this EDTA to possiblly being the toxin that killed your neighbour's dog.




EDTA

Do you have references? I am interested to know, as it is in EVERYTHING??


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## susanne (May 26, 2010)

Sue_C. said:


> Do you have references? I am interested to know, as it is in EVERYTHING??


I'm glad you asked, Sue, as I meant to include my sources on my initial post. As I mentioned, I don't want this to come across as the abstract anecdotal tale of woe so often found on the internet. These sources quite credible.

First, I spoke directly with a vet at Dove Lewis, who said that I was welcome to use them as a reference. Their contact info is:

DOVE LEWIS EMERGENCY VETERINARY HOSPITAL

1945 NW Pettygrove

Portland, OR 97209

Phone: 503.228.7281

http://www.dovelewis.org

The following articles can be found online:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/pethealth/2008/07/gardners_beware_of_socalled_pe.html

(this is the Oregonian newspaper's website. They give fairly cursory information, and do not go into the reason behind the risk.

http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/RRIronPhosphate.htm

This article delves into EDTA and what it does.

Finally, when contacted by Dove Lewis, the manufacturer readily admitted that Sluggo can be toxic. (That was when they made the comment that you're not supposed to feed it to them.)

Sue, you are absolutely correct in assuming that anything poisonous to one being should be assumed poisonous to another. The word on the street, or in the garden community, was that it didn't poison slugs but rather kept them from digesting food, thus killing them but not hurting others. My own fault for not researching further.


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## Shari (May 26, 2010)

susanne said:


> Shari, Do you mean keep the ducks safe from the dogs or keep the dogs safe from the ducks?
> 
> Our dogs are smaller than everyone except our banty hen, Anita. Dogs and cats are afraid of the chickens...although Anita sleeps next to Willoughby, our long-haired black cat.
> 
> I'd love to add a couple of ducks. Do they interact well with chickens? I wanted to get a turkey (as a pet, not for Thanksgiving), but too many health risks when they are kept together.



Yes, keep the ducks safe from the Dogs. I only have one Duck left but she is housed in with the chickens. If you either buy a duck with their adult feathers or raise one in say a large outdoor Rabbit hutch until it has most of its adult feathers, it will be fine living with the chickens.

My chickens and duck(used to have more but that is for another time) get along fine with our outside Cat Nari.


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## Katiean (May 28, 2010)

When I lived in Utah I had a pair of ducks that ran my backyard. My dogs all just went out and went potty and came back in. They never bothered the ducks. We were the only house on the block with no grasshoppers and no slugs or snails that really loved our raspberry's before we got the ducks. I have animals (dogs, cats, chickens, and the horses) I do not use any poison of any kind. You can put a pan of beer out where the slugs and snails gather and they end up drowning in the beer.


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