Does Bayer Vegetable And Garden Insect Dust Kill Slugs

More PRI Pest Management Bulletins

Signs of snail and slug damage?

Garden snails and slugs are particularly bothersome garden pests. Prevent them from going after your vegetable patch and ornamental plants with low impact approaches to reduce their habitat and control their numbers. Weigh the trade-offs of using chemical baits before starting a treatment plan.

Preventing and Managing Infestations

Snails and slugs feed on a wide variety of living plants and decaying vegetation. As they eat, they create irregular holes with smooth edges in leaves, vegetables, flowers and succulent plants. They also like to chew on the fruit, foliage and young bark of some trees, particularly citrus. Once a food source is found, these pests will often return to feed at night or on cloudy days. Look for the silvery trails they leave behind to confirm their presence.

Remove Snail and Slug Habitat

During the day snails and slugs hide out under boards, in dense ground covers, in weedy places and in low, leafy branches—anywhere cool and moist is potentially a favorite hangout.

Focus on areas near vegetable beds and vulnerable plants.

Thin out infested areas so that sunlight can reach ground level and air can circulate to dry the space. If weeds are a problem, use repellent mulch, such as rough-cut cedar chips.

Young snails stay close to the place where they hatched for months, providing a clue for where snails are laying eggs.

Reducing sites for them to shelter will allow fewer snails and slugs to survive and you can easily search them out for removal in the remaining sites.

Create Barriers

Protect vulnerable plants and surround areas harboring pests to discourage their movement into other parts of the garden.

Put floating row covers over vulnerable plants until they grow large enough to withstand predation.

Wrap copper foil around planting boxes or tree trunks to keep snails out and off of your prized plants. When a snail touches copper metal, it receives an electric shock.

Heap dry ashes, diatomaceous earth or other abrasive materials in a band 1 inch high and 3 inches wide to protect plants. These barriers are effective, but do not work when wet.

Plant Strategically and Switch to Drip Irrigation

Locate vegetables, seedlings and other vulnerable plants far away from snail and slug hideouts.

Slugs and snails prefer plants with succulent foliage, so be vigilant if you plant their favorite foods, such as: hostas, strawberries, marigolds, peas, leafy greens, broccoli and cabbage.

Some plants are resistant to damage, including: geraniums, California poppies, lavender and sage. Many woody plants and grasses are not appealing to these pests and will have very limited damage.

Using drip irrigation will reduce the humidity and moisture that these pests thrive on. Make your yard less slug friendly while conserving water.

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Read on for information on low-impact methods for snail and slug control. Also included is a comparison of active ingredients commonly used in snail and slug molluscicides.

Interested in finding out more about specific snail and slug pesticide products? The Pest Smart app is now available in the iTunes Store. Conveniently access pesticide data on your iPhone and iPad while on the job, in the store, and at home.

Search by product name or registration number.
Search by pest to find pesticide products that target common household and garden pests like ants, fleas, cockroaches, lawn weeds and aphids.
Quickly verify the eligibility of a pesticide product for use in the LEED v4-certified Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.
Compare products and find least-toxic alternatives to streamline decision-making.
Link to PRI's Pest Management Bulletins to learn about low-impact methods of pest control that minimize pesticide use and exposure.

Low Impact Approaches

Handpick

When suffering heavy damage, look for slugs and snails daily. Pay special attention to the places they like to hide. When populations decline significantly, a thorough weekly handpicking will help keep their numbers down.

Encourage them to come out of hiding by watering an infested area in the late afternoon. Take a moonlit stroll with a flashlight or get up early in the morning to catch them in your garden.

Wear rubber gloves if needed, pick them up, and place them in a sealed plastic bag destined for the trash. Or dump them into soapy water before adding them to the compost pile as fertilizer; crushing these pests is also fast and effective.

Make Traps

Place boards and overturned flowerpots around your yard to attract slugs and snails for easy collection.

A simple but effective trap is a board raised off the ground by 1 inch runners, making it easy for them to crawl beneath.

Beer will draw in any slugs and snails within a few feet of a trap. Replenish every few days to keep levels high enough for drowning, install a raised top to reduce evaporation and make sure traps have deep vertical sides to prevent escape.

Slugs and snails are also attracted to inverted melon rinds, citrus peels and potato slices. Check your traps daily and remove any pests found.

Support Natural Enemies

Slugs and snails have many natural enemies: ground beetles, toads, turtles, birds, snakes, rodents and pathogens. Their predation will compliment other control strategies.

Ducks and geese in particular love to snack on snails and slugs. When penned in infested areas they will quickly reduce populations. Be careful, birds also eat seedlings and tender plants.

For the control of snails in citrus orchards, the decollate snail provides effective biological control in Southern California. They are only available for release in certain counties due to their potential impact on endangered mollusk species. Be aware that they also feed on seedlings, plants and flowers.

Snail and Slug Control Pesticides

Types of Snail and Slug Control Pesticides

There are many products available that target slugs and snails, including bait, granule, and dust formulations. When using these chemical products, take precautions to minimize human, pet, and environmental exposure. The information below will help you understand the risks associated with the active ingredients in these products.

Potential Consequences of Using Snail and Slug Control Pesticides

Recognize that when you use slug and snail pesticides, you should be ready to deal with these potential consequences:

Methiocarb is a restricted use material that must be applied by a licensed professional. It is also highly toxic to pets, who may become very ill or die from non-target poisoning.

Baits containing the active ingredient metaldehyde are very toxic to cats and dogs. Dogs are particularly attracted to its pelleted form and may be poisoned from eating the bait.

Some metaldehyde products are formulated with carbaryl to increase the spectrum of pests controlled. Carbaryl is toxic to pets, wildlife and beneficial insects, including honey bees.

Baits are toxic to all snails and slugs, including predatory decollate snails and native species.

Precautions to Take When Using Snail and Slug Control Pesticides

If you determine that pesticides are necessary, take these precautionary steps to reduce the potential for adverse effects:

Isolate your treatment area to prevent non-target poisoning.

Don't use methiocarb or metaldehyde baits where children or pets may be present.

Avoid getting any bait on plants, especially vegetables.

Use baits sparingly. Overuse can lead to the creation of resistant snail and slug populations or pests that ignore the bait you set out.

Lower Impact Pesticide Snail and Slug Treatments

Treatment	Hazards	Formulation
Bordeaux Mixture	A mixture of copper sulfate and lime, it poses a moderate acute oral toxicity risk. Toxic to fish, invertebrates, and aquatic organisms. Brush a Bordeaux mixture onto tree trunks to repel snails; one treatment should last a year.	Dust, Spray
Boric Acid	Boric acid and other borates occur naturally in the diet and have relatively low acute toxicity. They are not absorbed through the skin; however, ingestion of small amounts of boric acid every day over several months has been shown to reduce sperm counts in laboratory animals. Borates are toxic to plants.	Bait pellets, Granules, Dust
Diatomaceous Earth	Causes lung irritation when inhaled. Long-term exposure to diatomaceous earth dust is associated with lung cancer in occupational settings.	Dust
Iron Phosphate	Low acute toxicity to humans, pets and wildlife. Pets that eat bait may get an upset stomach.	Bait pellets, Granules

Pesticide Snail and Slug Treatments With Significant Adverse Effects

Treatment	Hazards	Formulation
Carbaryl	Toxic to the nervous system of pets, people, and bees. Classified as a likely carcinogen by the EPA. Carbaryl is often added to metaldehyde bait to increase its toxicity. Highly toxic to bees and other beneficial insects.	Bait Pellets
Metaldehyde	Moderate acute oral toxicity for humans. Metaldehyde is toxic to dogs, cats and birds. Pelleted baits can cause non-target poisoning in pets and wildlife.	Bait Pellets, Granules, Dust, Spray
Methiocarb	High acute oral toxicity and moderate acute inhalation toxicity. Highly toxic to birds, bees and other beneficial insects. Methiocarb is also highly toxic to aquatic species.	Bait Pellets, Granules, Powder
Spinosad	Spinosad is often added to iron phosphate bait to increase the number of pests controlled. It poses a low acute toxicity risk to humans and is not likely to cause cancer or other long-term harm. Long-term studies have not been conducted. Moderately toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates and beneficial insects.	Bait pellets

Regulatory Updates on Snail and Slug Control Pesticides

On June 22, 2007 the EPA issued an Amended Reregistration Eligibility Decision document revising the label requirements for metaldehyde products, including new risk mitigation measures. Application of metaldehyde is prohibited unless children and domestic animals can be excluded from the treated area from the start of the application until applied material is no longer visible.

References and Additional Resources

University of California, Davis IPM Online: Pests of Gardens and Landscapes, Snails and Slugs.
National Pesticide Information Center: Provides objective, science-based information about slug and snail pesticides and other control methods to facilitate informed decisions.
University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department: Garden Snail Fact Sheet.
City of Seattle, IPM Fact Sheets: Slug cultural, biological and chemical control methods.
Olkowski, William, et al. The Gardener's Guide to Common-Sense Pest Control. Newton: Taunton Press, 2013.

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