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How to use slug pellets without heaping the bed

Updated: 23 October 2026

You have a tub in the shed, or you will not buy one until you know how many grams go on a square metre of salad bed. The usual mistakes are a heap beside the hosta, a rate borrowed from another brand, and a decision that the bait failed because the path was empty in the morning. This page is the scatter for ferric phosphate slug pellets. It does not rank the tubs. Prices stay on our [slug pellets comparison](/hub/pest-control/slug-pellets). The label you are holding beats every figure below. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a tub in the shed, or you will not buy one until you know how many grams go on a square metre of salad bed.

Our top picks

Provanto Provanto Slug & Snail Killer Max 800 g

Best overall

Provanto Provanto Slug & Snail Killer Max 800 g
8.8/10about £7.32
View offer
Neudorff Neudorff Sluggo Slug & Snail Killer 800 g

Alternative

Neudorff Neudorff Sluggo Slug & Snail Killer 800 g
8.6/10about £7.99
View offer
Pestshield Pestshield 4 × Slug & Snail Killer 300 g

Best value

Pestshield Pestshield 4 × Slug & Snail Killer 300 g
8.6/10about £10.93
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Use the rate on your tub
  2. 2.Where and when
  3. 3.Rain and a second scatter
  4. 4.How to tell it worked

Use the rate on your tub

There is no single garden dose. Sluggo's bullets say 5 g per square metre, spread out, not piled. At that rate 800 g covers 160 square metres. The title says 100 square metres. Use the 5 g line. Ultra+'s manufacturer page says 2.5 g per square metre, and the Ultra+ Amazon file does not print it. Do not tip Sluggo's 5 g onto that bottle. Growing Success's manufacturer page says 5 g and a maximum of four treatments. The 575 g Amazon listing does not print 5 g. Provanto claims up to 210 square metres from 800 g, about 3.8 g if you divide it, and the bullets do not state grams. If your tub states no rate, do not invent 5 g. The slug pellets buying guide is where you check the tub is ferric phosphate before you measure.

Where and when

Scatter in the evening, or early morning if the packet says so, onto moist bare soil. Sluggo says never in mounds or rings. Which? says a thin scatter and no heaps. Spread the grams for that square metre across the soil the slug crosses, and keep pellets out of the crown and off a lettuce leaf. A bed of 2 metres by 1 metre at 5 g is 10 g. A heap of 50 g in one corner is the pile a dog is most likely to find. Pots need the same thin scatter on the compost, not a crust against the stem. One Sluggo review describes mould and dead pot plants after heavy rain. That is one report, not a new gram rate.
Provanto Provanto Slug & Snail Killer Max 800 g

Testsieger

Provanto Provanto Slug & Snail Killer Max 800 g
8.8/10about £7.32
View offer

Rain and a second scatter

Your packet wins when the listings disagree. Growing Success's manufacturer advice is not to apply when heavy rain is imminent if you want the bait to persist. The Amazon bullets for that tub say it stays effective after rain. Provanto's two-pack file says rainfast for up to 10 days. Sluggo swells when wet. If a downpour clears the soil, look at what is left before you tip again. A second scatter the same evening, on pellets that are still there, is how people exceed the rate. Sluggo and Growing Success cap the job at four applications on a crop. When those repeats are used and the new leaves are still disappearing, look at slug pellets versus nematodes. Nematodes are a poor tool if the pest is snails.

How to tell it worked

Look at the plant, not the path. New growth should show fewer fresh holes over the next few days. Ferric phosphate stops feeding, and the animals often die under cover. Sluggo tells you not to expect visible dead slugs. If feeding continues, check whether you heaped the pellets, whether rain moved them, and whether birds took them. Ultra+ reviewers describe crows eating the bait unless the crop is covered. The RHS would rather you did not use pellets, including organic ones. If you are staying with bait, the next scatter is another thin dose on moist soil, inside the four-treatment cap, judged by the leaves.

Common questions

How many grams per square metre?
Sluggo’s listing says 5 g per square metre. Ultra+’s manufacturer page says 2.5 g, and that figure is not on the Ultra+ Amazon file. Growing Success’s manufacturer page says 5 g, also missing from its Amazon file. Provanto’s coverage claim divides to about 3.8 g and is not printed as grams. If your tub states none of these, do not borrow a neighbour’s rate.
Can you put a ring around the hosta?
Sluggo tells you not to make mounds or rings. A ring concentrates the dose in a line a pet can follow. Spread the grams across the bare soil, and keep pellets out of the crown and off the leaves.
What if it rains?
Do not treat into imminent heavy rain if your brand tells you the bait needs time to persist. If a downpour clears the soil, replace only what has gone, inside the maximum number of treatments. A rain-resistant bullet is not a second dose on top of the first.
Why are there no dead slugs?
Ferric phosphate often kills out of sight after feeding stops. Sluggo says you should not expect corpses or slime trails. Judge fresh holes over several days. An empty path the next morning is the expected picture, not a refund by itself.
How many times can you repeat?
Sluggo and Growing Success state a maximum of four treatments on a crop. Check that the previous pellets have gone before you scatter again. A fifth dose because you are impatient is outside those instructions.
When do you stop and call someone?
Phone a vet or Animal PoisonLine on 01202 509000 if a pet has eaten pellets, and do not use salt. For the crop, stop when you have used the labelled repeats. A field spreader is a contractor’s job, not a garden tub.

Related pages

Slug pellets, pets and wildlife

Slug pellets

Best slug pellets UK: one tub and who should skip it

Ferric phosphate slug pellets: checks before you buy

Slug pellets vs nematodes: when each one fits the bed

Sources

Public UK sources used for the ban, the label duty, wildlife and manufacturer rates. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these nine listings. Last checked 21 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK metaldehyde ban (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Defra media blog on the metaldehyde ban (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. HSE garden pesticides (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. RHS slugs and snails (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Which? how to get rid of slugs and snails (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Neudorff Sluggo (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. VPIS slug and snail control (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Westland Growing Success slug killer (retrieved 21 October 2026)