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Are slug pellets safe for dogs, children and hedgehogs?

Updated: 23 October 2026

You let the dog out at dusk, or a hedgehog uses the gap under the fence. The amazon.co.uk bullets still say the pellets are fine around pets if you follow the label. UK poison and wildlife pages do not give that clearance. This page is about whether to put ferric phosphate bait down, and what to do if a pet eats some. Grams, if you go ahead, are on [how to use slug pellets](/hub/pest-control/slug-pellets/sub/slug-pellets-how-to-use). The tubs are on our [slug pellets comparison](/hub/pest-control/slug-pellets). If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You let the dog out at dusk, or a hedgehog uses the gap under the fence. The amazon.co.uk bullets still say the pellets are fine around pets if you follow the label.

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
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Neudorff Neudorff Sluggo Slug & Snail Killer 800 g

Alternative

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

Best value

Pestshield Pestshield 4 × Slug & Snail Killer 300 g
8.6/10about £10.93
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On this page
  1. 1.What the tubs claim
  2. 2.Dogs and the poison line
  3. 3.Hedgehogs, birds and the food chain
  4. 4.Storage and old metaldehyde

What the tubs claim

Read the pet line as copy next to a pesticide label. Provanto's bullets say the pellets are safe around dogs, pets and wildlife when applied as directed. Reviews on that file still mention dogs sniffing the blue pellets. Westland's Growing Success FAQ says children, pets and wildlife need not be kept off a treated area if you follow the label. Put that beside the Veterinary Poisons Information Service. Organic is not non-toxic. OF&G on Provanto is an inputs claim. Pestshield, FERRIS and JKG use friendly organic language without a certifier in the file. Blue dye makes the scatter easier to see. It does not stop a dog, a child or a bird picking a pellet up.

Dogs and the poison line

Ferric phosphate is not metaldehyde. Outdoor use of metaldehyde has been illegal in Great Britain since 1 April 2022. VPIS says the iron in ferric phosphate is poorly soluble, so the risk of classical iron poisoning is low compared with that older bait. The same leaflet says a dog that eats enough can still vomit, have diarrhoea, become lethargic and show abdominal discomfort. VPIS does not give a safe gram dose, and we will not invent one. If the dog has eaten pellets, phone your vet or Animal PoisonLine on 01202 509000. Have the packet and a guess at how much is missing. Do not make the dog vomit with salt water. Spills dominate the Growing Success 575 g reviews. Sweep a spill up and do not scatter the sweepings back as a measured dose. If the dog is loose on that bed every evening, leave the bait in the shed and read slug pellets versus nematodes.
Provanto Provanto Slug & Snail Killer Max 800 g

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Provanto Provanto Slug & Snail Killer Max 800 g
8.8/10about £7.32
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Hedgehogs, birds and the food chain

Hedgehog Street's advice is to stop using pellets if you want hedgehogs. They flag EDTA as something with little wildlife research. Defra has described ferric phosphate as the lower-risk replacement for metaldehyde. That is a comparison with the banned bait. Direct evidence for hedgehogs is still thin. Which? says ferric phosphate is not thought to harm mammals and birds the way metaldehyde did, and Which? still mentions EDTA and earthworms. On Sluggo Ultra+, reviewers report crows eating the pellets unless the crop is covered. Cover may keep bait on the ground. If the garden is managed for hedgehogs, Hedgehog Street's instruction is to avoid the pellets. Children fall under the same storage rule: the tub stays out of reach. If you cannot supervise that bed, do not treat it.

Storage and old metaldehyde

Keep the product in its own tub, lid on, where the dog and the children cannot open it. Do not decant pellets into a food jar. A spare Pestshield pot only helps if the lid fits and the tub was full. An old metaldehyde tub is not a leftover you can finish. In Great Britain it is illegal to keep using it. Take it to the council's pesticide waste route. If you are in Northern Ireland, check the HSE register rather than assuming the Great Britain dates are your law. Nematodes are the other tool for slugs in warm, moist soil. They are a poor answer for snails, and they are not hiding inside a FERRIS pellet that mentions them in a bullet.

Common questions

Will ferric phosphate poison a dog the way metaldehyde did?
VPIS treats it as a lower iron-poisoning risk, because the iron is poorly soluble, and still lists vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy and abdominal discomfort if the dog eats enough. There is no safe handful in that leaflet. Metaldehyde is the withdrawn bait and the more dangerous one. Do not describe the newer pellets as safe for dogs.
What do you do if the dog eats some?
Phone a vet or Animal PoisonLine on 01202 509000 with the packet and an idea of how much was eaten. Do not give salt water to make the dog vomit. A spilled delivery is the same phone call if you cannot account for the missing pellets.
Are they safe for hedgehogs?
Hedgehog Street says not to use pellets if you want a hedgehog-friendly garden. Direct evidence on ferric phosphate and hedgehogs is still thin, and EDTA is the open question. Defra’s “lower risk than metaldehyde” does not overturn that line.
Can children play on the treated bed?
Only in the narrow sense some manufacturers use: the label is followed and you supervise. The tub stays locked away. A bed you cannot watch is a bed to leave untreated. Pellets are not toys because they are small and blue.
Is organic the same as non-toxic?
Organic, OF&G and “natural” on a title are a growing-system claim or a marketing word. The product is still a pesticide. The label rate, the poison line and the wildlife advice still apply.
What do you do with an old metaldehyde tub?
Do not use it. In Great Britain the outdoor product is banned. Ask the council about pesticide disposal, and check the HSE register if you are in Northern Ireland. Never decant it into a drinks bottle while you decide.

Related pages

Ferric phosphate slug pellets

Slug pellets

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

How to use slug pellets: rate, rain and a thin scatter

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)