The Amazing Adventures of Archibald Esq.
Horticultural Hound: The Dangers of Snail Bait
If your two-legged beloved is as keen on gardening as mine is, you’ll know that snails are the bane of the dedicated gardener. Especially in wet areas such as England. But much as they may be tempted to put down poison to control the shell-encased slugs of garden destruction, it’s best that they don’t.
You may want to tell your two-legged that snail bait is toxic and can be fatal to dogs. The active ingredient of snail bait is usually 1 per cent iron phosphate. Now iron phosphate is relatively safe for dogs, but it can still be toxic to canines if they ingest enough of the stuff.
A 40-pound dog would have to consume about 3 pounds of snail bait to receive a lethal dose of iron, although vomiting and diarrhea can occur with as little as about one-tenth of that amount.
Some other brands of snail bait have an active ingredient called Metaldehyde, which causes muscle tremors that can progress to convulsions…..
What this brings to mind is the controversial principle used by the European Union: The Precautionary Principle. That is, if there are any forseeable dangers, best to avoid the stuff. Woof!
Dogs can easily die from Metaldehyde. Sadly, with each spring when the snails come out, veterinarian practices see dogs who require emergency treatment — including IV fluids, injections of anti-seizure medication, and a one- or two-day hospital stay. All of which is stressful, not to mention costly!
So, just as with Xylitol and other edible poisons to dogs, it’s best to keep all potential poisons well out of reach of dogs. Just tell your two-legged companion that it’s better for everybody, birds, bees, barkers!, to manually ‘weed’ snails out of your garden patch.
Little feet practices by throwing snails to the back of the garden where the compost heap lies. Rehoming snails and slugs to a place in your garden where their destruction is useful to you is one way of avoiding poison and also harnessing the power of the snail.
SuperWoof & Happy Gardening!
Archibald, Esq — a Horticultural Hound
Posted 13 Jun 08
Leave a Reply
©2008 Roleta Archibald, Awoof!™