Chemical control
When snails are active, slug pellets containing metaldehyde (Scotts Slug Clear Advanced Pellets, Bio Slug and Snail Killer Pellets, Gem Superslug Killer, Westland Slug Buster Pellets, Westland Slug Attack Mini-pellets, Doff Advanced Slug Killer or Doff Slugoids Slug Killer) can be used to protect vulnerable plants, particularly seedlings and newly emerged shoots of herbaceous plants. These pellets can harm other wildlife, pets and young children if eaten in quantity; pellets must always be scattered thinly around the plants.
Slug killers based on aluminium sulphate (such as Doff Slug Attack) are less toxic and can be used as an alternative, particularly in the spring against newly hatched snails.
A relatively new type of pelleted bait, containing ferric phosphate (Growing Success Advanced Slug Killer) is relatively non-toxic to vertebrate animals.