loads of lovely compost (some slug content.)
Discussion
I've loads of the stuff, all crumbly, dark and moist. 
Now the only problem it's also full of slugs 
If I dig it into my veg patch I'm going to introduce 100s of the buggers all ready to chomp on next yrs beans. How do I deal with the sods now. (I'd rather not use slug killing chemicals if I can help it)
Now the only problem it's also full of slugs If I dig it into my veg patch I'm going to introduce 100s of the buggers all ready to chomp on next yrs beans. How do I deal with the sods now. (I'd rather not use slug killing chemicals if I can help it)9. Organic Baits
Two of the best organic snail and slug bait products on the market are Sluggo and Escar-Go which contain iron phosphate. They are safe to use around pets, humans, fish, birds, beneficial insects, and mammals.
For several other organisms, including earthworms and certain ground beetles, no harmful effects are known. You can also safely use iron phosphate around food crops, ornamentals, lawns, gardens, greenhouses, and berry gardens up to the day of harvest.
Iron phosphate is an organic compound that is found naturally in the soil, and if the bait is not consumed by a slug or snail, the material breaks down into fertilizer for your soil. Iron phosphate is not volatile, and does not readily dissolve in water, which minimizes its dispersal beyond where it is applied.
It is applied to the soil as a pellet that also contains bait to attract snails and slugs. When the pests eat the pellets, the iron phosphate interferes with calcium metabolism in their gut, causing the snails and slugs to stop eating almost immediately. They die 3 to 6 days later.
Iron phosphate is more effective than Metaldehyde-based chemical products (such as used by Ortho) because Metaldehyde ceases to work when it gets rained on, or if you water the garden, whereas iron phosphate remains active even with repeat wettings, for up to 2 weeks.
Some people will argue that Sluggo and Escar-Go are not as cheap as Metaldehyde-based products, but this isn't necessarily true, because iron phosphate remains active longer, so it requires less to be used to kill more slugs, so in fact it is cost-effective.
What works best is to kill the adult slug and snail population early in the year before they lay their eggs. If you do that, you will be slug and snail free for the rest of the year without further applications.
The best time for long-term control is to treat the whole garden in the dampness of autumn. That way, in the spring, there will be very few adult slugs and snails to lay their eggs. Another application is useful in late winter or early spring, and again 1 month later. Three applications a year can do the trick.
How to Apply:
Iron phosphate products are used the same as other bait materials. Simply scatter the granules over the soil's surface, (do not place in piles), where snails and slugs feed.
If the ground is dry, wet it before applying bait. The soil should be moist but with little or no standing water.
Once the slugs have eaten the bait, they immediately stop eating and crawl back under the plants to die. Iron phosphate is slower acting than the synthetic metaldehyde, but is active on the soil surface longer that other baits, and when ingested, the slug stops damaging your plants, which is the whole idea.
Some Basic Facts:
Sluggo and Escar-Go have a powerful lure that slugs and snails find irresistible. Repeated studies have shown that slugs and snails will eat these baits before they will eat nearby plants.
Iron phosphate disposes of snails and slugs without mess. You may not see the dead slugs and snails in your garden because they often crawl away to secluded places to die. But you will notice that your plants are no longer being eaten.
Iron phosphate controls in hard-to-reach areas. because it actually lure snails and slugs from their hiding places, which provides control in any area that slugs frequent, even in mulched beds.
The only thing beneficial that would be harmed by iron phosphate would be predatory, snail-eating, decollate snails (mentioned above in number 8). If a garden does have these predatory snails, do not use iron phosphate or any other bait.
http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/snails-slugs...
Two of the best organic snail and slug bait products on the market are Sluggo and Escar-Go which contain iron phosphate. They are safe to use around pets, humans, fish, birds, beneficial insects, and mammals.
For several other organisms, including earthworms and certain ground beetles, no harmful effects are known. You can also safely use iron phosphate around food crops, ornamentals, lawns, gardens, greenhouses, and berry gardens up to the day of harvest.
Iron phosphate is an organic compound that is found naturally in the soil, and if the bait is not consumed by a slug or snail, the material breaks down into fertilizer for your soil. Iron phosphate is not volatile, and does not readily dissolve in water, which minimizes its dispersal beyond where it is applied.
It is applied to the soil as a pellet that also contains bait to attract snails and slugs. When the pests eat the pellets, the iron phosphate interferes with calcium metabolism in their gut, causing the snails and slugs to stop eating almost immediately. They die 3 to 6 days later.
Iron phosphate is more effective than Metaldehyde-based chemical products (such as used by Ortho) because Metaldehyde ceases to work when it gets rained on, or if you water the garden, whereas iron phosphate remains active even with repeat wettings, for up to 2 weeks.
Some people will argue that Sluggo and Escar-Go are not as cheap as Metaldehyde-based products, but this isn't necessarily true, because iron phosphate remains active longer, so it requires less to be used to kill more slugs, so in fact it is cost-effective.
What works best is to kill the adult slug and snail population early in the year before they lay their eggs. If you do that, you will be slug and snail free for the rest of the year without further applications.
The best time for long-term control is to treat the whole garden in the dampness of autumn. That way, in the spring, there will be very few adult slugs and snails to lay their eggs. Another application is useful in late winter or early spring, and again 1 month later. Three applications a year can do the trick.
How to Apply:
Iron phosphate products are used the same as other bait materials. Simply scatter the granules over the soil's surface, (do not place in piles), where snails and slugs feed.
If the ground is dry, wet it before applying bait. The soil should be moist but with little or no standing water.
Once the slugs have eaten the bait, they immediately stop eating and crawl back under the plants to die. Iron phosphate is slower acting than the synthetic metaldehyde, but is active on the soil surface longer that other baits, and when ingested, the slug stops damaging your plants, which is the whole idea.
Some Basic Facts:
Sluggo and Escar-Go have a powerful lure that slugs and snails find irresistible. Repeated studies have shown that slugs and snails will eat these baits before they will eat nearby plants.
Iron phosphate disposes of snails and slugs without mess. You may not see the dead slugs and snails in your garden because they often crawl away to secluded places to die. But you will notice that your plants are no longer being eaten.
Iron phosphate controls in hard-to-reach areas. because it actually lure snails and slugs from their hiding places, which provides control in any area that slugs frequent, even in mulched beds.
The only thing beneficial that would be harmed by iron phosphate would be predatory, snail-eating, decollate snails (mentioned above in number 8). If a garden does have these predatory snails, do not use iron phosphate or any other bait.
http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/snails-slugs...
It seems there is some doubt about the Sluggo claims as a pet owner it concerns me.
http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/gardening/warning-...
http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/gardening/warning-...
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