ADVICE SLUG PELLETS

Kirsty

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
A week ago I spotted a single slug pellet on my guinea pigs veg, luckily I noticed it straight away and picked it up and discarded it. Ever since I have been so PARANOID and have checked every single leaf crease on lettuces etc. Just to make sure. But today I went to give them coriander, I have four guinea pigs so it would have taken me well over an hour to go through every single leaf and stem to make sure. I always wash my veg but clearly that is not enough :( What can I do? What can I buy/where can I buy from that will not use slug pellets? I no slug pellets are poisonous to pigs but does it make any difference to how much?
I have always bought from well known supermarkets.

Help, advice needed :(
 
Thats pretty alarming, where did you buy this ? You should have taken it back and had a right moan. I would imagine this would kill a guinea pig. They make them blue so that they are different to any food colours. But still one would be hard to spot
 
Sainsbury's! :( They won't do anything because they will just say that it should be thoroughly washed like it says on the packet but it WAS washed, at my wit's end :(
 
:yikes: Jolly glad you spotted it! I think it would probably be far more unlikely to find a pellet in coriander as there is no 'pocket' in the leaves to get stuck in as they pick the stems. Organically grown salad etc should be slug pellet etc free, but you probably have to pay more for that :td:
 
I would complain, whether they need to be washed or not, there shouldnt be slug pellets in human grade food, I'm fairly sure! Someone had a similar experience from a different supermarket last year and it was down to an error on the growers part if I remember right, so it would be worth letting them know so they can do something about it (you might even get a voucher out of it too)
 
:yikes: Jolly glad you spotted it! I think it would probably be far more unlikely to find a pellet in coriander as there is no 'pocket' in the leaves to get stuck in as they pick the stems. Organically grown salad etc should be slug pellet etc free, but you probably have to pay more for that :td:
:fog:
I would happily pay more if I knew there was no risk of slug pellets! However I read online that they still use slug pellets but are more "natural" slug pellet, which I was advised still could be harmful. But this was from another person with guinea pigs , not a company etc.
 
I would complain, whether they need to be washed or not, there shouldnt be slug pellets in human grade food, I'm fairly sure! Someone had a similar experience from a different supermarket last year and it was down to an error on the growers part if I remember right, so it would be worth letting them know so they can do something about it (you might even get a voucher out of it too)
I wouldn't really no how to, because it was Sainsbury's and I don't have the packaging any longer
 
I keep finding thorns in my meadow hays, and a found a full dried cow pat in the timothy last week lol. This is as dangerous though
 
Is a slug pellet an actual slug? Just curious as I do not know what a slug pellet is and want to be sure to keep Alfie away from them
 
Is a slug pellet an actual slug? Just curious as I do not know what a slug pellet is and want to be sure to keep Alfie away from them

No a slug pellet is poison that is put down to kill slugs that try eat herbs/vegetables etc. So farmers put them on/around the crop to stop them eating it and it slowly kills them!

I spoke to a vet recently about it and she said that she believes that they would have to eat a few pellets before it caused a guinea pig problems. So this may help to reassure you, it did me! Just ensure you wash all veg, I now buy ready washed lettuces and organic other vegs :)
 
Oh ok thank you! Will be sure to wash all veg before giving to alfie and his future companion 🙂. And i felt dumb as i thought a slug pellet was an actual slug 😳
 
If you're hoping for organic veg that you know is safe, you could always try growing some! I brought some cilantro and spinach seeds a while back and they are growing wonderfully on my windowsill right now, can't wait to harvest for the piggies. The best bit is it's way cheaper, you can keep a continuous stock as you only have to trim a few leaves and it will keep growing back very quickly, and you know exactly what's in it and on it! 😁😁
 
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