The slug pellets will last for a while. How long depends on what they are made of. All the pellets I know of are blue, so you'll need to read the back of the container.

The "original" wildlife unfriendly ones that have poisoned lots of birds and hedgehogs that have eaten the dead or dying slugs are based on metaldehyde, especially as the writhing slugs lie around dying within sight. These last longer (a week or two?) than the other sort.

The newer "organic" ones are supposed not to be toxic to wildlife & pets and are based on ferric (iron) phosphate. These are a bit more soluble than the older type and give the plants a little dose of phosphate as well, as they dissolve - and that's an ingredient in a balanced fertilizer, so that's not bad. The dying slugs and snails retreat underground so you don't have to see them writhing, and they're not obvious for predators to pick up. The downside is that they don't last on the soil so long so need replacing if it rains lot.

With both sorts of slug pellets you only sprinkle them lightly over all the flowerbeds - placing great big piles of them is a mistake. A very light scattering is what you're aiming for.

And it's quite possible for slugs and snails to ignore your lovely blue pellets and go straight for the plants, so if you KEEP ON losing plants or the same ones continue to be nibbled, it's worth doing a visual check at night occasionally and picking off the ones that don't eat blue stuff.

Fantastic answer, Beattie...
.. we are very lucky to have you on GoY :o)))

well thankyou very much for that Beattie..I have no more questions on slug pellets and never will :)

LOL!
Shall I take a bow, or blush for overloading you with information?! :-)

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Ten stars, Beattie .. ten out of ten ..
for a very good answer... Lol.. x

Do you want to know how long the dead slugs will last? Personally, think they are best fried when first collected, I suggest frying in a little oil (as they can be a bit slimy) with finely diced onion & garlic. Serve with a crispy salad and freshly buttered brwon bread. You could freeze but they tend to be a bit chewy when defrosted and require long slow cooking. Happy chewing.

Why, thank you Terratoonie! :-)

Grannyb, don't you find them rather gritty, the same as earthworms?

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10 gritty slugs for Grannyb ;o) Lol.

lol :)

Granny, I don't feel very well now...

Hmm...I would think that you would need to let them clean themselves out in a bucket through several changes of water, like they do for wild escargot! ; )

We had snails in france..I really didn't like them...I prefer them much better dead around my plants :) lol

I'm pleased to hear they retreat underground wher my frogs can't eat them! Thanks for the info, Beattie!