Slug and snail bait (metaldehyde)
ToxicMetaldehyde bait causes severe tremors, a body temperature often above 41-42C (106-108F) and continuous seizures within 30 minutes to 6 hours. There is no antidote. Get to an emergency vet now.
This food guide has not been reviewed by a veterinarian. It summarises general information from sources and should not be used to decide whether a food is suitable for an individual dog or to assess an emergency.
Check before feeding
Do not offer as a treat
There is no recommended treat portion for this hazardous item. If swallowed, contact a vet with the amount, time and product details. Do not induce vomiting yourself.
Signs and health concerns
This list includes both observable signs and conditions identified through examination or testing. It cannot establish the cause or whether an exposure is safe.
- Tremors
- Agitation
- Heightened sensitivity to touch or stimuli
- Poor coordination or balance
- Fast heartbeat
- Overheating
- Seizures
More about this food
Snail and slug pellets are formulated to be attractive, which is the whole problem. They are usually dyed blue or green, they smell like bait because they are bait, and they sit in flower beds and vegetable gardens exactly where a dog nose goes.
Metaldehyde lowers GABA, the brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter, and increases monoamine oxidase activity, leaving the central nervous system in a state of runaway excitation. The Merck Veterinary Manual gives an oral LD50 in dogs of 210-600 mg/kg, with neurological signs developing 30 minutes to 6 hours after ingestion. Early signs are severe muscle tremors, anxiety, hyperesthesia, ataxia, tachycardia and hyperthermia often exceeding 41-42C (106-108F), progressing to opisthotonos and continuous tonic seizures. The old nickname "shake and bake" is accurate: the tremoring itself drives the temperature that damages muscle and organs.
There is no specific antidote. Treatment is decontamination plus aggressive control of hyperthermia, tremors and seizures, and it works. Merck reports that animals surviving the first 24 hours have a good prognosis, most recover within 2-3 days, and one study found an overall survival rate of 81%. This is a poisoning you win by getting to a hospital fast enough for someone to cool the dog and stop the tremors.
Bring the bag or a photo of the label and drive to your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital. Call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 on the way if you like, but do not delay the drive. Do not bundle a tremoring dog in blankets, because he may already be overheating, and do not induce vomiting at home. If nothing has happened yet, the durable fix is to stop using metaldehyde anywhere a dog walks, because rain and watering spread the pellets well beyond where you scattered them.
Frequently asked questions
- He grabbed a few pellets but seems normal so far.
- Signs start anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours out, so normal right now means nothing. Take the bag and go, and call the clinic or the APCC at (888) 426-4435 from the car.
- He is shaking hard. What can I do at home?
- Drive. Do not wrap him in blankets, because tremors are already raising his temperature, and do not induce vomiting or force water or medication. Cooling and seizure control are hospital treatments.
- I only put pellets in the flower bed, not where he walks.
- Rain and watering move the pellets, and dogs follow the smell. If a dog uses the yard at all, do not put metaldehyde bait down anywhere in it.