Summer poisons

As summer starts and the weather warms people and their pets will be spending more time out of doors. This is likely to be particularly true this year as we make the most of the easing of lockdown and the restrictions we have all had to cope with over the last few months.

In the garden, slug and snail baits are commonly used in the summer. Most products contain either metaldehyde or ferric phosphate. Metaldehyde is of particular concern as it can cause rapid-onset seizures (Figure 1), but ferric phosphate baits are less hazardous and generally cause only gastrointestinal signs. Ants are also active in the summer and various products are used to control them, usually powders or bait stations. Lots of different insecticides are used but the concentrations in these products are very low and generally not a concern. The plastic parts of ant bait stations, however, can pose a foreign body hazard.