Are slug pellets bad for hedgehogs?
Yes. Hedgehog Street calls slug pellets “the most well-known chemical hazard to hedgehogs”. On 18 September 2020 GOV.UK announced that outdoor use of metaldehyde, a slug pesticide used on farms and in gardens, would be banned, with use to end by 31 March 2022, because of the risks to birds and mammals.
What Hedgehog Street says about garden chemicals
- Slug pellets: the best-known chemical hazard to hedgehogs.
- Herbicides: can reduce earthworms, which hedgehogs eat.
- Insecticides: can reduce the other invertebrates hedgehogs eat.
- Wood preservers: hedgehogs can be harmed by licking freshly treated fences, so it recommends a water-based, environmentally friendly treatment.
What GOV.UK announced
The September 2020 announcement concerned metaldehyde. It said outdoor use would end by 31 March 2022, and quoted the minister saying “the risks metaldehyde poses to the environment and to wildlife are too great”. The page cites risks to birds and mammals. It does not mention hedgehogs by name, and it does not give a separate date for sales.
If you suspect poisoning
For wild birds or animals you think have been poisoned by a pesticide, GOV.UK points to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme on 0800 321 600. A sick hedgehog should go to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890 801; see I’ve seen a hedgehog out in the day.
Sources
- Hedgehog Street: Garden hazards, opened 14 November 2026.
- GOV.UK: Outdoor use of metaldehyde to be banned to protect wildlife, published 18 September 2020, opened 14 November 2026.
- GOV.UK: Report dead wild birds, opened 14 November 2026.