Ferric Focus

Smarter Slug Control Starts Here

Slug pressure can wipe out crop potential before you even see the damage.

With ferric phosphate now the only option in the toolbox, pellet choice and timing are critical – the difference between slugs taking the bait or eating your crop.

Download our De Sangosse Ferric Phosphate Guide
or read on below.

Download Guide Here
£70
/HA
LOST
FROM REDUCED YIELD
Why

Pellet Quality Matters

Slugs remain one of the most damaging and persistent pests in UK arable systems - costing over £100m annually. Losses occur fast, often before symptoms are visible. Pellet quality and timing are your first line of defence.

Pellet choice can result in:

  • Slugs taking the bait or eating your crop
  • One efficient application or repeated reapplications
  • Strong early establishment or patchy, weak plant stands

Slug Foraging Video

The Issue

Crops Under Constant Threat

  • Each slug can eat 50 germinating seeds a week
  • A single slug lays up to 500 eggs
  • Active from 1oC with 2-3 feeding cycles per night
  • AHDB: damage in 22% of wheat
    and 56% of OSR crops annually
  • Yield loss: £70/ha in affected areas
    (that’s £1,750 lost in a 25 ha block)
The Risk

The Risk with Low-Quality Pellets

Get pellet choice wrong and you risk:

  • Breakage during spreading – poor bait density
  • Poor weather resistance – rapid breakdown, no bait
  • Small / inconsistent pellet size – patchy spread, poor coverage
  • Limited attractiveness – slugs carry on eating crops

Cheap pellets aren’t cheap if they leave gaps.

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What Defines a High-Performance Pellet?

A pellet built for UK field reality must deliver on all fronts:

  • Attractiveness – draws slugs off the crop
  • Palatability – lethal dose, fast
  • Integrity – survives spreading without breaking
  • Persistence – rainfast, reliable under pressure
  • Bait-sharing - one pellet can stop multiple slugs

Cheap pellets aren’t cheap if they leave gaps.

Stoichiometric ratio over time
Pellet Stoichiometric ratio
6 hrs 12 hrs 1 day 3 days 7 days
De Sangosse TDS 0.92 1.03 1.02 1.00 0.99
Wet process A 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.07
Wet process B 0.21 0.24 0.21 0.57 1.71
Dry Process A 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.07 0.32
Dry Process B 0.45 0.51 0.58 0.75 0.93
Lentil-Shaped 0.10 0.10 0.12 0.18 0.33

Download the Guide here to learn more

The Risk

The Hidden Factor – Pellet Additives

Ferric phosphate alone doesn’t kill slugs. It needs to be paired with a chelating agent that carries it through the slug’s gut wall.

  • Without it – pellets don’t work.
  • With the wrong ratio – slow kill, or no kill.
  • With De Sangosse – stoichiometric 1:1 ratio,
    perfectly matched for rapid bait uptake with a fast lethal effect.

That’s why De Sangosse pellets start working within hours, compared to competitor pellets than can take days


Effective Against All Key Slug
Species

Black slug
Grey field slug
Keeled slug
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Patented Performance – Why De Sangosse Leads

Only De Sangosse combines:

  • TDS® advanced wet process manufacturing → strong, dense pellets, spread 24m+ with minimal breakage
  • Premium durum wheat base → consistent palatability, lethal dose
  • Colzactive® attractant → proven to pull slugs away from crops and into the bait
The Proof

Not All Pellets Are Equal

At 5 kg/ha:

Feature comparison
Feature
 		 Leading Competitor
Wet Process 		De Sangosse
Ferric Phosphate
Pellet size mm 2.5 × 2.0 2.7
Pellets/m² 42 30
No. of pellets digested for a single slug kill 2–3 0.5
Theoretical slug control/m² 13–20 60
Applications to achieve the same control / ha 2 1
Spreadability Moderate Uniform, 24m+
Persistence Moderate High

Bottom line:  faster kill,
up to >4x more slugs controlled, fewer applications.

No.1 in
ATTRACTIVENESS
& PALATABILITY
No.1 in
PERSISTENCE &
SPREADABILITY

No.1 in KILL
 PERFORMANCE
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Built to Perform Without Compromise

Unrivalled Attractiveness – Slugs Can’t Resist

Colzactive® makes De Sangosse pellets more desirable than any competitor. Slugs travel further, and feed sooner, reducing crop damage risk

Undeniable Palatability – The Right Bite Matters

Premium durum wheat base ensures a texture, aroma and density slugs accept readily — delivering a lethal dose with minimal overconsumption.

Unmatched Persistence – Rainfast. Robust. Reliable.

Holds structure through heavy rain, humidity, and UV. Remains lethal long after other pellets break down.

Superior Spreadability – Uniform Cover, 24m+

High mass and consistent density ensure accurate, even spread patterns for full-field protection.

The Ultimate Solution

The Goldilocks Pellet – Just Right for UK Fields

De Sangosse Ferric Phosphate delivers:

  • Up to >4x more slug control
    per m² than competitors
  • Rainfast, robust, reliable kill
  • Consistent spread to 24m+
    (further with Stocks Jet Duo) with minimal breakage
  • Colzactive attraction - fewer pellets, faster kills, stronger crops
  • Smarter, more cost-effective control
  • Flexibility to apply from 7 days pre-drilling





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Timing & Application Advice

  • Apply from 7 days before or just after drilling (and rolling, if needed) – the critical timing
  • Use trapping to guide threshold treatment: 
    • ≥1 slug per trap in OSR, beet, potatoes and veg
    • ≥4 slugs per trap in winter cereals
    • ≥1 slug per trap in wheat stubble
  • Monitor and reapply if activity remains high
  • Calibrate spreaders – NSTS tested, match to pellet size and density
  • Stay compliant – correct application is a legal requirement.

Smart timing. Right pellet. Reliable control.

Download Calibration Guide

Get Your Questions Answered

The Facts on Slugs and Pellets

Ferric phosphate is a stomach poison. Once eaten, there’s no recovery — it disrupts digestion, feeding stops almost immediately, and slugs retreat underground where iron overload leads to death. Expect damage to stop rather than seeing dead slugs on the surface.
No. While all slug pellets contain ferric phosphate as the active ingredient, the formulation makes the difference. De Sangosse pellets combine premium durum wheat with a proprietary Colzactive attractant and a unique 1:1 chelating agent to ferric phosphate ratio. This ensures slugs are drawn to bait quicker than any competitor pellet and receive a lethal dose efficiently – often with just 0.5 of a pellet, compared to at least 2-3 pellets for competitor products.

Yes. Smaller, cheaper pellets may look like they give better ground coverage, but they often lack the density and palatability needed for consistent control. De Sangosse pellets are engineered with premium durum wheat, giving the right texture, aroma, and density to ensure slugs eat them readily – backed up by the Colzactive attractant to speed up feeding and minimise crop damage.

At the same application rate, De Sangosse pellets can stop up to >4x more slugs per m2 than the next best competitor. The difference isn’t just about pellets on the ground – it’s about how many slugs find them and how efficiently they’re killed.

Thanks to the attractant, slugs are drawn in quickly, and the unique formulation delivers a lethal dose within hours not days. That rapid action is critical to prevent grazing losses at crop establishment.

Because the combination of Colzactive attractant, optimal formulation chemistry, and patented manufacturing gives consistent, reliable slug control. That means fewer reapplications, less crop loss, and better economics in the long run.

Make pellets part of an integrated pest management (IPM) plan:

  • Aim for fine, firm seedbeds; roll after drilling to consolidate seedbeds
    and limit slug movement.
  • Manage stubbles and trash to reduce slug habitat.
  • Use ploughing or surface cultivations to reduce eggs and shelter.
  • Encourage natural predators like carabid beetles.
  • Monitor regularly and act quickly when thresholds are breached.
  • Pay extra attention on high-risk crops: OSR, cover crops, and brassica margins.
  • Best results with slug pellets are achieved when treatment takes place before damage occurs.

For annual crops, it is advised to treat at or before emergence. A key and unique advantage of De Sangosse Ferric Phosphate is that it can be applied from 7 days before sowing/planting after seedbed preparation is complete.

  • Slug movement: Slugs can travel 2–7 m per night looking for food. To reliably hit the majority of slugs, pellets need to cover the field evenly, including areas far from the applicator tracks.
  • Maintaining baiting points: Wider spread ensures sufficient baiting points/m² across the field. Gaps in coverage can let slugs survive and continue feeding, reducing overall efficacy.
  • Operational efficiency: Being able to cover 24 m or more in a single pass without breaking pellets means fewer passes, less soil compaction, and less fuel use.
  • Pellet integrity: Spreading without breaking ensures that the pellet remains effective, retaining its size, palatability, and slow-release properties. Broken or dusty pellets lose attractiveness and persistence.

Bottom line: Wider, intact spread maximises slug contact, ensures optimal baiting density, and maintains control even in larger fields.

Slugs are most active in damp, mild conditions. Apply pellets before and after wet nights or rainfall for best uptake.

Check refuge traps before and after application to gauge slug activity. Look for feeding signs on leaves rather than looking for dead slugs. Reapply if thresholds are exceeded or pellets degrade.

Submit a Question Here

Smarter Slug Control Starts Here

With De Sangosse you don’t just buy pellets. You buy proven, market leading performance. For slug control without compromise, download the De Sangosse Ferric Phosphate Guide here.

Download Guide Here
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