(580) Metaldehyde is widely used to kill slugs and other garden pests and it is presented either as a meal with bran or pelleted. Clinical signs start within one hour of ingestion and effect the nervous system, with severe tremors, incoordination, convulsions, high temperatures and death due to respiratory failure. If pigs eat large amounts, it is necessary to anaesthetise them using barbiturates for a period of 6 to 12 hours whilst the medicine is excreted. There is no specific antidote.
