Toxic Mulch ?!

[Joe Anne]

Since it is mulching season, be forwarned!!!!My sister just sent me an email about info she got off the web about a mulch called,

"Cocoa Mulch, made by Hershey". Apparently very toxic to pets. The web page reads:

 

This came off the Urban Legends Ref. Pages: Critter Country:

Claim: Theobromine, a chemical found in cocoa mulch, can be harmful to pets.

Status: True

Origins:(from web pg) "This warning began appearing in our inbox in May 2003. Unlike the majority of scary alerts spread through the internet there is a good deal of truth to this one, although we've so far been unable to substantiate the claim that, "several deaths already occured in the last 2-3 wks...."

Well I know that theobromine is toxic to dogs, as most of us do.. but if there is any truth to this, it being the mulching season, I figured this would be worth checking out anyway.

 

web page: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm

[RaisingRiver]

I had a dog that ate mulch from my lawn grass that was dumped in the back part of my property (out of the mower bags).

 

He started puking that night - and was eventually dry heaving. Rushed him to afterhours care where they gave him the liquid bubble thing under his skin and put him on meds.

 

He recovered but was a very sick dog.

[Allie Oop]

I used the cocoa mulch once as it was touted as a "natural" way to keep slugs and snails at bay (apparently they don't like the way it feels when they crawl over it), but found that wasn't true - the snails liked it just fine.

 

The four-legged family members liked to nibble on it. My dog and cat only ate a small amount and then left it alone after it made them heave. I ended up scooping all of it back up and throwing it away (it was also very expensive).

 

I won't be using it again -- I don't know if a dog would really eat enough of the cocoa husks to kill them, but Theobromine has a stimulant effect (much like caffeine) and can be toxic to dogs as it affects their kidneys and central nervous systems.