Att: Gardeners - Cocoa Mulch can be lethal

Read this on the internet - I have checked it IS TRUE - it's on the ASPCA web site also, so let's be careful


Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called "Theobromine".
It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution — check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.

Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate — especially dark or baker's chocolate — which is toxic to dogs.

Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

I am glad you brought this up. About a year or so ago when I had brought Bella to the vet on a routine visit, one of the techs told me that a couple of dogs had come in very sick from ingesting mulch. They didn't say what kind it was, but apparently it even had an insect repellent in it so that gives you an idea. :eek: I guess we had better all read the outside of the bag before putting anything down and question those folks at Home Depot, etc. before buying anything. Gosh! :eek:

Thank you for the warning!!:eek:

Thanx for warning us. w:eek:w!

Thanks for the warning!

Wow--Thank you for the warning! And very coincidental timing, too! I was at Home Depot this weekend, looking at the cocoa mulch thinking how nice it smelled. Luckily, I bought redwood bark instead. Phew! I didn't know how dangerous it could have been. :eek:

Thank you for the warning!! We're in the process of having our yard done (if the weather ever clears up), and I will make sure that our landscapers are NOT using any of that.