There seems to have been an increase in huge slugs. I swear the one I found in my larder was the size of a small snake and took some prising off the wall. My friend had an army of them in her garden and gave up counting after picking up 300 and the carrier bag was bulging at the seams!

I'm aware of the lungworm threat and treat my dogs but I don't want to put pellets down so am considering going down the nematode route. Has anyone used these with success?

Am also battling a nest of hornets. I wouldn't like to get stung by one of these, they are huge!  Luckily the damp weather has made them a bit dopey but the GSDs are very interested in them.

Definitely following this - I've seen massive ones in the garden this year! The dog grew out of trying to eat them after her puppy stage but you can never be to careful! Can't do the slug pellets, and the dog is far to interested in a beer trap! Haha!

Our garden in walled & although spring came early this year nothing was growing. Went out one evening & could hear the plants being eaten, slugs & snails everywhere & like you can't do slug pellets. Resorted for about ten weeks of going round the garden with a torch & picking them off the walls, plants, lawn, everywhere, some evenings used to get half a plastic bag full.

Not had any in my garden but they are everywhere in the town.. And they are huge I agree!!!

Can you get Rentokil out for the hornets?

The nematodes are great but take a week or so for you to realise the slugs are disappearing.    They don't affect snails though as snails don't go underground.

I did the nematodes 2 years running,  but it started getting expensive,  so I started using the organic slug pellets from february onwards,  literally as soon as the weather seemed to be getting milder.    I put them out at night after the dogs have gone to bed,  and they are used very sparingly.   Slugs go underground to die so no dead bodies in the garden.    It's got to the stage now,  where I feed individual slugs a couple of pieces of 'candy'   I also put pellets in crevices where slugs hide and the dogs can't get at them.

I've got plants growing now,  and even courgettes and french beans!    My hostas are magnificent!

Your hornets will be dying soon and the nest will be empty,  but if you can't bear it,  or it's endangering the dogs,  we used a kit bought off the internet which came with protection.   Worked a treat.

I've not had hostas beyond the first growth since coming to the SW UK  and I can't do petunias either.   I've used slug killer (where the dogs can't get - out front) but the result was..... just ghastly!!   I agree, the slugs are enormous this year, and there are loads of 'em.  Snails too.   Thankfully my two are now beyond the curious puppy stage and leave them alone.

Those giant mottled slugs are actually beneficial , they mainly eat vegetation that is already decomposing, so are great for tidying up, they will even eat other slugs !.

>Those giant mottled slugs are actually beneficial , they mainly eat vegetation that is already decomposing, so are great for tidying up, they will even >eat other slugs !.

Ha! Tell that to my window box plants!  they were eatig loads of them/

MamaBas

I hated using ordinary slug pellets, the garden was like a scene from Ghost Busters!   EEEEW

But with the organic, iron-based pellets, the slugs stop eating, bury themselves and then die, so no slime fest or dead bodies :-D

I'm still super careful with the dogs, better safe than sorry ;-)

We have a tiny patio garden, and two years ago had so many slugs it was difficult to step between them, the dogs were ringing them into the house on their coats and they had taken up residence in the kitchen!  It was horrendous!

We now have had no slugs in the house for two years ( hope I'm not jinxing that)

For years I couldn't grow anything beyond Euonymus, but now hostas are thriving, ajuga is rampant, heuchera is self seeding everywhere, and my paeony, which I thought had long died, is growing again :-D   I also have been able to grow Fench beans and courgettes from seed, and last year had a lovely crop of strawberries. 

Slugs are over 90% water so arm yourselves with the salt shaker and sprinkle liberally.  The curling effect is instant and within a couple of hours they shrivel down to tiny pellets. Best to do this while its still wet outside and then hose down to get rid of any salt residue. But works just as well in the dry.

" Ha! Tell that to my window box plants!  they were eatig loads of them/ "

Ah well, there's always a rebel lol.

Generally though, the big leopard ones are ok.

We're in a lung worm area, sadly no slugs are ok as far as my dogs are concerned.

It was in defense of the dogs as much as the plants that we started trying to keep the numbers down ;-)

I can't grow much anyway due to rabbits so I don't want any slugs! I had a Newfie in for a bath and he had numerous slugs entangled in his coat. I went to cut one out and ended up cutting it in half, totally grossed out!
I'll be glad to see the end of the hornets for sure! I can't see where they're nesting, it was easy with the wasps.
I will order the nematodes though.

"
It was in defense of the dogs as much as the plants that we started trying to keep the numbers down "

That's perfectly understandable, I'd be out every night if I was in an affected area.
I hardly see any slugs now, the hens scoff them all.

I would've thought the birds would eat these. Maybe they're too big!!