THERE’S no doubt about it – slugs and snails are having a field day thanks to all the rain we’ve had, eating bedding plants, chomping on vegetables and munching their way through gardens nationwide.

I have resorted to putting young leafy plants, which these pests love, in pots and either placing the pots on metal stands which slugs have trouble in climbing, or putting copper strips around the pots to deter them.

The copper contains a minute electrical charge to deter the slug or snail. But even these have limited effectiveness and some still manage to reach the plants.

Andrew Salisbury, senior entomologist with the RHS, said: “They will take advantage of any warm, wet weather to breed and often you find slug and snail eggs in damp and sheltered situations. The eggs are in groups a few millimetres across, spherical in shape and opaque white and you will need to dispose of them.”

Don’t throw slugs and snails over the neighbour’s fence or into your garden refuse trug, he advises, because they will just escape and return to your plants.

Even now, the most effective method of reducing these slimy pests is to use slug pellets, he says.

There are many types on the market, some of which are organic, but you’ll need to reapply them regularly in rainy weather, when they will break down quickly.

Alternatively, invest in a nematode biological control, a parasitic worm which works its way into the soil and will kill slugs underground, but may not be so effective on snails which tend to remain on the surface.

Nematode controls are available from mail order biological control suppliers and come as a powder which dilutes into water. The nematodes penetrate the slugs’ body and release bacteria to kill the slugs, and should last around six weeks.

Beer traps and copper tapes around pots may help to some extent, but they won’t eliminate the problem.

“You will never totally eliminate slug and snail damage in weather like this,” he concludes, “but you can try to reduce the risk.”

Encourage predators such as hedgehogs, frogs and toads into your garden by leaving a patch of wild area or installing a pond.

You can also encourage snaileating birds such as thrushes into your garden by planting shrubs and trees which bear berries and create a nesting area.