Nematodes will help protect dogs from lungworm disease
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Lungworm disease (Angiostrongylus vasorum), the potentially fatal disease for dogs contracted from slugs and snails, is spreading to virtually all areas of maintain Britain.
Some dogs deliberately eat the parasites but they can also be ingested from foraging in undergrowth, eating grass, carrying around outside toys such as balls and rubber bones and when they infiltrate outside water and food bowls. They can also simply attach themselves to dogs’ coats.
Until now most available slug control methods are identified as being potentially harmful to dogs and other household pets. BASF’s Nemaslug system uses beneficial nematodes to seek out and destroy slugs.
This biologically secure produce produces fast and effective control and is simply watered on to plants and soil where slugs are present. There is no need to take any precautions over the treatment although dog owners should deliberately look for dead slugs and remove them.
Marc Abraham, or ‘Marc the Vet’ as he is more commonly known, explains, “Lungworm affects dogs of all ages and breed, and once infected, adult lungworms can live in their heart and the major blood vessels supplying the lungs, often causing a host of potentially serious health problems.
"Unlike many diseases, however, lungworm relies greatly on slug and snail hosts in order to grow and develop, and it's from ingesting these (or even just licking their trails or infected water from bowls left outside) that disease transmission may occur.
“So the more contact our dogs have with infected slugs and snails, the more likely this often fatal disease is rapidly spread. Lungworm can be easily prevented but if you suspect your dog is suffering from this relatively common disease (signs include weight loss, breathing difficulties, coughing), then please contact your vet immediately."
Lungworm originated in the south of England and Wales but it is now being reported throughout the Midlands and the north and is also in Scotland.
“Lungworm can be a devastating disease for dogs. We are the largest producers of beneficial nematodes in the EU and the only one in the UK, and we believe that though using nematodes to protect your garden against slugs, you can also protect your dogs from lungworm at the same time.” says Gavin Wood from BASF.
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