Don't allow dogs to watch you dig a flower or vegetable garden. They may think they're supposed to help out once your back is turned. I have a snail problem and understand carabid beetles attack snails and slugs. A. Unfortunately, carabid beetles are not commercially available, according to Mary Louise Flint, director of the education and publication division of the Integrated Pest Management Project at the University of California, Davis. According to Flint, carabid beetles are difficult to gather and breed for sale.
Some species do indeed feed on snails and slugs.
Little is known about most carabids in part because larvae feed out of sight in soil and litter and adults usually hide during the day and stalk prey at night. Eliminating hiding places, diligent handpicking, traps and copper barriers are effective, nonchemical ways to reduce slug and snail populations. Let us hear from you.