Using ducts for pest control is one of the eco-friendly ways to handle a pest situation with zero side-effects to the environment.
How is this done? This is the focus of our discussion.
Here, we’ll be discussing how it’s done, the common pest issues it is used for as well as how effective it is among other crucial points.
Where And When To Use Ducks For Pest Control
Ducks can be used in a wide range of situations to address a pest problem.
This includes using them for domestic pest control as well as agricultural pest control. A lot of people have to deal with difficult pest issues with no clear and tangible solutions even after spending a lot of money.
What you may not know is the fact that you can take back control of your home, garden, or farm by simply using a pest predator in the form of ducks. Ducks are unleashed on these pests with excellent results obtained at the end.
It’s also important to state that ducks are mostly used for external pest control alone.
The Benefits
There are several benefits when using ducks for pest control.
The first is obvious; ducks are among the best eco-friendly options when it comes to containing a pest problem. Ducks, unlike other birds, are known to be resistant to a wide variety of parasites and diseases.
During the wet or rainy seasons when slugs find perfect to crawl and destroy your garden, ducks can also be unleashed on them. These predators set out to rid your garden of slugs and other pest problems by feeding on them.
Ducks can easily be penned and released to targeted areas compared to other bird species.
You’ll need a pen with barriers measuring a height of about 18 to 24 inches. A lot of farmers have found ducks to be good companions in farms and gardens.
You also stand to be entertained by ducks as they’re fun to watch.
Using ducks for pest control is easily achievable because these birds easily adapt to varying climatic conditions. More importantly; with ducks, you won’t need chemical pesticides of any sort for pest issues.
As ducks go about feeding on pests, their droppings and feathers serve as valuable manure to plants.
What Pests Do Ducks Eat?
Having established the fact that ducks are highly useful for pest control, we’ll need to also mention the pests consumed by them. Based on their nutritional needs, you’re able to know what pest issues can be solved by having ducks around.
Ducks feed on a variety of pests ranging from grasshoppers, slugs, potato beetles, snails, Japanese beetle larvae, mosquito pupae, and a host of other insects.
These are known pests that cause a great deal of damage, especially to garden plants and lawns.
Good Duck Breeds for Pest Control
To use ducks for pest control, it’s important to choose the right breeds as certain breeds aren’t as effective in pest control compared to others.
Some of the best breeds include Runner ducks, Welsh Harlequins, Anconas, Campbells, Magpies, and Muscovies.
These are efficient foragers and will help in no small measure to solve your pest problem by feeding on the pests they come across.
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What Makes these Breeds Good
Apart from being efficient foragers, the duck breeds mentioned above have less supplementary feed needs compared to others.
Additionally, these duck breeds (especially runner ducks) are smaller and lighter. This means they don’t frequently cause damage to plants when moving around in search of pests.
Training
When using ducks for pest control, it’s necessary to provide some form of training.
This is crucial as it helps significantly in making such ducks more efficient and responsive. Training requires consistency and some form of reward at the end of each pest control session or patrol.
For ducks to be effective, they need to be right by your sides when working in the garden or yard. Pests are most likely to surface during such periods which provides your ducks with enough incentives to stick around.
You might want to find resources on duck training or seek help from an expert or other duck farmers nearest to you.
You’ll always get ready for help when it comes to training your birds. To begin training, you could start by making a unique noise or sound when giving them a treat or reward.
Such noise will quickly be associated with reward. What more?
Ducks can be trained by feeding them slugs and snails. However, you’ll need to first crack the snail shells before feeding them to your ducks. As your birds grow and mature, they can swallow such shells whole.
It will be beneficial to take your ducks out to look for insects, snails, and slugs. This is meant to show them where to search for pests. You’ll need to get dirty yourself by looking for such slugs and feeding them.
Doing this allows ducks to become more responsive and efficient pest predators.
Ducks Aren’t for Everyone
One of the things you’ll need to know is the fact that ducks are not suitable for every farmer or homeowner.
Although these pests help get rid of various pest issues, they come with their problems. Ducks will easily create a mess whenever there are small water and mud nearby.
You’ll need that to put up with such behavior. Training also goes a long way in making their activities much more organized.
Are There Downsides To Using Ducks For Pest Control?
Ducks are useful for pest control without a doubt. However, they also present unique problems. Small plant seedlings are in danger of being trampled when ducks forage for pests. Also, your leafy vegetables may be chewed on.
There’s a lot of mess you’ll have to get accustomed to. Their poop is slimy and messes up the garden. These are the main problems associated with the use of ducks for pest control. If you can tolerate this, then you have no problem whatsoever.
You may want to consider raising ducks for pest control.
If this article interests you, consider moving ahead by getting some ducks for your pest issues. It’s necessary to be knowledgeable about what they need, and how they behave among other things. Lots of online resources are available on that.