These little guys are throughly entertaining especially if your dog or cat pisses one of them off. I wish we could have several to run around. A little swimming pool, a handful of feed and watch them eat. I'd have a movable chicken coop with a fenced in yard. I like eggs. 6 a day keeps my doctor at bay.
We can't have pets or animals in our rental property, but we managed to encourage some wild ducks over from the local river! :) We fed some local ducklings every day, bringing them closer to our place each time. Then when they started coming into our garden we got a little paddling pool for them to swim in. Those ducks are now fully grown, they visit every morning and night, and we never have problems with slugs or snails!
great vid. I have 4 pekin ducks, not broody so they lay an egg and walk away. Never had a slug problem. Its escargot for them. My Golden retriever follows them around picks up the eggs and brings them home never a tooth mark in them. He's a good dog.
@qb03 35 Was something about my comment racist against previous commenters? Did I accidentally use a word that has racial connotations? Perhaps you would like to explain?
@qb03 35 Perhaps you may mean speciesist? I wasn't trying to discriminate against ducks in favor of slugs. I'm not some kind of slugs rights activist. However, if we were to have ducks everywhere, as ThEnderYoshi HD suggests, that may wipe out the slug population of the area, and I thought genocide was a tad bit extreme. That's why I worried that perhaps ThEnderYoshi HD may have let his/her/their personal feelings against slugs cloud his/her/their judgement, trying to unleash a vendetta against slugs in the form of ducks everywhere. ...and clearly I need to go to sleep now, as I am writing this in the wee hours of the night and have become less coherent by the minute. Goodnight.
I always made a little shelter to attract wild hedgehogs. They supposedly love to eat snails too. Never did any serious gardening but Hedgehogs are just so darn cute.
Well the area where my house is has Wild Hedgehogs going about their business. If you just lean a few boards against the garage wall next to the bush and stuff it with hay then a Hedgehog usually ends up in there sooner or later. They just kinda walk around the premise. There's also tons of tall grass in the area so you never quite know if you'll walk into one. It's almost like finding a Pokemon xD
I _love_ this video. I have a flock of 7 Silver Appleyard ducks and 4 geese. They are great at controlling the slug population, providing eggs, fertilizer, weed control (in the grass) and endless entertainment. They are all quite personable, especially the geese, who are gentle and friendly - except during mating season when they become fire-breathing feathered dragons. When I moved to my current home, I had a grassy field full of dandelions and clover, which my bees appreciated. However, the geese and ducks have eaten all of the dandelions they can reach, depriving the bees of the dandelions. Naturally, I have been planting steadily since the initial observation period, so I've been replacing the bee's forage with fruit trees & shrubs, brambles, and flowers.
@@danny_3366 No, they are mostly interested in whatever is in the soil. The geese, however, are herbivores and THEY _might_ eat the veggies, though they prefer greens .
yup For some unknown reason youtube decided that i would watch this video. So in my suggestion list along with video games, csb safety videos and many more subjects which are not in the least bit related to this video , i saw this, and for some unknown reason watched it. Either youtube has gotten too smart or it has the ability to "make" us watch videos which we normally wouldn't even consider watching normally.
@@siraco4278 eh I'm just going say if you had a bad day or someone wronged you I hope tomorrow and the following days is filled joy and satisfaction. Have a nice day.
@@saosaqii5807 No Phil is right, in fact I suspect anything that might come out or even get stuck up his ass is radically more interesting and authentic than what the BBC produces. It's a painful truth for some.
Me and a friend hadn't seen each other in a year until tonight. We started talking about gardening and I said that ducks were good for gardening. His eyes went wide and he was like "yeah cause they eat the slugs! Did you watch the same video I did?!" Turns out we both watched this video a month ago separately and had a good laugh talking about the algorithm. May everyone be blessed by the algorithm just like us!
Hello Huw You're right on about the ducks and I love the concept of neighborhood ducks. For a while my neighbors fostered a flock of a dozen plus ducks, something like Khaki Runners, who would range the neighborhood at will. They'd come quacking into the yard, efficiently patrolling under and between in all the likely spots like stonework, pots, grassy clumps and when they had gotten every slug & grub they moved on to the next yard. Then one day they found a forever home and moved away. Good while it lasted!
This definitely works. Ducks are the best defence against slugs. They can have a tendency to trample, but just like you said; they do not show any interest in crop plants and are marvellous hunters of slugs. Khaki Campbell ducks lay eggs all year round and are slow moving and very friendly. Unfortunately this makes them quite vulnerable to foxes. Brilliant ideas, very well put together and very informative.
Great video. My family typically used chickens as help with composting, their destructive tendencies are much better suited for scratching up and turning over leaves and other waste, while ducks just smash it down. To each their own strength, and ducks frequently are more people-friendly as well.
I remember a group of three ducks I had dubbed ‘the troublesome trio’ who loved to walk around our garden and backyard area as opposed to hanging around the ponds with our other waterfowl. They probably ate some slugs, but they absolutely LOVED to eat the young watermelon plants. Every time my father would plant the watermelon sprouts, no matter what he tried, they would always find them first and gobble them up. It was as strange as it was frustrating. I mean, we figured they would try to nab some snacks from the garden, but our greens, tomatoes, and beans were practically untouched. To this day I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out why the heck they did it.
Thankyou! I own two ducks, Mallards,I bought them cause they made me smile and the eggs were a bonus. I never realised that the pest control was a bonus. Thankyou!
Me, now: Why am I watching this, I don't live in the UK, I barely ever see slugs, and I don't have a garden. Me, 25 years from now, after society collapses, and climate change wreaks havoc on every ecosystem: I know what we can do about the megaslugs.
In Germany some gardeners keep Indian runner ducks in their garden to control the snails. If you don't want to keep them permanently it is also possible to rent some runner ducks for a while. That is a nice idea for running a small business... I have raised beds and protect them with completely encircling 5 cm wide copper sheets. I observe that this copper sheets are really effective, but the width must be 5 cm minimum. smaller sheets or even only copper wires are useless since they were overcome by the slugs very easily. In addition I have pine bark mulch between the raised beds. In dry summers slugs don't like to creep over the sharpe-edged bark mulch and the harsh planks the raised beds. I am protecting further very young seedlings with snail collars. I have no problems with slugs, but hughe problems with mice, rats, root vole and pigeon. It would be boring without any enemies in the garden... ;-) Andreas
Hi Andreas - runner ducks are fantastic for slugs! Great idea with renting runner ducks! I may get those copper sheets for my salad beds actually! Do you just nail them on? Yes we have huge problems with mice but there are loads of great traps which seem to work well ;) Best wishes
@@HuwRichards a monster moggy is my answer to the smaller four legged vermin, my cat works non stop hunting voles, mice and rats, and a Jack Russel Terrier to keep foxes, badgers, and deer out of range of my birds, with electric fencing, I have also been using the bird/squirrel electronic sonic/flash for pigeons and squirrels, plus air rifle, it's war out there man ;-))
@@HuwRichardsHi, l use staples. I recommend to position the staples parallel to the copper sheet with a large distance e.g. alternatingly top and bottom. I realy saw a slug gliding over a staple stapled orthogonally in the middle of the copper sheet....
I have the same good experience with ducks. I have got a large garden and I had to kill hundreds of slugs several times a week from spring to autumn, but last year I got ducks (here in Czechia we call them Indian runners, they are slim and fast). They live freely in an orchard, sleep in a greenhouse in the winter, and now I leave them into the garden in the morning or in the evening and they clean it from slugs. In addition, they lay excellent eggs. These eggs are not sold in our stores, there is not customary to eat duck eggs, but breeders of this duck are changing the tradition. Thank you so much for your videos, I like them very much!
I usually go out to my garden at night with a flashlight and a small cup of soapy water. I spend 5-10min searching for slugs and dropping them into the soapy water. It keeps the population down and keeps slug damage to a minimum. Another thing I find effective is putting fleece over my plants and burying the sides with wood chips so the slugs can’t get in at all but walking around at night with a flashlight works best in my opinion. Do it every night for a week and it kills off the population for about two weeks and start searching again for a week. It’s a bit more work but worth the time to save your food.
We agree! Ducks are always a great thing in the garden and food forest. Ducks are wonderful foragers and they do not destroy the vegetables too much especially when managed.
Train them to become a coherent squad rather than a loose group. Once they understand some systematic scanning procedures and the chain of command, train one by one as a squad leader, and give each new leader a squad on their own. Instill in them the culture to proliferate this training on their own and let them out into the wild. They will come in contact with other ducks in time and train them as well, thus spreading a slug hunting agenda over Europe and helping vegetable garden owners in other countries.
Unfortunately we are not allowed any form of live stock at our allotment site, we have 22 plots so its not a big site. We have the room for them so we are going to keep on and on at the council until they say yes. We want 8 chickens and 6 ducks, that everyone can take in turns feeding and cleaning. The poop can be rotted down and used as a mulch. Great video, very informative.
Aj's allotment garden if you are in the uk, under the allotments act, you have a legal right to keep hens (not cockerels, or other poultry). They can’t refuse, and even attempts at bye laws fail as they breach statute.
Specifically it's the Allotments Act 1950, Chapter 31, section 12: Abolition of contractual restrictions on keeping hens and rabbits (1)Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any lease or tenancy or in any covenant, contract or undertaking relating to the use to be made of any land, it shall be lawful for the occupier of any land to keep, otherwise than by way of trade or business, hens or rabbits in any place on the land and to erect or place and maintain such buildings or structures on the land as reasonably necessary for that purpose: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorise any hens or rabbits to be kept in such a place or in such a manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance or affect the operation of any enactment. It should be noted that “the Allotments Act 1950 (and any other Act of Parliament) overrides all other sources of law, apart from European Directives”.
excellent video, from presentation of the subject to editing! I have an idea; muscovy ducks. for some people, the noise the ducks make might be a problem, but muscovys are quiet. i dont know if they're as good as regular ducks for snail control, but i know they do eat small critters even mice. also, being technically geese (though quite friendly) they also trim the grass. so my proposal would be to also have some muscovies mixed into the flock so they trim the grass. one job less to do.
@@doobyfrooby7606 ... after years of construction, 14 auto accident,s, and farm work... my body fell apart..sixty five now and hard as it is to admit... I can't do it anymore.
Oh my goodness, you're the first person I've come across to suggest / use cardboard for slugs! I discovered this method a few years back in the rain when I found many slugs sheltering on the bottom of cardboard in my raised bed. Next step for me - ducks.
I just found your channel i must admit you just got me into gardening,i want to start one.The organised garden you have is very nice.The Ducks make a very calming addition to that.Well done video mate !
This was an interesting video - it's clear that ducks are a great at slug-busting. I think a follow-up video might be responsible to explain the basic needs of ducks - the minimum amount of permanent space they need when they aren't free range in the garden, daily feeding routine, yearly vaccinations, how to keep them safe from predators, what to do if your duck becomes ill etc. I imagine that most urban gardens would not be large enough to meet the basic welfare standards of ducks.
If everyone watching this video teamed up and got 6 ducks each then that's almost 4 million ducks and I don't know if the rest of the world would be ready for us
Its awesome having ducks around. Try this, lightly spray the underneath side of the planks of wood with beer. Not to much though. Then turn them over the next morning and watch your ducks. Every board you have sprayed with Beer will have slugs under it. You only want the smell of beer on the underside of the wood. At least when the ducks have the slugs they are not being wasted and are naturally recycled. Happy ducks :)
You clip the feathers on one wing. Most/some domestic ducks are too well fed and heavy to fly away. I clip the feathers on one wing just to make sure I don’t lose my ducks.
I just finished watching a video about 10,000 ducks being unleashed onto rice patties in Thailand to eat pests and rice husks. Your strategy shown on a massive scale. Proof it can be done anywhere.
