Ducks for slug control in the garden - yay or nay?

[spatulagirl]

I have a lot of slugs. A lot.

We had a lot of ticks so I got guineas. Now we don't have any ticks.

I was wondering if I got 2-3 ducks if they would do the same thing to my slug population. They are destroying my garden and I can't pick them off fast enough. My beer traps aren't working. I am trying egg shells next but really, I need something to eat them.

Will they destroy my garden like the chickens do?

 

[HooverHenHouse]

Would LOVE to hear some replies on this, my MIL has chosen to get some chickens, in hope they will take care of her slug problem, and wouldn't mind a few ducks if ducks are better 'slug killers' than the chickens.

She lives in the country, no garden to worry about digging up-but slugs have over taken everything.

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Ducks are generally really good with getting rid of slugs. We recently moved and before then, we had no slugs. Now we have tons. Because I didn't have slugs before that, they had never tried one, and still won't. Although, I have two ducklings that LOVE slugs. I introduced them to slugs when they were about two weeks old. I am hoping that they like them enough that they will get rid of them. From what I've heard, it should work great

 

[Going Quackers]

Mine definitely pick them out of the veggie garden, i don't find them destructive.. i even have a roped off area where the asparagus is and they respect it.

I have Muscovy...

 

[Amiga]

I got my runners because of slugs. "You don't have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency." That is from Bill Mollison. So, after months of consideration, I took the plunge.

The slug population has plummeted.

It is not entirely simple, like going out with a spray can of Runner Duck.

My ducks like lettuce, and are not exactly careful where they walk, or what they walk on. If I leave them in an area long enough, they nibble down or tromp down vegetation, as well as drill holes especially in damp areas.

Nonetheless, with a little - very little - planning and effort, we have an informal system of walks around the place, so that the ducks "work" different areas. Some they only get a quick run-through, some they only get around the perimeter certain times of year. But before planting, after harvest, or in perennial gardens, they forage and clean up slugs, bugs, weeds, and deposit some great fertilizer that does not burn plants.

They eat seeds out of straw, enrich it, and so I have some excellent nutrient laden straw for mulch and compost.

 

[grawg]

I got ducks for garden pest control and they do a decent job of not trampling plants. I still tend to have slug problems though. This could be due to the size of the garden and that the ducks only free range through it a couple hours a day.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They do tend to trample anything smaller than themselves so i have been putting up the green plastic fence I got at Lowes to keep that from happening. But as far as slugs well we use to be over run with them, but since my ducks have been here i hardly ever see one and it's usually if i turn over a piece of wood looking for a worm for the ducks that I see one. Grass hoppers too we use to be over run with them but no more. The did eat most of my preying mantises too though. Oh well i still love them.

 

[Melinda35]

Mine were doing great at not eating anything but weeds and bugs until recently. I caught them eating my green bean plants. They are in lock down for right now. I work way too hard getting my garden going I can't let them destroy it. If you have the time to supervise then they will be great for you.

 

[Adenium]

I had a horrible slug problem a couple of years ago - I felt like I'd turned into my mother when all of a sudden I caught myself bemoaning the devastation to my precious hostas and other plants I did put out the beer traps with decent success (I used small cottage cheese containers with entry holes about half an inch from the top and put the covers back on, then buried so the hole was level with the dirt). Pretty gross to empty out though.

I also spent some time going out in the late evening with a flashlight (and gloves) and picking them off. I removed a lot in the daytime, but in the dark, particularly when it was fairly wet out, I got rid of TONS. I've seen a few since then, but nothing like the infestation I had before. I think I knocked the population down far enough that it'll take time to recover. I did this on a few occasions, but it's not like I spent hours. It might help. Perhaps I'll do it a couple times this season too, though I was hoping my chickens might help when they arrive!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I had a horrible slug problem a couple of years ago - I felt like I'd turned into my mother when all of a sudden I caught myself bemoaning the devastation to my precious hostas and other plants

I did put out the beer traps with decent success (I used small cottage cheese containers with entry holes about half an inch from the top and put the covers back on, then buried so the hole was level with the dirt). Pretty gross to empty out though.
I also spent some time going out in the late evening with a flashlight (and gloves) and picking them off. I removed a lot in the daytime, but in the dark, particularly when it was fairly wet out, I got rid of TONS. I've seen a few since then, but nothing like the infestation I had before. I think I knocked the population down far enough that it'll take time to recover. I did this on a few occasions, but it's not like I spent hours. It might help. Perhaps I'll do it a couple times this season too, though I was hoping my chickens might help when they arrive!

I've never seen one of my chickens eat a slug, but i've never seen them eat a earth worm either. I use to do slug patrol in the early mornings, I'd put on the gloves, yuck can't stand to touch the slimy things get some cheap table salt pour into a plastic container and off I'd go. It only takes a mire second for slugs to melt in salt. But I don't miss slug patrol at all I gladly gave it over to the ducks 9 years ago.