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Gardening

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How to deter ducks!

11 replies

Solo2 · 25/02/2011 17:30

Not sure if this is the right section to ask about this - but...we have a natural swimming pond in our garden and the whole eco system is balanced to maintain clear, pure water. The only 'danger' to the system is duck - as they carry salmonella. We have to keep them away!

In the last few days - and for the first time - we've had three mallard visiting - a male and two females.

Whilst I love ducks, we just can't have them in the pond and need to deter them rapidly.

If for any reason anyone else needs to deter ducks from their garden and/or pond - what methods do you use?

So far, each time we've seen them, I've run out to the pond and flapped a white plastic carrier bag and they've flown away. But they may of course be going there when I don't see/ am not around.

Any ideas please?

OP posts:
PaisleyLeaf · 26/02/2011 23:22

A natural swimming pool you say?

....sorry no idea re the ducks.

Envy
Solo2 · 27/02/2011 18:42

Yep! It's great but we MUST find a way of stopping ducks landing on it! Anyone else have any ideas?

OP posts:
occasionalposter · 27/02/2011 22:28

You could try putting a grid of brightly coloured string across about a foot above the surface of the pool(use bamboo canes to tie it to) - this would probably stop them from landing on the water - if they landed on the lawn and walked in it would just stop them from taking off......
Never tried it but it is the nest thing I can think of at the moment.
It would be a nuisance if you wanted to swim but I'm guessing it is a bit early in the year for that and by the time it has warmed up the ducks will have gone elsewhere!

Choufleur · 27/02/2011 22:31

I was going to suggest cats but don't think they like swimming

PaisleyLeaf · 28/02/2011 15:20

What about a fake bird of prey (an owl or something) or fake swan?
They might be looking for nest sites just now and maybe it'd put them off.
Otherwise netting? Or a cage like thing?

Solo2 · 28/02/2011 18:45

Good ideas! Bit of a hassle though, as the pond is fairly large and I'll need masses of string...Yes, it's still too cold to swim yet....

The company who built the pond have suggested dogs and the sound of gunshot as the greatest deterrents. Haven't got a gun!! We are about to geta puppy dog in the next month but he'll probably be too small to deter ducks and in any case can't yet go near the pond....

I could try the fake bird of prey...or maybe there are bird-scarers we could try? - although I don't want or need to deter other kinds of birds....

OP posts:
omnishambles · 28/02/2011 18:49

A fox is surely what you need there. They come with their own irritations though

Choufleur · 28/02/2011 19:41

My friend lives on a farm next to a lake where both farmers have dogs and they organise shoots during season. There are bloody loads of ducks.

Tvetenia · 28/02/2011 21:01

This isn't an attractive solution, but gets used at newly planted conservation ponds to keep birds off.

[[http://www.yorksurvey.co.uk/marking/barrier-fencing/118/orange-barrier-fencing-50m-roll.html
fencing]]

Fetching orange, but better than duck guano.

Tvetenia · 28/02/2011 21:03

[[http://www.yorksurvey.co.uk/marking/barrier-fencing/118/orange-barrier-fencing-50m-roll.html
fencing]]

Smilesbringsunshine · 11/03/2026 11:54

Just wondering if anything worked - have the identical problem in our house we’ve just moved to…

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