How do I get rid of ducks?

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RickyEarl

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Feb 23, 2012
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Dallas, Texas
Yesterday a mother duck and her seven ducklings decided to jump in my pool. The ducklings have a very hard time getting out - the overhang lip on the edge and the water height are more than they can jump. I built them a ramp and they got out, but now they've decided to stay.

So I called Animal Control. "Not our problem." They told me to call the Wildlife Conservation society, who acted like the ducks were unicorns, spouted some nonsense about how it's illegal for me to remove them (not true, BTW) and suggested the best food to feed them. "Don't worry," they said, "they will be gone by June." :rant:

How do I get rid of them? I found lots of tips on preventing this, but that's not real helpful now. All I could find was a suggestion that I "walk" them to the nearest water area. When I approach the mother, she is very aggressive, scared and protective. So I'm not sure how I would do that.
 
Laughed out loud at the unicorn comparison.

I've had luck in dealing with the county/state university extension. They are helpful with most everything environmental, although not die-hards. University of Missouri's extension was very helpful with my never-ending wildlife issues in my backyard.

Seems you could start here: http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/
 
Do you have a dog cage with a door (that you could tie a long sting to and close when she gets in)? Or some other portable container you can lure the mother duck into? Do you think you could capture the babies once you get momma under control?

How do they just walk into your pool? No fence?
 
I have no idea how they got there. The only guess is the gate, which is down a long tree-lined path and not visible from the pool.

My dog cage is the wire kind - grid is too wide for the babies. I could trap the mother, I guess, but the closure would be tricky.

No clue on my ability to catch the babies once the mother is under control.

I posted in a previous thread about the fact that my pool has one 5 foot vertical side, so there's no way to put a good cover or net in place.
 
Thanks on the cover issue - I have a guy coming out to tell me what I can do.

The trick is two fold, though. The ducklings cannot get out of the pool. I built them a ramp, but at no time will more than a couple of them use it, then mother jumps in to get the rest of them, and the ones who got out follow her back in. It's hard not to laugh at it.

Anyway, I need them all out at the same time. Netting is not working - they can swim like Michael Phelps. They dive down to the bottom when I catch them in the net. Really impressive.

The waterfalls seem to scare them - I will report back on that.
 
Rick, I'm in the same boat as you! My ducks have come back for the 3rd year! This year we got 13 chicks! She will teach them over the next week or so how to get out of the water and back in FAST! The problem is you have to catch her and all of them or your attempt will be a waste of time! Other hens will NOT adopt new chicks to the brood. So if you get them and not her and you transplant them to a local pond or park the chicks will all starve to death and die within a day or so. Mine always get eaten by the neighborhood cats or get run over by cars! After about 10 days your yard becomes to small for them and much like kids they tend to venture out through the neighborhood and get themselves into mischief! None of 35 chicks we have had over the last 3 years has ever got feathers enough to fly away. It is a miserable few weeks of nighttime noise! I wish you luck!
 
I'm going on the assumption a 12 gauge pump would upset the neighbors? Perhaps an airsoft rifle would do the trick?

The outdoor kitchen section of the forum might have some suggestions?


But seriously, be aggressive. When momma duck realizes it isn't a safe place for her ducklings she'll move on.
What if you put your chlorine to shock level for a few days - would that run them off?
 

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Done. I built them a ramp out of an old window screen so they could get out, opened the nearest gate, and harassed mom. She kept flying off, eventually settling outside the gate. The kids got out and she started quacking at them. They ran to her and I closed the gate and put the windscreen in front of the holes at the bottom.
 
I live on a lake and there are three ducks that hang out in my canal. My neighbor 3 doors down feeds them occasionally. Anyway, I set out an owl decoy and they havent been in my pool since. They will still cut through my yard but they keep moving now.
 
Ducks are pretty smart when it comes to their safety. I don't think decoys such as owls or snakes really concern them too much once they realize they pose no real threat. The one "decoy" I have found to be a deterrent is a leaf rake laying out beside the pool. Why would that spook them you ask? Why would a harmless leaf rake concern them anymore than a plastic owl? Because the leaf rake bites. Hard.

I came across the solution by accident when trying to snag them out of the air with the rake. At first, I kept it up close to the house where I could grab it and sneak up on them Elmer Fudd style. But like I said above, ducks is pritty smart.

After a few failed attempts, I started leaving the leaf rake right beside the pool because I noticed that they were not nearly as wary of me when I wasn't holding a weapon. So I would approach nonchalantly, then quickly grab the pole and start to flailing. Almost caught one a couple of times. After the last close call, sometimes I would see them fly by but they never came back.

I related this story to my brother-in-law who is an avid duck hunter, and he replied: "Ducks is pritty smart when it comes to their safety." He further posited that the pests, I mean ducks, now associated the leaf rake with perceived danger.

YMMV
 
Beez said:
At first, I kept it up close to the house where I could grab it and sneak up on them Elmer Fudd style ...

... I would approach nonchalantly, then quickly grab the pole and start to flailing.
Click to expand...

:lol: Great visual :lol:

Beez posts are always so entertaining :goodjob:
 

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