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 .
@@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.
@@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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
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.
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 !
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.
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.
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”.
I solved my slug problem with the use of Epson Salts. Once a year I use Epsom Salts to improved the amount of Magnisium in the soil and it the same time I noticed it gets ride of the sugs too.
In Thailand, there is a man that has a thousand ducks (at least it appears so) he brings in a large trailer to different rice paddies. They are given an audio signal (horn) to exit the trailer and the horn is sounded again when it is time to enter the trailer again to go to the next field. Amazing to watch.
@@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.
a good trap for slugs and snails is a disposable pie pan, with about an 1.5 - 2 inches of beer in it. Slugs are attracted to the beer, they get drunk and drown. Also a halved melon skin put upside down will attract them and make it easy to get rid of them
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 :)
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
I really like this idea of "community ducks", shared by many neighbors. I live in a suburban part of a city in the southeast USA, where it is warm and sometimes quite wet - slugs are everywhere in my grass and garden. I wish I could sculpt a small pond and have a few ducks, and be sure they would not be preyed upon. I agree they are very charming as well as useful!
Somehow I have entered the bird farmer part of youtube now. As of this video, this channel is the 4th one I've subscribed to because the UA-cam algorithm led me to it.
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.
I love ducks so much! I live in Morocco N/Africa and we started with 3 ducks. 2 females and 1 male....two years later we have 30 :D They eat the algae off our water retention pond
I only watched this to see ducks walking around a garden. Thoroughly entertained
Release the quacken.
ua-cam.com/video/7GwGu8QVpLU/v-deo.html
It's like an ancient mode of entertainment.
Your telling me I got 2 that randomly landed in my garden nothing beats a tea a spliff and ducks walking round the garden
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.
ikr , watching them walking around looks so fucking funny cracks me up
Ladies and Gentlemen, the algorithm brought us together again this time and together we must acquire ducks.
I feel the algorithm did a good job this time
I messed up, now i have two aggressive geese.
yep
More ducks!
Tru.
You neglected to mention that ducks are quite humorous and entertaining.
That is a whole video itself ;)
He did mention that look again..
And necrophila.ducks are a disgusting and vile race!
Quack quack quack quuuuuack lmfao
@@HedgehogZone i know they are totally quack!
Ducks:
>Are friendly.
>Help in the garden.
>Are herded easily.
Geese:
> *Peace was never an option.*
hahahahaha
Swans: REEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
hahahah
😊😊😂😂
So you have choosen war then
Me: franatically presses peace button.
Geese: launch the nukes!!
Swaans: Exterminatus heretic!!
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!
that is incredibly precious.
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.
!That´s some perfect organized garden. :D
omg he brings the eggs home?? thats incredible did you have to train him to do thaT?
Are you gonna eat those ducks?😖
You are obviously living in a Disney world 😍
debra c | what a sweet dog
"you don't need ducks during a hot day, just when it's wet"
So everyday in England?
That is a good one :D
Now in Denmark as well. I feel you...
So almost never in Queensland, Australia? :(
how hot is a hot day in england?
And Denmark
This guy is in the pockets of big duck multinational conglomerates.
Follow the paper trail
Big DICK
He's damn good
I knew the McDuck family was full of freeloading slug-eaters! No rent, no responsibilities...
Big Duck energy
>Gets geese instead
*WHY DO MY RAKES KEEP GETTING THROWN IN THE LAKE*
rake in the lake
rake in the lake
rake in the lake
rake in the lake
rake in the lake
@@luk4aaaa Korega... Rakeuiem da.
"Who the fuck keeps organizing a random picnic with some of my stuff here!?"
*Geese strolls by aggressively with an open wing span*
The first strand type garden.
My goose's name is Dunkey...
I want a footage of ducks going around the garden while "The boys are back in town" plays in the background
Its been 3 days, you guys found anything yet?
I would gladly do this - but YT is a bitch when it comes to copyright
@@NoobSharkey just play the song and look at this video
Burrdozah c: reply to me if you find anything
Haha
Ducks. Such magnificent creatures.
Every week, you see them swim, and you cry.
For only ducks can truly perceive reality.
Glorious ducks.
Groriouose duckse
Be like one 🦆
Can I have some of what you're smoking
Help me understand this statement
ua-cam.com/video/UJO2Tjp3hQ0/v-deo.html
You: " Morning!"
Ducks:."Get out of our way!"
I like his attitude
😂🤣😂🤣😂😎👍🐶
Hahahahah 🤣🤣🤣
Hahahahagahaha
*MOVE BITCH, GET OUTTA WAY, GET OUTTA WAY, BITCH, GET OUTTA WAY!*
I dont even have a garden, why am I watching this?
Because in every human there is the will to build one :) Earlier or later, you will probably do.
Because deep down inside you wish the world will end and all you will have left is a shot gun, and a small farm?
@@xPumaFangx I don´t think it´s the wish, but better have it and don´t need it instead of needing it someday and not taken care of it in time. ;)
@@alfwaibel4773 Ya but thats logical and I dont wanna be logical right now.
you're bored and love to procrastinate xD
those 292 dislikes are probably the chickens.....
Or some jive ass turkeys 😂
Or slugs lol
Or Geese
503 duck farmers didnt like this video
Why stop at vegetable gardens? Let's have ducks _everywhere_
ThEnderYoshi HD よっし
You have a grudge against slugs?
@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.
@qb03 35 No, the word is speciesist, or speciesism. Coined in the 70s by an animal rights activist. 😉
Great now I need to build a garden just to have ducks.
Omg, i got the same idea. Cheer m8
@@kazegarasu4704 Do it if you haven't. Ducks are hilarious.
A garden or a pond. With the garden you can have some food to eat and the best fertilizer from the ducks.
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
@@Broockle Only problem is that my dog goes mad to get to them, I think the spikiness he takes as a challenge.
@LagiNaLangAko23 Sandshrews are pangolins, tho.
@LagiNaLangAko23
That would be pretty cool.
Tho I don't go to my family's garden house all that often these days.
for a garden his size wouldn't it be difficult to keep an eye on them? wouldn't they be too slow?
Seeing those ducks race in a herd from place to place was funny and adorable at the same time. Thanks for sharing your great idea with us.
Gardener:
- "Release the Quacken!!!"
Slugs:
- "Abandon your posts! Flee for your lives!"
Do you mean "Release the Quacken?"
mistie710 omg you’re a genius! I’m gonna edit my post now 😂
Funny!
Lucky Gold Shaw Farm doesn't have a copyright on that.....
"Unleash the..." Works better than "release"
im a simple man, i see ducks, i click... wasnt disappointed
Duck you!
Hey, how duck you!
me too
inferno 601 Well, duck you too then!
This style of comment was cool for about a day back in 2010.
Our neighbors used to borrow our duck to clear the snails in her rose garden. She already ate all the ones in our yard =)
U mean borrow right? Or burrow??😁
@@MahijaSharmaDantu lol I mean Borrow. ty =)
Lmfao why do I find this bad ass 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
your neighbor ate your ducks?
@@TonzLanggoy no no no, she meant the snail. The neighbor ate all the snails in her yard already.
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.
Thank you for your work, I appreciate ya.
And I'm sure the bees do too.
Great at Christmas to....
hey, wont the ducks eat your veggies and fruits
@@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
.
Call trump to build a wall.
Far more interesting than the BBC.
Phil McDonald Everything's more entertaining than the BBC.
I have Netflix, BBC for intelligent people!
Soon we will all ditch BBC!
@@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.
British Broadcasting Corporation
Phil McDonald That's not what your wife says!
@aKa Donut Bullshit Broadcst Corporation
Me: doesn’t have a garden, doesn’t live in England
Also me: still watches this entire video
Same hahaha
Lol entertaining duh it ain’t bad unless you. Need to go school like in a few hours as in me 😫😫😫
doesn't eat vegetables
Huw doesn't live in England either! :)
Also me: MOM! Can we get a duck?
I have to go to bed.
UA-cam: hey you want to see why you needs ducks in your garden?
Ohh... *so that‘s why my neighbor has ducks walking around in his garden.*
@@DAMWOKE just let him/her be themselves. Leave that person alone. Anyways. Have a nice day.
@@wildcard4552 shut up
@@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.
@@DAMWOKE Yeah go fuck yourself
Bria Mahmoud Atleast he is trying to do some good for people what are you doing in your life? Leave him alone
Not a fan of slugs.
I like ducks.
Now I just need a farm to make this not all be just a coincidence.
I feel you. I really want that with my partner
I’m really glad Tom cruise has started such a holistic hobbie, and is sharing his gardening tips with 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!
They protecc
They attacc
but most importantly
They quacc
they quacc
because they look for snacc
and side by each they file bacc
Brilliant description of the current POTUS, one that carries the name of the most famous ducc Donald Ducc
@Matt S. Me? I have had a hand in creating this meme. I believe I can afford to give myself a lifetime pass.
Rather ducks than chemical controls. Sounds good to me.
And eggs as a bonus too
I learned that some rice paddy farms bring in ducks up until like a month before it blooms and they work as pest control but double as fertilizers.
@@beatrixthegreat1138 Those operations are amazing.
I've been using ducks for slugs for years and i can't imagine what would my garden do without them.
That is so awesome to hear! :D
Have you ever tried using pathogenic nematodes on slugs? Would it be cheaper?
@@jacobfurnish7450 no I haven't but I don't think that ducks are expensive .they 're fun and you can use their eggs ,too.
Can ducks eat snails too?
@@123kkambiz yep, that's what they do.
I don’t really care if they have a use or not, i want to see lil waddling bois
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!
I never searched for this...
*we* never searched for this...
and yet we are watching it.
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.
You: Morning!
Duck Lord: Shut up nerd! Let's go boys! Let's do this!
Duck Mobs: Aww yiss! Pond water!
😂😂😂
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.
1:27 I like how he thoughtfully placed a ramp for them to get out, but all of them just said, "nah"
Life: ok so here are your priorities for the day. oof lots of stuff today.
Brain: Forget all that, watching this Duck video is top priority.
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.
Lol! A sort of assisted evolution of duck-kind?
sounds like a terrorist sleeper cell but the good kind of course
You look like a sane version of Tom Cruise
What an odd thing to say. Every group of people look totally different based on the region.. haha.
@@Irishcloth Scientology just big fat global scam
He’s from an alternate universe where he decided to live a quiet life in the British countryside
*a sane, man-size version of Tom Cruise
@@danny90099 just like Christianity
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!
Haha, to this day I thought mallard was the english word for male ducks. TIL it's just a kind of duck.
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.
Slime Hank I just don’t get why they went for the young vines of all things! Urrgh!
you might want to plant the young plants in some hydroponic farm in other area and wait for it to grow before you replant it into your soil
You should see ducks eat a watermelon. It’s hilarious, very messy but too funny 😂
Me : starts throwing slugs at duck on the lake
If that doesn't work, shoot them out of a shotgun.
Australovenator Tomino_17 That sounds so American
@@australovenatortomino_1741 thats not the same slug
@@australovenatortomino_1741 you mean the slugs or the ducks?
Australovenator Tomino_17 rather use birdshot
They attac but they also protec!
But mostly they Aflac!
And they quacks
Rolie O'Leary and u can get a lil fucc
Where did this line come from?
FactsNews Kenya
I think it started from a twitter meme
Great video. I would definitely be interested in a longer video as you have suggested. Choosing a breed, how best to use them, etc.
Love the book BTW.
Definitely will add it to my to-film list! Thank you so much David!
246 slugs disliked the video
Ducks: are nice towards humans and keep away slugs
Geese: “I am fluent in over six million forms of kicking your ass”.
Haha, yes.
Esp our Canadian geese😳😬. They'll gladly kill ya for no reason, should be part of our Armed Forces 🤣🤣🤣🔥
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!
Good idea Huw, with the built-in benefit of fresh eggs!
Steve
That is the best part for sure Steve!
Just have my first 3 runner ducks for exactly this reason 😊
Great videos!
Jan Bijl how there work a lot done ✅ there job 🤔🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆
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....
...and i use copper from 0.2 to 0.5 mm thickness and Not the cheaper copper foils.
Rent-A-Duck ♥
this guy really takes his job super seriously and this city boy viewer digs it
The world leaders need to come together to focus on the War on Slugs.
they have a solution. Call France. they will just eat them.
To hell with war on Drugs, now it's war on Slugs!
Metal slug world at war edition.
They can't even agree on how to handle the covid-19 virus let alone silly little sluggies.
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.
I wanna live like this guy.
Meanwhile im living like Larry
Then live with him
I wanna live *with* this guy not gonna lie
Jamal Amer come with me I also starting my own garden
I used to want to too, & then I did, never been so happy, my husbans said "I wish we did this 30 years ago." Give it a try.
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.
I tried slug pellets....but I had trouble hitting the target consistently.
I love how he set the plank for the ducks to walk on but none of them used it 1:25
me when i try to help people
A nice primer on raising our own quack squad. Thank you.
Brilliant love ducks, use to have some. All positive: slug control, eggs, manure.
Really enjoyed the video Huw thank you
🌻🌱have a great growing year🌻🌱
Thank you so much! I am glad you enjoyed it and I hope you have a great growing year too :D
I live near a canal and we invite the ducks into our garden ….they do their work very well.
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.
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 !
when I was little I remember a bunch of ducks chasing me everytime I went on my village and one even bit me but I still love them they are adorable
You: " Morning!"
Ducks:."Let me out! LET ME OUT!!!"
This is me now in normal conversations: "Ducks are easier to herd than chickens."
The way they arch around the garden. So adorable
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.
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.
GET MEGADUCKS
QWACK
Ducks can only inflict 5 damage per attack to Megaslugs and Megaslugs have at least 100 hit-points. :D
Waves of Babies my thoughts EXACTLY.
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.
I am sorry to hear that AJ! Don't give up trying! It was interesting what Tony said! Best wishes
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”.
I solved my slug problem with the use of Epson Salts. Once a year I use Epsom Salts to improved the amount of Magnisium in the soil and it the same time I noticed it gets ride of the sugs too.
I rarely giving like to a video (no more than 50 video up till now). But this has so many things that I'm used to love.
In Thailand, there is a man that has a thousand ducks (at least it appears so) he brings in a large trailer to different rice paddies. They are given an audio signal (horn) to exit the trailer and the horn is sounded again when it is time to enter the trailer again to go to the next field.
Amazing to watch.
Beautiful garden.... I grew like this for 15 years... same type raised beds etc.
Made a decent living from it.. miss it.
so why did you stop doing it?
@@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.
Bill MacDonald sorry to hear that. Try to do it in a smaller scale, just for your own enjoyment:)
@@doobyfrooby7606 ... thanks.
Hedgehogs. They can be let unatended.
But I did not know ducks would eat slugs. Even the hegehogs look a bit disgusted by them :))
"You have a deficit of ducks"
-Huw Richards, 2019
a good trap for slugs and snails is a disposable pie pan, with about an 1.5 - 2 inches of beer in it. Slugs are attracted to the beer, they get drunk and drown. Also a halved melon skin put upside down will attract them and make it easy to get rid of them
"Even our garden paths are grass"
I'm from Phoenix, AZ and this is about the most alien thing I have ever heard.
Buhaha like wise my friiend
Loved those shots of the ducks running through your maze of raised beds. I would happily sit and watch them in the garden 👍🏻
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 :)
We have runner ducks.and wild ones in the fields.they love the wet brittish weather
That is awesome :)
I'm not from the UK
I don't have a garden
and I don't have a slug problem
But do I think the video was useful??
ABSOLUTELY
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.
they don't need vaccinations
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
I use geese instead of dogs to guard my house. The geese alerts every single time and they're cheap to feed.
I really like this idea of "community ducks", shared by many neighbors. I live in a suburban part of a city in the southeast USA, where it is warm and sometimes quite wet - slugs are everywhere in my grass and garden. I wish I could sculpt a small pond and have a few ducks, and be sure they would not be preyed upon. I agree they are very charming as well as useful!
Somehow I have entered the bird farmer part of youtube now. As of this video, this channel is the 4th one I've subscribed to because the UA-cam algorithm led me to it.
There are some benefits to living in a desert, I guess! The UK is beautiful, but I don’t have many slugs.
Great video. We had duck years ago. They’re so entertaining
honestly i expected more duck footage ...
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.
I love ducks so much! I live in Morocco N/Africa and we started with 3 ducks. 2 females and 1 male....two years later we have 30 :D
They eat the algae off our water retention pond
This explains the duck crossing signs I saw in Bastrop, Texas.
To deal with slugs you must:
-protecc
-attacc
-most importantly, keep lots of ducc
Watching this high was the best thing I've ever done
I am not a gardener, but I can't stop loughing about these ducks fighting slugs. Good video! Really so much fun!
Thank you for your helpful tips [1:03]. We have ducks in garden too. They really love snails and slugs!
The morning rush hour qua-ffic if a really ducking hassle.