Seeing ducks roaming around your yard can be a beautiful scene but it can be problematic as well.
Wild ducks are problematic to any person because they also create a mess around the yard or even at water sources.
The problem of ducks in your backyard is common when your area has a good population of ducks.
Ducks can keep the insect population under control but a daily visit can be a mess.
If you are also facing this problem, then the good news is there are some methods through which you can keep the ducks away.
To end your research and problem, I’ve mentioned all the tips to keep ducks away from your yard.
Proven Ways To Get Rid Of Ducks
Method 1: Create barriers For Ducks
The primary reason for a duck to visit your property is the water source present at your place.
It can be either a pond, a pool, or lake, or any other water source. Removing the water source is not possible but you can create a barrier to restrict the ducks from entering that water source.
However, the barrier should not be restricted your access too. Suppose, in the case of ponds, installing a fence or other physical barriers can work.
You can also cover the pool or pond with chicken wire which will restrict this bird to enter the water source.
Ducks love water and anything that can restrict them to enter the water will make them leave the place.
Therefore, the use of fencing and chicken wire will force this bird to leave the place by flying. This combination can be very effective to protect your water source.
Method 2: Install a Motion-Activated Sprinkler
Indeed, ducks aren’t afraid of water but they do get irritated when it splashes on them continuously.
Installing a motion-activated sprinkler can be a convenient way to keep the ducks out of your yard.
One of the best things about this device is that it has a built-in sensor and it detects the movement of a duck or living thing to a specific range around it.
After noticing any motion or activity, it will automatically spray its water and the animal will leave the area right away. For bigger yards, you can prefer two or more such devices to cover the whole area.
Method 3: Installation of Pool Solar Cover
Ducks usually get into the pool when you are not near and it feels safe for them to enter the water source.
However, staying near the pool every time can be difficult. But there are some solutions to it and one of those solutions is duck repellent swimming pool cover.
Some swimming pool covers are solar-based. These solar covers can trap solar radiation and the temperature of the water may rise to 10 to 15 degrees.
However, this stuff can be a little costly for a person. Therefore, if you want an affordable solution a poly trap cover can do the trick for you.
Method 4: Make the water surface disturbed
No duck really likes a water source that is not calm. Due to such reasons, they never went to the sea or oceans.
Therefore, if you want to keep the ducks away, then make the water disturbed. You can use a water pump if you have a small pond or fountain.
The range of the disturbance in the water will lead to fewer chances of ducks visit to your yard.
You can also use some machines that will also create a visual effect and will keep the ducks away. You can use them on the smaller sides as well.
Method 5: Make use of predator decoys
One of the ways to keep the ducks away from your yard is to use the decoys of their predators.
The predators of ducks include raccoons, gulls, minks, corvids, coyotes, and skunks. Swan decoys can also be used in this case.
However, this works effectively in a pond or lake only. But it is not effective if you want to keep ducks away from the yard.
Another decoy that you can use is owl decoys. You can install owl decoys on tree branches, roofs, and tall poles.
Even some owl decoys have a rotating head mechanism that works effectively as ducks cannot tell it’s fake.
Method 6: Removal of Food source
One of the reasons that make an animal gets attracted to your yard is food. Food is the strongest thing that can easily attract any animal.
If you want to keep the ducks away from your yard and water sources, then remove all the food sources available for them.
Ducks usually have an omnivorous diet and they prefer to eat fish, shrimp, fish, beetle, and larvae. They can also eat berries and nuts in its season.
Remove all the food sources like fruits, nuts, berries, and bird feeders. You need to also keep trash away so that they cannot find any food for themselves.
Method 7: Scaring Them Off With Reflection
Reflections are one of the best ways to keep any animal away from your yard. It stands true in the case of ducks as well.
There are some reflective repellents available in the market that can be used to keep ducks away. You can hang them on the walls of the sides of the house.
It can also be hung on branches near ponds, lakes, or fountains. You can use bird scare rods which will scare the ducks away with their reflective capabilities.
You can also use reflective tape on your roof, tree branches, or around any pole.
Method 8: Install Ultrasonic Duck Repellent
Another option to keep ducks away from the yard is to install an ultrasonic duck repellent device.
This device works on various animals and it works for the ducks as well. This repellent has different audio frequencies which target to scare off the animals from the property.
You can install the devices near docks and not near the home. It is one of the best ways to keep the birds away from the home.
However, the operating range of these devices is limited and they are also quite affordable.
Method 9: Dogs can be your guard
In case you have tried all the measures for keeping the ducks away but gets failed, then adopt a dog.
Dogs usually do not hunt down the ducks and they try to eat them. But they will run after them and play with them.
It will be a fun activity for a dog but not for a duck. The duck will get scared off by the barking of the dog. Therefore, it can be the easiest way to keep the ducks away from your yard.
However, every dog species do not chase the ducks. Some species that can be helpful in this case include Labrador Retriever, Boykin Spaniel, German Shorthaired Pointer, and Chesapeake Bay Retriever. But cats will not be a good idea for this purpose.
Method 10: Installing sonic cannon
One of the methods for scaring the ducks away is to install the sonic cannon. This device releases a very loud sonic blast and it can scare off a variety of bird species. However, it can also scare off the songbirds.
Therefore, it can be a bad idea if you want songbirds but don’t want ducks at your place.
You can also customize the sonic cannons to get the sonic blasts at a specific time, i.e., either during the day or as per any cycle.
Many models also come with a timer. This device is effective to scare off the ducks by using powerful sounds.
But these sounds can affect a human as well as they are too loud. Therefore, many people do not install this device in their backyard.
Conclusion
Ducks can be sweet water animal and most of us loves to visit them occasionally. But their daily visit to your backyard can be a problem for most of us.
However, it can be solved with various methods. With this article, we have mentioned the same to you. Therefore, if you facing this problem as well, then do follow these tips for efficient results.
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