I have a group of ducks that lay eggs regularly, but lately, I have noticed that the eggs are decreasing by one egg every day. I followed the ducks to discover the reason behind this, and I found that one of the ducks had prepared a nest and took the eggs it laid and collected them in this nest.
So far I haven’t had a problem but the problem is when I found the duck had nested in one corner of our swimming pool! What should I do to prevent the ducks from nesting in certain places that I do not want the ducks to spoil?
It sure is nice to see a duck laying on her eggs and watching them until cute chicks hatch. But the matter does not stop at this beautiful scene, as it involves many problems and chaos that occur due to the nesting of ducks.
Fortunately, there are many great ways to humanely deter ducks from nesting in undesirable places. We will discuss the most important of these methods in the coming lines. Let us go deeper and explain the tips to you in detail.
How To Stop Ducks From Nesting?
Here are 8 ways that we think are the most efficient in preventing ducks from nesting:
- Predator Decoy
- Use Scents To Deter Ducks
- Use Mirrors Around Your Yard
- Keep The Grass Short
- Use Water Sprinklers
- Use A Sonic Cannon
- Eliminate All Food Sources
- Deterrent Laser Application
Let’s explain each one of them further more:
1. Predator Decoy
To prevent ducks from nesting in a place, you can keep them away from the place by using a predatory animal decoy. As this method is one of the easiest ways to keep ducks away from a place.
It doesn’t take getting a live predator and facing the many challenges that come with it. But you can scare away ducks by using an animal decoy that simulates any of the predators chasing ducks. Once the ducks see this decoy, they retreat from nesting in this place, as the ducks only nest in a place where they feel completely safe.
You can use decoys of predatory animals from owls, coyotes, squirrels, and foxes. You will find them available in online stores in abundance in various shapes and prices.
2. Use Scents To Deter Ducks
Ducks have a strong sense of smell that plays an important role in their interaction with the environment around them and their choice of food.
Of course, ducks’ favorite and disliked odors are very different from humans, given their completely different diets and lifestyle. Therefore, some odors that are pleasant to humans are distasteful to ducks, such as peppermint oil.
Although humans enjoy and love it, ducks do not like it and are alienated from it. So you can use peppermint oil to repel ducks. You can do this absolutely easily by just putting cotton balls in peppermint oil and placing them in the areas you don’t want the ducks nesting in.
Place the cotton balls dipped in the peppermint oil in a bowl so they don’t roll. You can replace it every few days if you find that its smell has dissipated due to wind or rain.
You can also use lemon and lemon oil to deter ducks from nesting in your area. Mix some lemon juice without sugar with water and sprinkle it around the area. You can also soak leftover lemon peels in some water and leave them in bowls near areas where you want to prevent ducks from nesting.
Ducks also hate the smell of vinegar, so you can put some vinegar on the water and spray it in places where ducks are likely to nest.
3. Use Mirrors Around Your Yard
You can easily prevent ducks from nesting in your yard by using mirrors. Mirrors are a simple way to get rid of ducks around your garden and outdoor spaces. The mirrors confuse the duck and make him walk away.[1]
Mirrors reflect light, when ducks see reflected light it confuses them and makes them avoid the space immediately, and will certainly never think of nesting in it.
4. Keep The Grass Short
Ducks choose the nesting place based on accurate criteria, the most important of which is to feel safe in this place. Therefore, it usually nests in areas with plenty of grass, tall grass, and water supplies. These conditions are ideal for nesting ducks.
If the grass in your area is long, it will rush to it to nest in it, as it provides it with a safe shelter away from the sight of predators. So you can use this point to your advantage to avoid nesting ducks.
The length of the grass is one of the easiest things to control as you will have to mow the grass and keep it short. When ducks find the grass short, they won’t consider nesting in it anyway.
5. Use Water Sprinklers
Although ducks love water and search for it constantly, they are very routine and afraid of the slightest changes or unusual movements. Therefore, they will only nest in a controlled body of water to relax and remain in their place safely.
Ducks do not like splashing water, so the presence of something splashing water is a threat to the ducks, so this place will not be among the ducks’ nesting options.
Therefore, adding traditional sprinklers or motion-activated sprays is a great idea to get rid of ducks because it will startle them and make the environment uncomfortable for them. When the ducks see the splashing water, they will be surprised and leave at once.
The motion-activated spray will be an easy option for you as it will activate it by motion when any ducks come in instead of going in to run your usual sprinklers or leaving it on all the time.
6. Use A Sonic Cannon
You can use the duck cannon to scare the ducks away from the prohibited nesting areas. The sonic cannon fires very loud sonic blasts that will scare away ducks. Where the ducks think that those strong sounds made by a sonic cannon are like the sounds of a gun chasing them.
You can set the duck cannon to fire its sonic blasts at specific times during the day as most models come with a timer.
7. Eliminate All Food Sources
One logical way to prevent ducks from nesting in an area is to remove all food sources from this area. This can be difficult because ducks are so resourceful and can find their food anywhere that it is almost impossible for you to restrict ducks from accessing insects and grubs.
But you can reduce the food sources that attract them as much as possible.
Remove any fruits, nuts, or berries in the area where you’ve noticed ducks. As you should keep the place free of rubbish as much as possible so that they cannot find any food in this place, which makes them look for it elsewhere.
8. Deterrent Laser Application
Laser bird deterrents are another good way to keep ducks away from a nesting spot. These duck scare devices provide better results at night.
Ducks do not like to sleep restlessly, and if they put up with this one night, they will quickly leave the next night and look for another place.
The laser deterrent usually works at set times which is very good as it will go off every 5, 10, or 15 minutes depending on how you set it.
The laser machine prevents ducks from establishing a home on your property and is also effective at scaring away bats and rodents as they also get confused when their powerful light flashes in their eyes.
In any case, if you find that the ducks have already nested in a place you do not want, do not try to remove the duck yourself, as it will enter into fights with you and it will be difficult to get it out.
Do not try to harm them or destroy the nest because birds and their nests are protected in some countries such as the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Wales.
It is a crime to kill, injure or take any wild bird intentionally or recklessly or destroy its nest, eggs or young. If you want to remove the nest from the place, you must contact the wild care officials.
FAQS
How Long Do Ducks Stay In The Nest?
The female duck sits on the eggs and stays in her nest for approximately 30 days, as all the children will hatch at the end of this period, The ducklings often hatch at the same time. The mother duck leaves the nest and her young follow her, they being able to walk behind their mother within hours of hatching.
Do Ducks Leave Their Nest At Night?
No, Ducks often do not leave their nest at night but may take short breaks in the early morning or late afternoon to eat some food and meet their physiological needs. Ducks may also take some breaks at night, but this is not frequently reported.
What Month Do Ducks Nest?
Ducks often nest during the spring period after laying a reasonable number of eggs, about 12 eggs. They lay eggs between mid-March and the end of July.
It lays an egg every one to two days, and after laying each egg, the ducks cover the collected eggs to protect them from predators.
How Do You Tell If A Duck Is Nesting?
Ducks are very secretive about their nest, as they fear it and overprotect it. If you see a pair of ducks hanging around an area, this is an indication that they are in the mating stage to form a nest.
If you find that the eggs laid by the duck disappear, it may have already made a nest and taken its eggs to collect in the nest.
