Nuisance Duck Removal & Control

10.10.2005 - I took this duck photo at Lake Eola. Ducks are welcome at Lake Eola, and no one that I know of is attempting duck removal there. However, I have been called several times for duck removal. Most commonly, this is when ducks have taken up residence in a person's pool, and will not leave. I will describe two scenarios in which I performed successful duck removal.

The first was for a homeowner whose personal pool became the personal home to a mating pair of Mallard Ducks. The ducks would not leave the area. They had not established a nest, but they had chosen the pool as their home. The homeowner chased them away every day, but to no avail. They had decided to stay. I came in and caught the ducks in my large duck net, and relocated them to a pond twelve miles away. Alas, within a couple of days, they had returned. I donated the ducks to the Sanford Zoo, where they clipped the wings so that the ducks couldn't fly away, and there they stayed, fed a nice diet and given a nice home.

The second case involved a mother duck and her ducklings who decided to live at the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel in Universal Studios. Bad nesting choice. The poor mother duck ushered around her little brood in the extremely crowded and loud environment. I was called in, and found dozens of people gawking at and harassing the ducks. The pool was very large, and very public, and I had about 100 gawking onlookers staring at me as I netted the mother duck and all of her young. It was not an easy process. Invariably, some people offered to help and couldn't help themselves but to help, which wasn't really much help to me. Then of course about 50 people gave me stern looks and yelled at me not to harm the precious little ducklings. I did not. I relocated the whole brood to a new pond, and since the young could not fly, the mother established a new home for them there, one much better than a busy tourist hotel based on loud rock music. I checked up on the ducks a week later, and found them enjoying their quiet and peaceful new home. The end.

Do it yourself: Visit my How To Get Rid of Ducks page for tips and advice.
Get professional help: Visit my Nationwide Pro Directory of wildlife removal experts.

For more wildlife stories, click my Wildlife Blog or click my below banner to hire a local trapper.

Sometimes, even cute and seemingly harmless animals like ducks can prove to be a real nuisance for you. They are not considered to be, nor come under the wildlife category per se but an influx of them can still cause more harm than good. Coming under the category of feral domestic animals, ducks sometimes will carry some diseases and even choose to mate at the most inconvenient of places like any commercial area and residence. It is more specifically Muscovy ducks that call for removal and control services. Not only is their droppings, aggressive nature, and the natural tendency to destroy lush green lawns a problem but also the fact they even act that same way around humans and their residential areas. Invasive to a fault, they are often harmful to the ecosystem and take over your area and regard it as their own personal territory. Leaving destruction in their wake, these animals move around in a flock and small groups which makes getting rid of them all the more difficult.

Why are ducks considered to be a nuisance?

As a homeowner, if you've poured all your energy into making your beautiful garden as beautiful as it can be, with some homegrown vegetables and your own gardening, a duck will wretch all that out of your lawn. The main struggle is that they will often move in a pack and if they choose to stay in your area, they will destroy your garden, and it will be very hard to remove them as they are territorial creatures. They completely take over the habitat with no regard for your daily life. The worst thing that could ever happen to you is a duck laying eggs. It is not only the lawn that will be at risk but also your porch, screen doors, and pools. You might also risk even more damage because once they decide to stay, they will only continue to grow in number. It would be in your best interest to take care of the problem early on in the initial stages.

Nuisance duck removal

An easy way to get rid of these animals is to call in professional help which will require much less effort on your part but if you want to do it yourself, there are certain things that need to be kept in mind. The only two options for you is to either control the population by making the eggs sterile or relocating the ducks by trapping them. Conventional removal ways like scaring them off with harsh sound or light won't produce many effective results and only ward them off for a short amount of time. For those of you that are looking for a more permanent solution, either professional help should suffice or the aforementioned solutions.