Keeping ducks off a pond..........

[MikeG]

Attractive? I'm an architect....... That looks like a mish-mash of styles stuck on a glorified pallet, and bought at the tax-payers expense.

 

[Tim Hall]

Has the OP ever considered just why we have the phrase "took to it like a duck to water"?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

It's difficult to restrict the wildlife around a wildlife feature.
I would like to feed only the wee birdies, as it is I'm feeding pigeons and big black birds too

 

[slowmotion]

Attractive? I'm an architect....... That looks like a mish-mash of styles stuck on a glorified pallet, and bought at the tax-payers expense.

Yebbut....you're an architect, not a duck.

Actually, it wasn't very attractive to ducks, according to the Westminster trougher, Viggers. The manufacturers replied that the doorway was too big and that the snouter should have used the smaller aperture option.

 

[MikeG]

..........and there they were, swimming happily around my pond underneath the strings, when I threw my curtains open at 5.45 this morning. I'm heading out now with some more string, and I'll be up before 5.00 tomorrow. Why on earth do these silly creatures think they are going to win?

 

[Levo-Lon]

For the second time..Netting

 

[Dirk]

Put one of these close by to the pond, in a tree if possible:

View attachment 347067

A model, not the real thing.

Yes - those types of bird scarer are highly effective.

 

[AndyRM]

[QUOTE 4759800, member: 9609"]lying planks of wood and ladders across the little pond didn't work out too well.
View attachment 347138 [/QUOTE]

I can see your problem, with that ladder you've turned your pond into a swimming pool. If anything, you've made it easier for the ducks to gain access!

 

[MikeG]

For the second time..Netting

How are the bats then going to pluck insects off the water's surface? How are the pond plants going to get to their full height (some will be 4 feet tall) without tangling? What about the by-catch of dead bluetits, goldcrests, yellowhammers, goldfinches and especially the mud-loving house martins?

It is absolutely straightforward to keep ducks off the pond. Simple. All sorts of ways. What isn't simple is to allow other wildlife the access for which the pond was designed in the first place whilst at the same time keeping the ducks away.

 

[Levo-Lon]

You are not going to solve the duck problem then..
It's a garden pond not a frigging nature reserve.
Loose netting for a few weeks until the ducks go elsewhere.. then remove.

Most pond plants are cut right back for winter..then start regrowing may onwards when the water heats up.

 

[stephec]

How are the bats then going to pluck insects off the water's surface? How are the pond plants going to get to their full height (some will be 4 feet tall) without tangling? What about the by-catch of dead bluetits, goldcrests, yellowhammers, goldfinches and especially the mud-loving house martins?

It is absolutely straightforward to keep ducks off the pond. Simple. All sorts of ways. What isn't simple is to allow other wildlife the access for which the pond was designed in the first place whilst at the same time keeping the ducks away.

There's your problem, you can't be selective with nature, it just does what it wants naturally.

Have you tried getting a radio controlled model destroyer and running them out of town?

 

[fossyant]

Friends have an electric fence round their pond. Mainly to stop herons raiding the carp.

 

[AndyRM]

You need one of these...

 

[classic33]

False dichotomy. I can have a nice new bike shed AND a nice garden pond.

Indoor pond?

 

[classic33]

There's your problem, you can't be selective with nature, it just does what it wants naturally.

Have you tried getting a radio controlled model destroyer and running them out of town?

He could have had that with the swan. Working on PIR, turns and "swims" towards what's on the water.