Snails, just like all other animals, fulfill an important function in the food chain. But when it comes to killer snails, there is no stopping appetite or reproduction. One snail can produce over 400 eggs. Something that becomes a big problem on farms and in gardens when they attack plants and vegetation.
Farm patrol of ducks
Someone who has found an effective solution to the problem is Emelie Hello outside Alingsås which News24 talked to. She has hired an animal control squad to take matters into her own hands – an army of ducks that eat the slugs.
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Photo: Emelie Heij / Private
– There were more and more snails here at home and they eat most of what you grow, both flowers and vegetables.
Emelie lives at Lilla Håkansgården in Magra outside Alingsås and acquired 5 ducks in 2020.
– We have always had chickens, but we had never had ducks before, but then I just read that they are so good against killer snails and thought yes, but then we have to try it. Because it is both very boring and time-consuming to go out and pick both morning and evening, she tells Nyheter24.
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“They’re out on patrol”
She noticed that the work of the ducks paid off at once and since then the army has expanded.
– I had 35 ducks last spring, but then we had the fox here who was picking food for her young, she says.
Emelie tells us that the ducks run loose on the farm to do their job, and after there were 35 ducks, there are now 13 of them.
– They are very funny because they very often go on a trail when they are going somewhere, so it really looks like a small patrol is out, says Emelie.
She currently has 25 ducklings in the pipeline waiting to join the army. The goal is to have 25 to 35 ducks.
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Photo: Emelie Heij / PrivatAre there any disadvantages to the ducks?
– No, not as I see it. You also get a lot of eggs because they lay very well and produce a lot of eggs while eating the snails. So it’s a double win I’d say.
The ducks also eat other snails that they can also provide for the crops.
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More and more people want ducks to fight killer slugs
Emelie tells us that it is becoming increasingly common to get ducks for this purpose. After she appeared in P4 Seven-way and told me about their ducks, several people have contacted me and were interested in getting ducks, something that Emelie thinks is good.
– It is good that knowledge is spread because then it will be easier to keep down the pressure from the snails in gardens and farms, she says.
If you don’t live on a farm, like Emelie, but in a villa or similar but want to get ducks, she recommends 4 to 5.
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