How to Get Rid of Muscovy Ducks

Problems Muscovy Ducks Cause: Muscovy ducks can cause problems for their local environment due to them being technically classified as an invasive species. Muscovy ducks came from South America and as such were never native residents of North America. They tend not to be a serious problem in most places due to them being largely domesticated. There are some places where you can encounter feral Muscovy ducks, primarily in Texas. It's in places like this where the ducks can create problems for local residents.

Invasive species have always been a problem due to the unnatural way they interact with the local ecosystem. If one species is too efficient at hunting down prey, then it can cause a crisis for local animals that endanger their entire existence. Likewise, they can bring over diseases that were never present in the area and are much harder for the local animals' immune systems to handle. They can also cause problems for other predators if they end up stealing their food.

These are some of the issues associated with invasive animals. Aside from these concerns though, Muscovy ducks themselves are usually considered to be less of a concern than other species. They mainly just tend to be a nuisance as they wander around doing whatever they want with little regard to the local human populace. They'll get in the way, steal food, and have no concern about hassling people or other animals. The males of the species also tend to fight all the time for no real reason.

6 Different Ways to Get Rid of Muscovy Ducks

Below we'll outline all of the different options usually available for dealing with pests and how they apply to Muscovy ducks. You should make sure you understand all of them completely as failure to do so can result in damages or even fines.


Barriers: Not all Muscovy ducks can be kept away with barriers or fences. It mostly depends on the type of duck and whether or not they have been domesticated. Domesticated ducks are unable to fly very well if at all and can, therefore, be kept out of your home with a regular fence. Wild Muscovy ducks, on the other hand, can fly and will easily be able to get over any obstacles you create.

Home Remedies: Home remedies tend to be very ineffective when dealing with Muscovy ducks. Usually, you would want to use either predator urine or specific foods that the animal doesn't like, but Muscovy ducks rely on sight to keep track of their surroundings. They have a poor sense of smell making most home remedies completely useless. This is one of the main reasons for the frustrations they cause as they really make you go out of your way to get rid of them.

Trapping: Trapping Muscovy ducks is very hard and requires specialized traps available mostly to professional services only. There are problems with trapping though due to the fact that relocating them is illegal as outlined in the next section. Leaving them trapped in your lawn doesn't really solve anything.

Relocating: You must never attempt under any circumstances to relocate the ducks. Doing so will result in a heavy fine due to the dangers these animals can cause to local ecosystems. They are considered to be invasive, meaning that they are not a natural part of their environments and will cause major problems if scattered around in random locations. You must never remove the ducks unless you can deliver them to a local animal sanctuary that accepts Muscovy ducks. You must do research on this topic before attempting any relocation.

Killing: Killing Muscovy ducks is illegal and will result in high fines. Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to shoot, poison, or use lethal traps against them. You must never directly or indirectly attempt to harm them as it will result in much more trouble than it's worth. Plus, you cannot get rid of all of them in this way anyway. Note that this applies only to fully born ducks. One popular method of dealing with them is through population control; mainly by making their eggs nonviable. This is done by finding their nests and shaking the eggs until the creature inside dies. Obviously, this is not exactly ideal nor is it a humane way of dealing with the ducks. It's also not a permanent solution as the ducks reproduce very quickly and will promptly start laying new eggs forcing you to use this method over and over again. Do note that if you do plan to do this, you must never crack open the eggs only shake them. Cracking open the eggs will result in a less than pleasant viewing experience. It is a fetus after all and the egg's contents may deeply disturb you. On the other hand, the baby may be fully developed at that point leaving you with a live duck that is unlikely to survive due to its premature birth.

Professional Help: As you can see from the previous sections, dealing with Muscovy ducks is an incredibly difficult and inconvenient task that leaves you with very few viable options. Seeking professional help is undoubtedly the best choice you can make but it comes with its own downsides. Namely the cost usually associated with using professional services but also due to the fact that the trappers are most likely going to kill the ducks themselves after they catch them. Due to having licensees for dealing with ducks and other wildlife they are not subject to the aforementioned fees involved with killing Muscovy ducks. They can dispose of them without problems but this option is therefore still a problem for anybody wanting to avoid harming the animals.

Muscovy Duck Biology

Muscovy ducks are birds known for their black feathers and wild-looking eyes. They tend to be bigger than common birds like crows or pigeons but smaller than geese, leaving them at a pretty average size overall. Their black feathers have a faint green tint to them that can only be seen properly in certain light conditions. They also tend to have a red face with white coloring on their wings. Their eyes have a wide looking expression that, combined with their mostly colorless feathers, come together to create their unique signature look. They also have a pointed beak as opposed to the more popular, flat duck beak.

Muscovy ducks can be domesticated and are sometimes found in parks or public attractions. When not in a human settlement, they live in forested wetlands where they nest inside tree cavities. They are omnivorous and will pretty much eat anything they can get their beaks on. Everything from grasses and seeds, worms, small fish, and even termites are perfectly fine for their nutrition. They tend to get their food by dabbling in shallow waters and along shorelines.

Often seen in pairs, Muscovy ducks are not very territorial and tend to wander. Male ducks are often seen fighting each other all year long especially during mating season. The males don't actually help in raising the offspring which means they don't actually have much reason for their fighting. They are considered pests and are notorious for being particularly difficult to remove.

About Nuisance Muscovy Ducks - Muscovy ducks tend to be less harmful than other animals, mostly being a nuisance only by wandering around or getting into fights with each other. But unfortunately, the main problem they pose is due to how difficult it is to get rid of them. There aren't many options for dealing with Muscovy ducks and the few we do have suffer from a lot of inconvenient drawbacks. This makes Muscovy ducks a bit infamous as no one ever wants to be tasked with the heavy burden of removing them.

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