The Garden Home Retreat - P. Allen Smith Garden Home

Ducks, Slugs & Snails

{"id":"152","show":"1105D","image":"1105D_Ducks_Slugs_and_Snails.jpg","series":"D","display":"y","featured":"","garden_report":"1170","title":"Ducks, Slugs & Snails","time":"","date":"35895","folder":"1100 D","file":"1105D_Ducks_Slugs_and_Snails.flv","ad":"","category1":"Care and Controls","category2":"","category3":"","sponsor":"","season1":"","season2":"","holiday":"","keywords":"Spring, Easter garden, keep pests under control, Ducks, slugs, snails in the garden, egg yolk, ducklings, slug, eating machines, domesticated ducks, Pekin duck, Cyuga, Ruens, French breed, Mallard, Babe Indian Runner ducks, White Crested ducks, Easter bonnet, Metzer farms, Gonzales, California ","captions":"Slugs and snails can be a real problem for many gardeners. They can munch their way through a flowerbed in no time. But Allen Smith recently discovered a solution many find is full proof and it travels on two webbed feet","transcription":"I always look forward to the arrival of spring even though it represents extra work for me in the garden. But along with Easter can come garden helpers that can keep certain pests under control. \r\n\r\nDucks can be one of the best ways to deal with slugs and snails in the garden and a lot of fun to have around. This little guy is only a couple of hours old but since he has plenty of egg yolk still stored in his system he won't need to eat for couple of days so he can be shipped anywhere in the world. \r\n\r\nIn just a matter of weeks these day old ducklings will double and triple in size, seemingly overnight. They'll turn into slug eating machines. They love the flavor of them and a few ducks can eat hundreds of them in a day. \r\n\r\nNow if you think that domesticated ducks only come in one model like this standard Pekin duck from nursery rhymes you'd better look again. These solid black ones with the green sheen are called Cyuga and the Ruens are a French breed that look like a big fat Mallard. And if you love the duck in the movie ?Babe? as much as I did you won't be able to resist these slender Indian Runner ducks. If you're looking for a duck that's already dressed for Easter you might try one of these White Crested ducks. It's already wearing its Easter bonnet. \r\n\r\nIt's a busy time here at Metzer farms in Gonzales, California. They are dispatching thousands of ducklings around the country so the slugs and snails better watch out. Adding a few ducks around can be entertaining and a lot of fun for children. But the best reason for me as a gardener is that it makes slugs and snails a part of the food chain.\r\n\r\nFrom the garden, I'm Allen Smith.\r\n\r\nMETZER FARMS\r\n26000 Old Stage Road\r\nGonzales, CA 93926\r\nPhone: 800 424-7755 Fax: 408 679-2711\r\n\r\nP. Allen Smith Gardens?\r\nCopyright 1998 - Hortus, Ltd."}