How do you discourage mallard ducks from using your pool?

Answer 1

*We bought a white large goose (or swan?) chlorine dispenser. It has a painted beak, eyes & everything. It floats around the pool showing "movement" so the mallards won't join it. We've kept the mallards out with this goose now for over 4 seasons. Before the goose, our large 55 pound Airedale dog was trained to go after the ducks - that helped significantly. *I tried things that flap in the wind and things that make noise. They did not work. What did work was a $10.00 blow up alligator float. Blow it up and put it in the pool....works like a charm. I haven't tried it, but I read that beach balls sometimes work. Also, you can take fishing line and run two lines across the pool, they apparently don't like to touch the line when trying to land. Good luck. *We had Mallard Ducks landing in our pool. To keep them away, we did several things: 1) We bought plastic snakes and placed them around the pool, 2) We bought reflective tape and placed strips of it at various locations around the pool so it can blew in the wind, 3) We bought a fake owl and had it sitting on the diving board, and 4) We bought two beach balls with large eyes painted on the sides and hung those near the pool. I think the key is something the ducks recognize as danger--the owl or snakes or the big eyes--OR something that moves--the tape. *We tried everything last year: frogs that make a noise when you pass in front of it, lots of blow up toys, dangling multi-coloured objects that move in the wind, and metal cats with glass eyes. Then one day last Spring the two Mallards disappeared. They returned again with 8 babies in late Autumn. Now the pool is continually like a dung heep. We are about to try the two strips of twine pegged in across the pool and we will let you know how they do. *I used an inflatable octopus ring toss toy. It is about 7 feet in diameter and stands about 3 feet tall. I've secured it in the center of the pool. Since I did that, I have not had one duck in the pool. Good Luck! *I have a waterfront home with a pool and the ducks just walk up the bank and have pool parties day and night. My neighbor said that a fake gator would scare them off, so we bought a 6ft. concrete one and painted it to look real. The ducks are actually sitting on top of it now! We bought a motion detector that emits a loud sound and flashes lights, but it didn't phase them. I tried using a water hose, but they like the fresh cool water. We also tried a low powered BB gun on their rear. That works, but the BB's end up in the pool and leave rust spots. I thought about having them for a BBQ but I can't do that. Ducks mate for life and anyone that can do that has my respect so I guess I'll give up and clean up. Good luck to all! *We went to our local pool store and bought a pengiun, a dolphin and I think a seahorse that bob around the pool like little punching bags. You fill the bottoms with water for weight and the bodies are filled with air. The ducks have not landed in the pool since we put them in. There is evidence of their presence on the rails of the pool (which is much easier to clean then the bottom of the pool) but not in the water itself. They were a whopping $2.49/each and worth every penny. *I understand that Disney uses a predator scent in their pools to keep ducks and other animals out. I have yet to find anything on the market. You could try real gator pee.

Answer 2

Feed them! Seriously though if you feed the females they will bring back their ducklings to your feeding station (pond) within a few hours of hatching. Grain is preferable. I started feeding one injured Mallard seven years ago, he brought his friends and now my winter count is 93... You have been warned!