When Spanish slugs appeared in Ilze Sharna’s backyard garden in Sigulda, at first there were only a few of them, but it soon became clear that the large, funny and mobile alien snails, which eat everything and multiply rapidly, find their way to the garden both from neighbors and across the unkempt meadow for the street. “I realized that it’s a battle with windmills, besides, I don’t have the time or the desire to shell the snails every night, but if I don’t read, it will be completely crazy,” Ilze says. While researching the information, she concluded that this aggressive invasive species must be fought comprehensively and for all residents of the neighborhood, otherwise there is little point. When looking for alternatives, mineral fertilizers, which are poisonous to snails, did not seem like a good option, as they can only be spread on the ground in a limited amount so as not to harm the soil. The only realistic idea was to take ducks, which are one of the few creatures that can eat Spanish nudibranchs. That’s how the first Indian mallards arrived in Ilze’s garden, while soon after that, the idea was born to rent these birds to others in order to make another method of fighting the voracious “Spaniards” more accessible to people. Not everyone has the opportunity to house ducks, especially in winter, while Ilze’s mobile flock comes to the rescue with its own house and fence.
Which every duck doesn’t fit
Spanish nudibranchs have thick mucus, and cases have been recorded in Latvia where ducks die after eating them, because the mucus clogs the birds’ esophagus. Indian mallards are recognized as being useful for combating snails, Ilze has also read about musk ducks. However, they should not be fed only with snails either – it is necessary to provide both normal feed, clean water and gravel, which “scrubs” the birds’ throats. In addition, everything must be wisely balanced – if the ducks are kept half-starved, when they see snails, they will peck at them without satiety, and this is dangerous, while if the birds are very well fed, they will have no interest in eating snails.
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2023-07-02 10:16:36
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