Do you have a pool that the neighborhood ducks think is their personal spa? This summer season I’ve been battling to keep the ducks out of my backyard pool and, after much frustration, I found a simple remedy that I think is worthy of sharing!
Mallard ducks, as you may know, are beautiful looking creatures — all well and good when they stay in their native habitat. When they decide to take over a pool, however, they can and usually do leave behind quite a mess. Every morning, my family and I were greeted with a pool full of feathers and duck droppings. Needless to say, this required a daily extra dose of chlorine and extra clean-up time before any swimming could take place in the pool again.
After calls to the pool store and garden center, the only advice given was to “get a Labrador retriever” to chase away the ducks. Getting a new dog seemed like an extreme solution so I checked Google for a better answer. Found in an obscure online 
article, the solution was relatively simple: ducks and swans are natural enemies (or rather, they naturally compete for territory). So, the advice was to get some inflatable swans and swan decoys for the yard and pool. I found what I needed on eBay.com and Amazon.com. Once the swans were installed in the yard and in the pool, the ducks did not come back. I still see the ducks doing fly-bys from time to time but they have not come back to swim as they think the swans have claimed the territory. There are uglier things to put in the yard than a nice white swan decoy!
This foray into swan decoy ownership got me got me thinking: Perhaps this is an old country remedy that’s been lost to the ages. Many times, I’ve seen vintage swan decoys used in country decor and never knew why or where they came from. I theorize that this is a age-old remedy for the problem of ducks invading yards. If you know the real answer to this, let me know.
With their lovely colors and waddling way, ducks seem cute at first but they can do a number on the landscaping and not to mention the “mess” they leave behind. So neighbors who feed the ducks because “they are so cute”, have mercy on the rest of us! For those over-run with Canadian Geese, I understand this old “swan trick” may work for chasing those away too. Certainly worth a try!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing. I have been having a problem for the past few years. At first it was the geese but it was late night when they would come for a swim. I have not seen the geese in a while, but the ducks that were coming for an evening swim have taken over the pool. My dog almost got one last night. He does not like the pool but for the first time ever he jumped in after them. The ducks think its a game, the dog runs after them they jump in the pool then he runs back and forth and around the pool each time they get out.Their evening swim has turned into 4 or 5 times a day. They are making such a mess in and around the pool. I like ducks and would not mind them taking a dip to cool off but they are taking over and the mess is just so gross.Im over cleaning up behind them every morning and numerous times daily. They will even come fly into the pool with people sitting around the pool. They are not afraid of anything. I am gonna try the swans and pray they work!
Hope the swans work for you! Keep us posted.