Mosquitoes are one of the most annoying insects, but they have nothing on a hungry duck. While ducks typically feed on plants and insects, if given the opportunity, these aquatic birds will try to eat just about anything.
Yes, Ducks eat mosquitoes, they especially enjoy feasting on little insects such as mosquitoes so much that some people keep them as pets specifically for that reason. If you have an outdoor area where mosquito populations are high, see if your local duck egg supplier can provide you with a few eggs or young ducklings to help control those pests while they are still very small!
Table of Contents
Do Mosquitoes Bite Ducks? And How To Get Rid Of Them
It is a possibility, yes, even though they are not their favorite “meal”, in some cases they even naturally repel them, especially the ones that carry diseases like malaria, some studies say. that is because ducks have the ability to secrete airborne oil through their feathers that helps to repel mosquitoes.
A good way to avoid mosquitoes bothering your ducks is to keep them away from any standing water sources. Standing water is the perfect breeding ground for these little insects so if you can keep your ducks away from them you will help prevent them from being bitten by mosquitoes.
or you can have plants that naturally repel mosquitoes like marigolds, catnip, lemon balm, citronella, and mint.
Another way to keep mosquitoes from biting your ducks is to keep the water level in your duck bath raised so that the water is not sitting still and therefore allowing mosquitoes to breed. Ducks love baths so raising the water level at least a few inches should not be a deterrent for them when taking their daily wash and will help keep mosquitoes from breeding on it as well.
It is also a good idea to put a fan in your duck coop to help keep the mosquitoes and other flying insects out in the summer.
Another way is to rub garlic, crushed into a paste, onto your duck’s feet every day. This will help naturally repel mosquitoes for them
There can be another way to prevent them from infesting your pond, it’s called diatomaceous earth. This natural substance is made up of tiny fossilized skeletons of aquatic organisms. It has a sharp and abrasive quality to it that can help kill adult mosquitoes, larvae, and other insects as well.
Be sure to get the food grade type of diatomaceous earth so that you and your ducks aren’t breathing in any chemicals while applying it. Apply the diatomaceous earth early in the spring before mosquito season starts or during the month of May when your ducks are most vulnerable to mosquito bites.
If there are some mosquitoes around and your ducks get bitten, it is not likely that this will hurt their health or cause any harm at all to them, they will simply be bothered by the itching. There are a few types of protection that you can use to avoid this problem if you wish to, or you can let them just deal with the mosquitoes on their own.
What Other Insects And Bugs Ducks Eat?
They eat pretty much any insect or bugs that goes near their beaks, some estimate are around hundreds if not thousands in warmer times of the year, they typically eat worms, slugs, grasshoppers, beetles, ants, and pretty much any other that you usually find in their environment.
Even though ducks are known to eat insects and bugs for their protein source, these are not their primary diet.
Due to the fact that most of the insects and bugs that you will find in your backyard can’t provide a lot of protein for your ducks compared to their other options such as grains, vegetables, and plants. It is more important for them to have a balanced diet when it comes to eating different foods rather than just a diet high in protein.
Still, if you notice that your ducks are eating too many insects and bugs in comparison with the other types of food that you’re giving them then there is no need to worry about this.
Just keep giving them all the food that they need in order to stay healthy so they do not experience any problems due to malnutrition or nutrient deficiencies of any kind.
Conclusion
Ducks will eat Mosquitoes, yes, but only as an extra source of protein and not as their main meal.
On top of that, they keep your pest problem under control most of the time, if not keep an eye on the situation and maybe think about implementing one of the solutions that we saw in this article to prevent the problem from getting out of hand.
Resources
Photo by Nikolay Tchaouchev on Unsplash
Erik_Karits on pixabay.com
