Hi everybody. Thanks to everyone who responded to my snail eating question... Now a friend and and I are wondering, what would you recommend to keep ticks down? If ducks are good for snails, do they control other pests as well? We would like to split a small order and thought guineas would be good for both, but as I read some other postings (re: guinea behavior)I am not so sure about keeping them (we both live in residential neighborhoods and noise could get us a zoning violation!) What about ducks...are there any that are less messy than others? My only experiences with ducks are the (nuisance)wild Muscovy that live around here... Thanks again!

-- Lynne David (lynnedavid@msn.com), May 29, 2000

Answers

I don't know where you live, but I am not familiar with wild Muscovy ducks. All we have here are domesticated ones, and yes, they are worrisome. I have ducks, chickens, guineas, turkeys and geese. Guineas are the only ones I have been able to see really control the tick population. If you live in town, you probably couldn't get away with having guineas.

An old method of tick repulsion is the use of agricultural sulfur. You get it from the feed store, and it is fairly cheap. Distribute at the rate of one pound/1000 square feet and see if it won't repel the ticks. Your yard will be yellowish until it rains or you water the sulphur down into the ground, but it is actually beneficial to the soil, and has a low toxicity level. The local organic gardening radio show recommends it all the time. You might want to put a heavier application of sulphur in a narrow band around your house and outbuildings. This will also help control ants, etc., as well as keep ticks from crawling in the buildings to escape the sulphur.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), May 29, 2000.