Ducks to control potatoe beatles?

[JimnTer]

I have had an especially bad year for potatoe beatles, my plants are stripped bare and dead already. I am thinking next year I might plant the potatoes beside my existing duck run and fence it in. Once I see the potatoe beatles appear, I would then allow the ducks into the potatoe patch to consume the bugs. I have heard though that potatoe plants are somewhat toxic and I'm not sure if the ducks would consume enough of the plants themselves to be harmful or if they would even eat them at all. Has anyone here tried this and if so did it work ?

 

[Kevin565]

I think the ducks would do as much if not more damage to the plants as the Beatles.

 

[70%cocoa]

Ducks do eat potato plants to some extent but not as much as they tuck into spinach or lettuce. They nibble on mine (I have them fenced off but the ducks will grab any leave that they manage to reach). But if that's all they have access to then they probably would do a lot of damage. Plus, it's not good for them to be eating potato plants to that degree.

Can you just let them into the potatoes now and then, rather than all the time? That would minimise damage to the plants while still providing some beetle control.

 

[Amiga]

I have potato plants in a couple of places in the yard. Some are in towers (very raised beds or fenced cylinders), a few are just in the ground. I allow the ducks access to those areas regularly. We have had no problems with toxicity of which I am aware. I was a little concerned when the potato fruit formed, so the lower-hanging fruit I nabbed and tossed where the ducks don't go. We have had a few bugs, but not many.

 

[grawg]

I haven't had any troubles with the ducks free ranging in the garden. They actually don't spend a lot of time in there. I think from a duck's perspective, they would rather eat bugs than leaves.

When I had them enclosed in a 1000sq pen they completed eradicated most all the vegetation. Including sweet potato plants I started in there just for that reason. They now wander through various sweet potato beds and I've never seen them eat the shoots.

 

[Amiga]

Joel Salatin says something similar about chickens, that they will first eat the bugs, then if there aren't many bugs, they will start on the vegetables. I think his rule of thumb was no more than 24 hours in one garden. Duck density would affect the time frame.

 

[LydiaB]

They took care of the potato bugs in my garden. They haven't harmed the potato plants. they do like turnips and cabbage. They LOVE lettuce. I grow my lettuce in a different garden, and hopefully will get the garden fenced into 3 areas next year. The garden is about 50'x100-150'.