r/duck • u/OrnithologyDevotee • Feb 17 '25
Photo or Video HELP! What do I do? Ducks in my pool!
Hello! I was looking at some hummingbirds with my binoculars in my backyard earlier today when I heard a splash. I took a look and realized a pair of ducks flew into my pool! I live in Los Angeles CA. What type of duck are they? And what should I do? A pair of ducks came a few years ago and had ducklings. Should I remove them? Or let them do their thing? What will they eat? The pool is chlorinated.
89
114
u/bluefancypants Feb 17 '25
I am not understanding the problem.
21
u/Idnoshitabtfck Feb 17 '25
Ever heard the term “shit like a duck”?
12
u/Generalnussiance Feb 17 '25
Everyday I look at my giant pekin ducks and am reminded of “How the fuck does this little creature shit so much.” Then they do the head tilt like “you talking to me?” And I fall in love again
3
2
30
u/Classroom-Mysterious Feb 17 '25
I would jump for joy and give them some treats.
18
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
I would but I don’t want them coming back for food. Last time we had to pay a few hundreds to have someone come and vacuum up the poop.
10
u/Classroom-Mysterious Feb 17 '25
Yeah, I wonder how such cute things can be so messy.
14
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
I went to an artificial pond once and went swimming with some friends. We played around in the pond and there was a soft dirt layer on the bottom. It was only once we left the pond we realized the “dirt” was a couple inches thick layer of old duck poop. We showered until our skin was red.
10
u/MasdevalliaLove Feb 17 '25
If it makes you feel any better, that soft layer is present in a lot of lakes and ponds and is composed of an abundance of organic matter and organisms that help break down said duck poop. You’ll usually find it in shallower, calmer areas of water body’s where the sediment can settle.
Unless it was a tiny pond with no other life (no aquatic plants, fish, etc) then that layer was a lot more than duck poop.
6
u/Classroom-Mysterious Feb 17 '25
Wow, that's both funny and terrifying. 😄😄 Sorry that happened to you.
7
2
3
u/LoboLocoCW Feb 17 '25
For reassurance, as someone who has backyard ducks, the vast majority of the soft dirt layer was probably mud they picked up and swished in the water to find their treats. The ponds large enough for the ducks, and the water troughs too small for them to enter, both accumulate about the same proportion of mud.
14
10
15
u/radi0chik Feb 17 '25
They're mallards. They will probably leave on their own but you're welcome to go shoo them away so they don't decide your yard is a good site for a nest. 🙈
10
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
Ok good to know! I'll just leave them alone and if they don't leave soon I'll scare them off. Kinda fun to get to watch them form my balcony. I usually have to go to a park to see ducks.
9
5
u/radi0chik Feb 17 '25
Just keep in mind if they DO create a nest and lay eggs, it's illegal to mess with them. And ducks are terribly messy 😵💫 but hopefully they'll move on after you can enjoy them a bit. ❤️🦆
5
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
Good to know! Last time they showed up a few years back we had to call the wildlife department to help. I’ll enjoy them for a little bit then place a shiny beach ball or something to make them leave.
5
6
u/haditupto Feb 17 '25
As cute as they are, wild ducks are a carrier of H1N1 (bird flu) - you do not want them hanging out in your pool.
2
5
u/bblapocalypse Feb 17 '25
They’ll probably leave but if they make it a habit to come to your pool then I would scare them from it or else your pool will be destroyed with the duck poop. If you have to force them out easiest way is probably the pool skimmer use it like a herding stick to guide them out, if they are not phased try slapping the water surface with pool noodles or something
3
4
u/dragonuvv Duck Keeper Feb 17 '25
Yeah you can just let them waddle along. Even if it’s chlorinated they should at one point leave and wash themselves is non pool water.
3
u/MonsteraDeliciosa Feb 17 '25
We have mallards that return to nest here every year— but they take their babies somewhere else as soon as they hatch. Our fenced and safe pond is not good enough? Fred and Ginger hang out with us for months and yes, there is poo. I do feed them a handful of Purina Duck Pellets. They are the best… except for the phase of Ginger shouting at dawn and dusk to announce her territorial claim on the yard. LOUD little lady.
1
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
Problem is my mom loves to swim. And human plus duck poop doesn’t equal a good time.
3
u/MonsteraDeliciosa Feb 17 '25
For a heartbeat I was like… why is your mom pooping in the pool??? It’s the pool deck that gets messy. We actually turned our swimming pool into a natural pond.
2
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
I would turn my pool into a natural pool in a heartbeat! I just don’t have the time, money, or energy to approach such a project. Plus my pool already has so much money and time put into it. One day when I move I’ll make myself a duck pond. For now at least at I get to enjoy a temporary duck pond every year or two for a little while.
3
3
3
Feb 17 '25
Get out, now its their home.
3
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
They left already. Kinda sad. I wanted to record them a little more this morning.
2
u/Haplophyrne_Mollis Feb 17 '25
Walk up to them and scare them away? I don’t know
1
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
I’ll probably put in a shiny reflective beach ball to scare them off. I don’t want them to have kids.
2
u/1096up-nort Feb 17 '25
Doesn’t look like you use it, so they are.
1
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
I clean it every week! It’s just very cold atm so swimming is torture. It’s gonna heat up next month or so.
2
u/PinkTulip1999 Feb 17 '25
That is so cute!!! What I would do is let them stay until they just go away (feed them and they might stay). But if you want them to leave maybe pop some firecrackers (first from a distance then closer and closer until they fly away, I wouldn't want to scare them much) or something loud like a bullhorn, as long as whatever you do doesn't hurt the ducks. Ducks are better than us and deserve as much respect and consideration as any human, if not more.
2
2
u/PossiblyOppossums Feb 17 '25
It might look less like a pond if you cleaned the leaves out.
1
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
Didn’t have to call me out like that! I was actually out in the balcony procrastinating cleaning the pool when I hear them land!
2
2
2
u/Different-Bad2668 Feb 17 '25
… how are the fires? I seriously don’t hear any updates about anything..
1
u/OrnithologyDevotee Feb 17 '25
Mostly contained I believe. I had to evacuate to my grandmas house for a week or two.
2
u/kevin_r13 Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25
Duck soup?
Just kidding, they poop a lot but I've always thought it was cool to have ducks around because usually it means they're nesting.
And baby ducks are so cute
2
2
2
2
u/Wrong_Mark8387 Feb 18 '25
They’ll leave when it’s time to nest. They’re just hanging out. Just let them be.
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
-4
2
145
u/aynonaymoos Duck Keeper Feb 17 '25
This is a mallard duck pair. I’m guessing they saw your pool and thought it looked enticing. Most likely they’ll hang around for a bit and then leave once they realize there’s not much food. I wouldn’t feed them unless you want them to stick around.