They are a horror for every hobby gardener and a real problem in parks: slugs and caterpillars. The ducks are now loose in the Ansbacher Hofgarten to keep the voracious pests in check.
Ansbach (dpa / lby) - Carl Wilhelm Friedrich and his family have a blessed appetite - and that's a good thing. In the Ansbacher Hofgarten, the Indian ducks are supposed to devour a large number of slugs and caterpillars of the box tree moth. "They are very full when they have a break at lunchtime," says garden manager Tamara Sand. The three ducks have been hunting snails in the courtyard garden for a few weeks. The first successes are already visible, says Sand.
Every morning from Monday to Friday, the farm manager lets the ducks out of their enclosure. Until midday, Carl Wilhelm Friedrich, his partner Friederike Louise and her son Carl Friedrich August - named after the penultimate Margrave of Ansbach and his family - can fill their stomachs in the 3,600 square meter herb garden. After that, they would first have to take a long nap in the afternoon to recover from the exertion, says Sand.
In the herb garden, the slugs attack herbs and flowers, while the boxwood moth endangers the bed borders made of boxwood. "We wanted to do without chemical pesticides," says Sand. When she was looking for other options, she came across the Indian runner ducks. This year, Sand wants to test snail hunting with three ducks. "Then we'll take a look."
