'They poop everywhere': Ducks take over North Carolina neighborhood
NEW BERN, N.C. (WCTI) — A neighborhood in North Carolina has become overrun by ducks.
Homeowner Skip Canady said he's lived in Surrey Downs for 8 years. He said he and others have had it with the ducks that are destroying their property.
The waterfowl are overpopulating, creating a messy situation.
One clutch can give you 23 eggs," Canady said. “That's a lot of ducks every year, as you can see, we have them over here. We not only have to battle with the ducks we have to battle with the geese. They walk up and down the street and they poop everywhere, mess your yard up. So, we have to get some help here.”
Canady said they have two retention ponds in Surrey Downs. He said the Muscovy Ducks were dropped off by a previous neighbor. Some people said they don’t mind the ducks and see them as pets–Canady disagrees.
"We can't sit at our pond anymore, because they ate all of the grass," he said. "It smells, it stinks on hot days when you walk. It's not a good thing."
WCTI reached out to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to see if there’s any solution. According to state biologists, there’s little they can do.
"We don't allow relocation for those issues, because if it's an issue for somebody there, it's going to be an issue wherever they are moved to," said Greg Batts, a biologist with NCW. “So, they have to be euthanized if they are captured."
Batts said there are options to help decrease the population.
"Habitat manipulation," he said. "Birds like to go from short grass into the water and so you could grow grass around the water. If they see tall grass it's a deterrent keeping them from going out of the water. There are deterrents that you can spray on your grass most of them are a type of grape extract. It makes the grass taste nasty to the birds so they don't want to eat the grass."
Canady said he has considered rounding the ducks up to take them to a farm that wants them.
