Way back, in the early 60s there was a scare that cranberries were a cause of cancer, so, I gathered all the boxes of cranberries from the local grocery stores for free and took them home to feed the ducks which I caught on the creek and kept in with the horses, they gobbled them up, we ate some of the ducks, and neither the ducks nor we, got cancer.

LexiF, my neighbor would agree with you. We live in a subdivision, no ponds, lakes etc...but they have a pool. There are three ducks, one male and two females that show up every spring in their back yard and they sure make a mess on the patio and in the pool. The neighbor chases them away and they end up on our front lawn, we're glad for the fertilizer they leave. However, they would not be welcome on our patio.

I inherited some wild mallard babies last year, and fully expected them to fly off when fall came, but they have stayed and now one of the hens is sitting 18 eggs in my dog's house! (My dog is a witless pug, who doesn't care as long as she gets butt-sniffing priveleges). We just got some Indian runners, (more eggs, less likely to sit) as duck eggs are the bast for baked goods. (including quiches, frittatas, cakes, custards, etc) As long as your ducks are grain fed, the eggs wont be gamy. Of course even if they are fed they'll still dabble around and eat any bugs, slugs, and beetles around. Just dont let them around young plants (they'll trample them) or low growing fruit trees. Especially not anywhere after a heavy rain or watering, as they'll drill holes and eat all the tender young plants and grass. A fence only 18 inches high will keep them in, but not prevent dogs from getting them if they are determined. If they have a pond to flee into, it might be OK, but no way would I keep them without a full fence. Consider Muscovies if you can find them. They tame easily and are very quiet, and the best flycatchers around. Many people think they are ugly because of their caruncled heads (look kindof vulturish). But they have a hilarious frill of feathers on top of their heads that they can raise and lower when agitated- like a mohawk! They also don't have as developed of oil glands so don't need or want as much access to water as other domesticated ducks. Their native habitat is South America, and they have claws on their feet that are a lot larger than mallards (all other domestic ducks are derived from wild mallards). If they decide to be nasty (a lonely drake might) they'll really give a hard time to other animals. Every Muscovy I have encountered has been gentle and tame- far less skittish than my own pets. Get them as babies, or they can and will fly off unless their wings are clipped. I recommend ducks- if not for their use in slug killing then at least for their droll ways. They make me laugh every day, and the children love them.

Hey -- that's pretty neat! Well, my ornate box turtles eat small snakes, but I'd just as well they didn't if they are rat snakes, the only kind I've seen in my yard except for one coral snake that I stepped on barefoot. It didn't react at all like to try to bite me, but just crawled on off. Coral snakes are very non agressive and Texas coral snake's mouth is small and teeth are in the back near their throat so they can't inject venom unless you stick your little finger down their throat.. Also have had 'ring-tail cats' a member of the racoon family, under the deck. They really cleared out a lot of rats. I haven't seen a rat in ages. The paper wasps keep pecan tree aphids in check. And now that I don't use pesticides I know there are many beneficial insects that are natural predators of pest insects that slug it out on a level not immediately observable except in their positive effects. And there's the anole lizards. I've had them dart right in front of my eyes totally oblivious to me and grab a roach. Yesterday one dropped off a shrub and caught a roach on the ground. I'm sure they and the grey fence lizards eat a lot of insects. My dogs chase squirrels, but have only caught a couple of young ones. They've also caught a rat or two. This is all I can think of. How about the rest of you? Here is a link that might be useful: 'Ring tailed cat' ...