Winery deploys ducks to help reduce vineyard snails and cut input costs

Meet the newest employees at this West Australian winery — a flock of ducks.

The birds are not just for looks. They have an important role in the pest management of snails, which pose the biggest threat to early shoot development because they eat all new growth on young vine plantings.

Using ducks as a pest management strategy is not a new concept, but it is still uncommon in the state.

Castle Rock Estate introduced the animals last growing season as a trial and decided to use them again this year.

Winemaker Sam Palmer said, based on the success of the past two seasons, he hoped to grow the flock into the future.

“We’ve had some really good results,” he said.

“Generally, any blocks the ducks get into, we’re seeing much less snail numbers than we are in the blocks that they can’t get access to, and it’s quite a noticeable difference.”

He said they have saved in pesticides by using ducks instead of baits.

“We’ve only done one round of snail baiting this year,” Mr Palmer said.

“Previous years, we would have done two or three easily by this stage, so there’s obviously savings there alone.”

He has noticed increasing numbers of people looking to incorporate more organic vineyard management strategies when it comes to controlling pests and disease.

Mr Palmer said it allowed the vines to grow for longer in a way that was good for the soil and environment.

“Vineyards looking to incorporate animals of all forms,” he said.

“We’re not certified organic … but if we can do small bits and pieces here and there to help push in that direction as much as we can, it’s going to ultimately result in better fruit, we’re hoping.”

Managing populations

They currently have six ducks roaming the vineyard but at its peak there were about 14.

“From such a small population of ducks, we’re actually shocked about how successful they’ve been,” Mr Palmer said.

A challenge has been protecting the animals from predators, such as foxes and eagles.

To address the issue, the estate is looking to set up better sheds and living spaces for the ducks.

“We’re actually planning to build like a duck tractor, so it’s like a movable shed, essentially,” Mr Palmer said.

This would allow the team to move the ducks to various points of the vineyard that need snail removal.

“That’s sort of where we’re going to try and look after those numbers,” Mr Palmer said.

“The nice thing would be to have a few more females in so we can actually start repopulating ourselves, rather than having to buy and ducks all the time.”