Insect pests cause an extraordinary amount of damage in vegetable, herb, fruit, and flower gardens. Fortunately, if you have chickens, ducks, Guinea fowl, or other birds nearby, they can help to keep these populations down so they don’t obliterate the crops.
Below are 14 types of pests chickens eat. Let your friendly fowl and poultry happily devour these bothersome bugs.
The Various Pests Chickens Eat
1. Aphids
Aphids are some of the most common insect pests chickens eat that you’re likely to find in the garden. They suck the sap out of thousands of different plant species, leaving them vulnerable to disease and slathering them in sticky, appalling honeydew.
Chickens, Guinea fowl, and quail all love to snack on these insect pests, so feel free to let your birds do the heavy lifting to get rid of them.
In our article, you will learn more about how to control and eliminate aphids.
2. Grasshoppers
If you’re looking for “boredom busters” to keep your chickens occupied and engaged, let them roam around your garden when the grasshoppers arrive.
These insect pests love brassicas, leafy greens, and grains, and can do serious damage to your garden or farm crops. Fortunately, chickens love to munch on these hoppers, and will spend endless hours chasing them down and gobbling them up.
3. Beetles
As far as insect pests go, beetles can cause more damage than people realize. In addition to defoliating plants and burrowing into fruits, they also spread diseases (or leave plants vulnerable to pathogens).
Fortunately, there are many beetle species that fowl and poultry love to nosh on. When it comes to pests chickens eat, this is one of their favorites and one of the worst to have in your garden.
Cucumber beetles, Japanese beetles, June bugs (Phyllophaga spp.), and potato bugs are a few of the more common ones that they’ll devour if given half a chance.
4. Grubs
In addition to the mature beetles mentioned above, their immature larvae (i.e. grubs) are even more appealing to chickens and ducks.
Since ducks’ feet are soft and webbed, they’ll only eat grubs if you’ve tilled the soil and revealed them for predators to eliminate. In contrast, chickens will happily scratch down into the earth and eat the grubs they find in the soil.
5. Earwigs
Although they aren’t the most nutrient-dense insect pests chickens eat on this list, earwigs are completely safe for chickens to consume. I can imagine they’re on the crunchy side, though the flavor may leave much to be desired.
Ducks don’t normally eat earwigs, but other fowl such as quail, Guinea fowl, peacocks and peahens, grouse, and pheasants will munch on them if given the opportunity.
As far as bug problems go, earwigs aren’t a major nuisance; in fact, they keep aphid, slug, and caterpillar populations down.
They only become a problem when their regular food sources diminish, at which point they’ll attack seedlings and burrow into fruits like plums, apples, cherries, and tomatoes.
6. Ants
Ants aren’t generally considered insect pests in the garden or on the homestead unless they’re causing damage to plant roots or farming aphids for their honeydew.
That said, fire ants can be serious pests to deal with, as anyone who’s ever been bitten knows all too well. Fortunately, chickens tend to see fire ants as tasty, spicy snacks and will happily devour them if they come across them.
Ducks don’t love fire ants as much, but they’ll help reduce populations of larger species if they encounter them.
On the plus side, maybe there will be fewer sugar ants in your house when you set your chickens on the prowl. If that fails, put any ant traps away from where birds can reach them.
7. Slugs
Do your plants have big holes chewed through the leaves and trails of sticky slime on their stems? Then you’re likely dealing with slugs. These slimy insects are most active at dawn and dusk, though some of them are also nocturnal.
If you don’t have the wherewithal to pick them off your plants manually, let your ducks and chickens loose in the garden. Not only will they happily eat these insect pests right off your plants, but they’ll also be able to forage around in the slugs’ usual hiding spots.
This ensures that they eliminate them before they have a chance to damage your crops. Plus, when it comes to pests chickens eat, these seem to be a favorite of chickens and other birds. They’ll go out of their way to get them.
For additional tips on how to get rid of slugs and snails in your garden, read our article.
8. Caterpillars
If you’ve ever had to deal with a caterpillar infestation, you know how quickly they can obliterate your garden. We’ve lost entire lettuce, spinach, and kale crops to these wriggling demons, and they’re atrocious to contend with.
The good news is that chickens and ducks see these insect pests as delicious snacks and will happily peel them off your plants and devour them with great delight.
Be cautious and monitor local caterpillar populations closely, as some species can harm your birds.
Puss caterpillars (Megalopyge opercularis), for example, have venomous spines that can hurt or even kill chickens and ducks if ingested, and other larvae may harbor potentially dangerous parasites.
If the caterpillars in your garden are safe for your birds, let them loose in there and simply keep an eye out for any strange symptoms.
9. Cutworms
If your crops seem to have been cut down at soil level, then you’re likely dealing with cutworms. These insect pests crawl along the soil’s surface and devour anything they bump into, which doesn’t bode well for any of your precious crops.
They’re also high in protein, super nutrient-dense, and completely safe for your birds to eat provided that you haven’t hosed the area down with pesticides. When these pests chickens eat show up, just point your birds in their direction.
Find out how to identify and eliminate cutworms in our guide.
10. Armyworms
If you’ve come across a wriggling mass of green caterpillars intent on destroying your plants, then you’re likely dealing with armyworms. These can obliterate crops, lawns, and many other plants, and can be incredibly difficult to get rid of.
Unless you have poultry or fowl.
Let your chickens, ducks, Guinea hens, and any other poultry or fowl loose in the garden and they’ll hoover these up like third graders at a candy buffet.
11. Cabbage Worms
Cabbage worms will feast on any member of the Brassicaceae family, including cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, arugula, and Brussels sprouts.
Once they’ve gnawed holes through all the leaves, they’ll form chrysalides on the undersides of whatever’s left so they can transform into their adult cabbage white butterfly forms. Fortunately, this is one of the pests chickens eat.
If you let your chickens, Guinea hens, and quail at them, they’ll make short work of any they find.
12. Squash Bugs
If your squash, pumpkin, melon, or cucumber plants are wilting and looking sickly, you’re likely dealing with squash bugs. These insect pests suck the sap out of plants in the Cucurbitaceae family, and can ruin entire crops in large numbers.
The good news is that they’re considered both crunchy and delicious to poultry and fowl, so your domestic birds can make short work of them.
Learn more about how to deal with squash bugs in our article.
13. Weevils
Although many people are familiar with the flour or legume weevils they find in dry goods, there are also species that can wreak havoc on food plants.
They use their long snouts to bore into plant stems, leaves, seeds, and fruits, to slurp up the deliciousness inside and then lay their eggs. If this doesn’t appeal to you, let your chickens at them: they love these insect pests and will peck them off your plants before they can do significant harm.
14. Wireworms
Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles, and are incredibly difficult to get rid of. They’re hardy, resistant to most insecticides, and can even withstand diatomaceous earth in rather startling amounts.
Fortunately, chickens, ducks, and other domestic fowl and poultry are immensely fond of wireworms and are delighted to feast upon them whenever they have the opportunity to do so. Learn more about wireworms.
Put Fowl to Work Against Pests In Your Garden
Now that you know that your birds will happily help you keep these insect pests under control, you can let your ducks and chickens roam around and gobble them up.
Just remember that chickens and ducks can be a bit dim when it comes to what they eat in the garden. As such, if you’re growing any plants that are toxic to them, they may end up poisoning themselves if they nip at the leaves or fruits.
Similarly, if you’ve treated your plants with any pesticides—organic or otherwise—your birds may end up poisoned as well.
Be diligent about which plants they’re exposed to, and if you’ve used any types of pesticides or herbicides, don’t let them forage in that area. Dealing with insect pests is annoying, but it’s far worse to lose your beautiful birds because they’ve eaten poisoned bugs.
