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Getting ducks to kill your snails isnt any different than killing the snails yourself, although now you have ducks to look after, and if you bought them off of a breeder/farm you're giving money to people exploiting ducks for money. Id use physical barriers and deterents to keep slugs away, and just grow more food

You do realize that these issues happen on the farms that grow your commercially available food, too- right? That the snails and rats are being killed in the name of product going to market?

Animals aren't tools for you to own and solve your problems. If you want to produce your own food, that's fine, but don't exploit someone else in the process.

Reality is that all farming - commercial or otherwise - involves pest control.  There is no way to grow food crops without it. 

I see a difference between killing animals for food vs protecting your food from animals. 

For snails manual removal combined with prevention has worked quite well for me. Literally just picking them up (at night) and moving them (…theres a local park a couple minutes walk with lots of invasive plant species, I put them there).

I assume I’d use a similar approach for slugs.

Are wild boar and deer likely to be an issue to you? We don't get them here. For the closest equivalents, people use fences (with mixed success)

Rats and mice - I let them be if they’re outside and far away. I do a fair bit to stop them coming inside. I did use a trap once, but I would 10/10 advocate for prevention (vegan or not, a trap won’t fix the root cause). They haven't gone for or near the food/fruit/vegetables in my garden yet. No idea why (it happens to have some of the smells rats don’t like, but… this wasn't particularly intentional. I assume there's a better food source somewhere else. We see them along the fence line every now and then).

Some other bugs you can get away with pruning and manual removal (and it’s recommended). I have used Neem oil on some very destructive bug infestations - so not vegan. A duck wouldn't have helped though, we already had birds coming in and eating them like crazy haha.

TL;DR: for your current snail problem, I’d be prioritising manual removal and prevention.

You have the right to defend your livelihood, which in this case is your food. I would exhaust all options prior to killing but after that I wouldn't hesitate to figure out the best way to prevent animals from eating my food.

If the only option you have is to kill snails or rats, then that's the only option you have. I don't see any difference between you doing the killing or you putting in place the ducks and cats doing it, unless we can come up with practical better ways to do so.

For snails, I would try physical barriers, natural repellents, marigolds and other companion planting.

For rats, I would try peppermint oil.

I grow a lot of my own food, and my biggest pests are deer. I use fences to keep deer out of the main garden. And a dog which scares off a lot of the unfenced areas between wanting to chase them and their urine being everywhere. I use neem, companion planting and other deterrents as well.

A vegan would strive to avoid the killing but accept realistically being unable to prevent all killing always.

As a nonvegan I would get the ducks, because they are protective of the land, they eat pests and their poop is a good fertilizer. I would also get a source of food by having ducks, I could eat their eggs or the duck, but I understand that doesn't work with your vegan lifestyle. But I wanted to bring this point up too, that ducks will lay eggs and the question is what will you do with the eggs? Not all of them are fertile and many wont hatch. Will you sell the eggs, leave them be or use them yourself?

Also having ducks means vet bills and caretaking, have you researched if your budget can cover these expences? What will you do if the flock gets too big and causes a nuisance?

There are great benefits to having ducks, but they will challenge your vegan lifestyle in many ways.

so what's vegan's takes on self sufficiency and growing your own food?

Only possible in warmer climates. (Unless you are filthy rich and can grow most of your food indoors.)

Do not, as someone else suggested, eat the snails. I am posting this as a separate comment because I don’t want them to bother me.

Not all snails are edible and can carry parasites that have horrific consequences—like paralyzing death consequences. Snails are basically parasite bombs.

We are also considering ducks/chickens but mostly ducks becase my toddler loves them and chickens give me the heebies. Keeps the weeds down and the critters away, but they’re also going to eat your salad leaves.

We live on a small couple acres that backs onto farmland and we definitely have cats for pest control. When the mice and rats are chewing through my pipes and wiring, they gotta go before they burn my house down. The cats keep them away from the house and the chickens that appeared are really good mousers also. Chickens will also eat their own eggs so you don’t have to worry about that mess, not sure about ducks.

We have fruit trees and generally gardens enough to grow our fresh fruit and veg for the year to preserve and quash our grocery bill down to soy milk, vital wheat gluten, sugar and tofu because we definitely don’t have the space to grow a sustainable amount of soybeans to cover what we use. If I had another five acres, I’d definitely give it a go.

Edit: spelling

Killing pests doesn‘t constitute animal exploitation, nor is ot a form of animal cruelty like a religious sacrifice or a circus.

As a respnsible and conscious human being you surely have ethical responsibilities, but I don‘t think you necessarily violate vegan doctrine here.

Some people may have their own opinions or interpretations of what veganism is or what a vegan also should do , but that‘s besides the hard facts and the vegan definition. Just to settle that question.

snails are pests given your circumstances. If you've tried ways to deter them and they don't work and they have a significant impact on your crops then you can't be expected to just ignore them. Snails also don't have a brain or actual pain receptors. I'm not entirely against the idea of relocating creatures and letting them do their thing because it's beneficial, but modt ways you'd access ducks would be unethical and I'm worried about what else you're willing to justify with that mindset, it feels slippery. Just use some salt

I personally found mixing my herbs and plants additionally focusing on perennials and more of them slugs and birds eat them but I get the leftovers. Its like the saying with seeds, 1 to plant and 2 for the birds when planting seeds.

When you mix alliums with the greens it works as well.

Infestations reduce animals to pests which can be eradicated, which is not vegan in itself. I don't see any reason to kill them when relocation is easier in some cases. However, I am aware that most vegans have no problem calling an exterminator when they have an issue of that type.

You may enjoy this new, vegan-adjacent philosophy called antapodism: The Antapodist's Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Introduction and Starter Guide

I have no advice as a city dweller, but want to say thank you for being true to the title. I came here to bitch about how killing others for food isn't "growing your own" and was pleasantly surprised.

Just move, deter the snails or plant sacrificial crops. No need to kill them.

Carnist here,

If you want to be vegan then abandon this self sufficiency thing that has you controlling pests and go back to just buying produce from your local grocery store.

Nematodes.