"When you come out of the sauna with a towel around you and slugs start crawling up from between the terrace boards, that was really disgusting," said Martin Viljasaar. "Spanish slugs come out late in the evening and early in the morning, hiding in tall grass."

Viljasaar's friend, Henri Jaska, had tried burning the slugs and setting up beer traps, but nothing worked.

When Viljasaar began researching what could effectively get rid of Spanish slugs, he came across Indian runner ducks and Muscovy ducks.

Since Jaska, who lives in Suurupi, had an empty chicken coop, the ducks could be kept there. "At first I didn't believe it, but when a couple of ducks cleaned the slugs off my yard, I had no more doubts," Jaska said with a grin.

The men named their feathered squad "P-Commando" based on the Estonian word for duck — part.

"Since we don't have any slugs left in our own yards, we have to collect them from around the village so the duck gentlemen and ladies can eat," said Jaska, the unit's commander, adding that every duck has a name.

According to Viljasaar, a Spanish slug can lay up to 400 eggs a day. "The duck spots them and eats every last one," he added.

"Training ducks is very simple. You show the duck a slug and that's it," Jaska explained.

There are currently 20 P-Commando members in Jaska's yard and 13 in Viljasaar's. The men also rent the ducks out. "The first graduating class of the Suurupi-Muraste Duck Academy heads into battle today, to save the community from Spanish slugs," Jaska said happily.

For now, their focus is on Harku Municipality, which they aim to clear of slugs.

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