RESIDENTS were left horrified after they found gunmen in their backyard — and then learned that their Homeowner’s Association had hired them.

Many homeowners in Cypress — a wealthy town just northwest of Houston — knew that an invasive duck species had become a problem at the local pond, but no one expected their HOA to respond in the way they did.

The pond is normally a spot in the Coles Crossing neighborhood where residents walk their dogs or fish but last month, a homeowner claimed she walked out of her door and saw two men with long air rifles walking around the watery paradise.

Their homeowner’s association, Crest Management, had reportedly hired them to kill invasive muscovy ducks, one of the men explained.

The hunters were caught on camera by a concerned resident last month in a clip shared with local ABC affiliate KTRK.

“What are you doing,” someone can be heard saying in the background of the video showing the shooters wandering around the pond.

The resident asked to see their air rifles, similar to long BB guns, and the hunters seemed happy to display their loaded weapons.

The men then said they had not been able to shoot any of the ducks they had targeted.

LOCALS SHOCKED

When other people who live in the neighborhood saw the video of the men, they were taken aback.

Richele Bartkowiak said she owned her home in the community for a long while.

“Nobody in the neighborhood was notified, so none of the residents knew,” Bartkowiak stressed.

“So, it was a really scary sight. It was a time when people were still easily out walking their dogs or taking a stroll in the night.”

The homeowner said that it was not that the men were out there that bothered residents but that the HOA did not contact homeowners to warn them.

“I think what the community was most upset about is the fact this was ever an option on the table,” Bartkowski said.

She explained that the pest control company hired by the HOA tried a different method in February, concentrating on capturing the ducks with nets.

But the clever birds were often able to avoid capture and continue to proliferate.

DIRTY DUCKS

Some residents told local reporters that the ducks had become a pest and had ruined their gardens and roofs.

“I can see both sides,” homeowner Steven Robinson said.

But I don’t think you need to show up with a pellet gun at night and shoot them.

Steven Robinson

“You spend a lot of money making your flower beds look nice and the ducks destroy it. So I totally get wanting to remove them.”

The city’s response may have been drastic, however.

“But I don’t think you need to show up with a pellet gun at night and shoot them,” he said.

He also added that he was worried that non-invasive birds might be impacted if hunting any birds in the area is permitted.

“I did call the game warden and reported it, so I’m waiting to hear back from them,” said Robinson.

“The initial report was there were guys out here with air rifles shooting ducks. And I didn’t know what species it was, and I thought it was the right thing to do: have the game warden come out and do an investigation.”

The HOA did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.