Canada Geese – Leaving Their Mark Where We Play?

by Fran Prisco

 

Each year thousands of Golf Courses, Parks, Green Belts, Back Yards, Baseball Fields and even cemeteries are inundated with messy, slippery Canada Goose droppings. How distressing to have a beautiful drive off the tee, only to find that your ball has come to rest in a gooey pile of goose poop! How about watching your kid play in the outfield at that all important Little League game ... only to watch him go for that deep fly to center and ... SLIP right through that sticky, slippery goose poop. Sound familiar?

 

Canada Geese have become a nuisance in many areas. They thrive in the close protection and feeding opportunities they find in parks, near suburban wetlands, and on lawns or golf courses. Populations of urban Canada Geese are still growing. Flocks of non-migrating Canada geese have become established throughout Maryland and other Atlantic flyway states. In urban areas, Canada geese have responded to landscape features that provide expanses of short grass for food, lack of natural predators, absence of hunting, and hand feeding by some people.

 

Although most people find a few geese acceptable, problems develop as local flocks grow and the droppings become excessive (a goose produces a pound of droppings per day). Problems include over-grazed lawns, accumulations of droppings and feathers on play areas and walkways, nutrient loading in ponds, public health concerns at beaches and drinking water supplies, aggressive behavior by nesting birds, and safety hazards near roads and airports. Geese can also damage agricultural crops by excessive grazing.

 

Eliminating the food sources is a key to reducing the goose population. Geese eat grass, so make it unpalatable! The easiest way to do this is to spray your lawn with a product called Migrate available from Bird-B-Gone, Inc. It is a biodegradable, safe, EPA approved product that “flavors” the lawn so that the geese do not like the taste. The active ingredient in Migrate is MA (methyl anthranilate), which is a human-safe food flavoring derived from grapes so it is harmless to the geese, other animals and humans. It will not pollute ponds or lakes and is easy to apply. Additionally, if someone in your area is feeding the geese than there is little you can do to stop them.

 

Kathy Adams of Noblesville, Indiana, purchased her dream home on the lake, only to find out that she had to share the yard with Canada Geese each year. “We love to entertain in the spring and summer, having lawn parties and BBQ’s, it would take my husband hours to clean the yard so that our guests would be safe from slipping and sliding in the gooey, sticky goose poop! “ says Adams.;

 

So what to do about the Canada Goose? There are products available to control the geese that are humane and safe for the birds and humans. Kathy Adams called on Bird-B-Gone, Inc. to help clear her yard of the geese. “I called Bird-B-Gone and the owner answered the phone! How many times does that happen? He gave me good advise and now we can enjoy our yard again!” Bruce Donoho, owner of Bird-B-Gone, Inc., recommended an integrated Goose Control Solution. This solution included a taste deterrent, Migrate Goose Control, to make their food source unpalatable, a scare device, the Goose B-Gone Super Sonic, to startle the birds away and Coyote Decoys to frighten the birds. Donoho says, “Many times the goose population is so heavy or tenacious that an integrated approach is required, using sound deterrents and visual scare devices such as our coyote decoy.” The key according to Donoho is knowing what the birds are doing. If they are eating your lawn then the taste deterrent will keep them from your lawns. Donoho also says to plan ahead, “Property owners and communities that have experienced problems in the past can expect geese to return again unless control measures are implemented. The best time to act is late winter, before nesting begins, or as soon as geese show up where they are not wanted.” Kathy Adams is very pleased with the results from the products she received from Bird-B-Gone, Inc., the geese have left her yard, and now her neighbors all want to know what miracle she used to get rid of the pesky Canada Geese