HOW WE DO IT: Gooseproofing at Pro Care Horticulture Services

Populations of Canada geese in Greater Indianapolis have increased in number and nuisance in recent years. And much of this problem stems from the fact that these migratory birds have decided to stay put instead of passing through during their seasonal migration patters. Instead, they set up homes on landscaped properties and around manicured ponds that offer inviting, safe habitats. And to worsen matters, every time a goose has babies, those offspring instinctively return to their birthplace to lay eggs and rear their young.

As a result, Canada geese -- which are naturally aggressive, especially when tending eggs or minding chicks -- create a tremendous amount of disturbances to the properties owned by many of our commercial clients. Geese also foul surrounding areas and walkways with their feces, and create quite a feather mess during molting season. This has become quite a concern for many of our commercial customers, and it’s a problem they’d rather not have to worry about.

Laws protect Canada geese from physical harm. So clients have relied on chemicals to combat the geese, but the results have been inconsistent. Others have used deterrents like sound cannons or faux predators, but the benefits are short lived. In fact, I’ve seen people use floating alligators, but within a week the geese were back and standing on the reptilian mannequins.

Three years ago we began offering commercial clients a service through our landscape business that we call Goose Proof K-9 Goose Control. We were turned on to the idea after hearings about the success golf course superintendents have had using dogs to control geese.
 
Border collies, which traditionally herd sheep, harass the geese to the point where they no longer want to stay or come back to a property. To the geese, avoiding the dogs becomes more trouble than its worth.
 
On average, Border collies can cost between $500 and a few thousand dollars depending on how much an owner is  willing to spend. We contacted a breeder who lined us up with three dogs best suited for our purposes and who taught us how to train and maintain the dogs. We also obtained a license permitting us to destroy geese nests and eggs.
 
A sales person  handles the dogs and visits clients on a regular basis to address their geese problems. He simply arrives on site and lets the dogs go to work. They know what to do. One problem is on properties with large ponds, the geese swim to the center and out of the dogs’ effective reach. So to troubleshoot this problem we use radio-control boats to drive the geese to the shore and to the waiting dogs.  

We charge our commercial clients between $45 and $55 per hour for the service and we generated about $100,000 in revenue from it last year. It’s a nice service because it provide us an added opportunity to check property for other service deficiencies, as well as provide our clients another service making us a one-stop-shop full-service firm. And to date, using Border collies is the only method that addresses Canada geese on a consistent and realistic basis. LL

Lowell Rolsky is the owner of Pro Care Horticulture Services in Carmel, Ind. He can be reached at 317/872-4800 or sales@procarelandscapers.com.