Getting Rid Of Geese For Good

THE EXPANDING DOMAIN AND INFILTRATION. Jim Bland, owner/director of Integrated Lakes Management in Gurnee, Ill., reported that a single 100-acre lake in northern Illinois was home to an estimated 12,000 Canada geese as part of a wintertime "superflock." Bland doesn’t mince words. "Lawns can be carpeted with feces," he said, noting that clean-up costs can be substantial. And, added Bland, the geese are stubborn, territorial and aggressive. Their interests can easily conflict with human interests in urban and suburban settings.

The issue is intensifying as suburban and rural areas collide. Detention ponds built by developers to handle storm water run-off and control flooding are often irresistible attractions to a flock of geese seeking breeding grounds.

Besides the obvious problems of excrement and odor, the birds also raise health issues. Geese are known to harbor various disease-bearing parasites and bacteria.

PROTECTING LAWNS. Gordon Young, owner of Greenville Feed and Seed Supply Company in Greenville, S.C., knows firsthand about the aggravation resulting from an unwanted goose population. "My customers were looking for anything that would work," he said.

Geese were a widespread town nuisance. "Greenville is a wealthy community," Young said. "A few years ago, one homeowner began raising Canada geese on his property. As the flock multiplied, the geese began to fly from pond to pond." And Greenville is dotted with small lakes and ponds among upscale housing development and golf courses. The geese were gathering in homeowners’ backyards, creating what Young called a "big-time mess."

The impact of the growing goose population prompted Young to research products available to discourage geese from lingering at a property. That research led him to GooseChase, a liquid concentrate made by Bird-X Inc. (www.bird-x.com) in Chicago to keep geese away. GooseChase is a concentrate made from extracts of grape parts found to be most distasteful to geese. A solution of one part GooseChase to 30 parts of water is sprayed on the grass and vegetation where the geese normally forage. The solution irritates their palates, which sends them away to "greener pastures" elsewhere. The biodegradable product is safe for the environment, according to Bird-X, and it does not harm the birds. It simply renders food sources unpalatable to geese.

GooseChase was easy for Young’s customers to apply, he said, and word spread quickly. "Half a dozen homeowners have bought GooseChase," Young said. "I’ve had no feedback at all, which tells me it’s working. The only time I get feedback is when a product doesn’t do what it promises."

GEESE SCORE WITH DESTRUCTIVE HABITS ON GOLF COURSES. Imagine a golf ball glued to the green with goose gunk. That’s unacceptable, especially in a country-club setting. Yet, that was a real threat at Yankee Hill Country Club in Lincoln, Neb. Furthermore, the invading Canada geese were doing significant damage to the course, said Jay Smith, assistant superintendent at Yankee Hill.

"The geese came in and made ruts and holes on the greens as they pecked away at the savory short grass," Smith said. "Due to insufficient snow cover, we had a problem with geese during winter and early spring." The problem was intensified, he said, by adjoining private property. To attract waterfowl, the neighboring owner kept his three-acre lake agitated so it wouldn’t freeze.

The geese came in flocks ranging from 20 to 50 birds, and they were notoriously messy, with their unsightly waste and toxic droppings highly visible. "We couldn’t go out and chase the geese off the greens every morning," said Smith. It just wasn’t practical. "We tried blasting a shotgun over their heads, but it didn’t deter them," he added.

The owner of Yankee Hill had read about GooseChase. "We ordered a gallon and experimented," Smith said. "It worked instantly - no more pecking holes in the green. In fact, there was a very distinct line of effectiveness between where we sprayed GooseChase and where we didn’t." He said the product doesn’t hurt the geese; instead it has a strong grape scent that seems to repel them.

"We’ve been using it since the fall of 1998, and we’ve not seen any of the flocks build up a tolerance for it," he said. Smith, who has been with Yankee Hill Country Club for 10 years, estimated that the club spends about $500 each year on GooseChase. "It’s well worth it and less costly than maintaining dogs as deterrents," he said.

For more information about GooseChase visit the Bird-X company web site at www.bird-x.com.