The Canada Goose Problem

Every year people all across the United States and Canada watch in awe as flock after flock of Canada geese migrate?EUR??,,????'???and land?EUR??,,????'???and stay on their golf courses, campuses, residential ponds, rural airfields, city parks, even corporate campuses. They?EUR??,,????'???re beautiful, they?EUR??,,????'???re elegant, but they?EUR??,,????'???re also doing what geese have always done. That?EUR??,,????'???s the problem. The geese cause messy, unsanitary conditions and increase the costs for landscape superintendents, maintenance directors and operations officers. Even worse, as soon as anyone tries to get rid of them, there is often public outcry and a terrible PR situation. It?EUR??,,????'???s illegal to shoot the geese, and trapping them can be inhumane as well as impractical especially when there are high numbers of them. And the numbers are getting higher.

What many people don?EUR??,,????'???t realize is that the goose population has ballooned in recent years. The number of Canada geese in Ohio grew from 20 birds that were introduced in 1956 to 140,000 birds by 2002. In addition to Ohio, places like Oklahoma that never had a goose problem before now have one. The number of Canada geese has been steadily rising as more and more of them have discovered the joys of park-like landscaping designs and living close to civilization. As far as the geese are concerned, there?EUR??,,????'???s nothing better than a beautifully manicured golf course with ponds, and small wooded areas. City parks are great, especially if they have water features. Airfields are very safe because the geese can see far and wide and protect themselves from predators.

However, each goose deposits a pound and a half of dropping every day. That?EUR??,,????'???s manageable if you have 2 or 3 geese. If you have a hundred, it?EUR??,,????'???s a terrible headache for maintenance and landscape superintendents, as well as for people who are trying to enjoy the surrounding. Their droppings also carry bacteria. In addition geese are very territorial and get quite aggressive especially during nesting season and when the goslings first hatch. They?EUR??,,????'???ve been know to attack anyone they think is encroaching on their territory?EUR??,,????'??+even if all they want to do is get close to the T?EUR??,,????'???s.

Keeping dogs around often works, but it?EUR??,,????'???s impractical in most places and caring for the dogs is expensive. Superintendents have tried many different approaches to make the geese uncomfortable?EUR??,,????'??+ranging from motorized toy boats in the lakes, rubber alligators, bells, balloons, owl decoys, pop-guns?EUR??,,????'??+and all to no avail. The geese just come back in an hour. They are creatures of habit, and prefer to stay in their favorite choice spots, returning year after year.

Dr. Philip C. Whitford, a professor of biology at Capital University in Columbus Ohio had been studying goose behavior and vocal communication for decades. His Ph.D thesis centered on the communications of birds. Geese recognize and respond instinctively to alert calls. They get very uneasy about possible threats. The alarm calls mean immediate danger, so in reacting to the calls they leave immediately without waiting to figure out the source of the alarm. Recently he teamed up with a company called Bird-X that specializes in bird control devices. Using Dr. Whitford?EUR??,,????'???s extensive knowledge of goose behavior to try and determine what would upset of nesting goose without hurting it, they developed a machine that would record the distress calls of the geese and then play these alarms back at varying volumes and random intervals. After testing the device at corporate parks, sports parks and golf courses they found that it worked.

While the noise doesn?EUR??,,????'???t harm the geese in any way, it makes them just uncomfortable enough to leave. ?EUR??,,????'??Even the Humane Society is favorably impressed,?EUR??,,????'?? says Dr. Whitford. After all, the geese are quite intelligent?EUR??,,????'??+one of the reasons it?EUR??,,????'???s so hard to get rid of them?EUR??,,????'??+and with all that stress being broadcast at them, the geese probably would rather just move someplace peaceful to raise their goslings?EUR??,,????'??+and they do. In that respect they aren?EUR??,,????'???t much different from people.