It’s Nesting Season for Canada Geese
Right now, resident Canada geese are settling in for their annual nesting season. They’ve selected their mates, built their nests, and are ready to lay some eggs…hopefully not on your property. Here’s the problem: once geese have ‘moved in’, it’s almost impossible to get them to leave. Imagine if someone came to your house in the middle of the night and tried to convince you to move out, leaving behind all of your comfort, security, resources…AND your children! Would that go over very well? Probably not. That’s pretty much how the geese feel when we try to get them to leave our property during their nesting season.
According to Dr. Phil “Dr. Goose” Whitford’s Calendar of the Goose, the 8—10 week period that follows is molting season (from June to August), when Canada geese gather on and around lakes and ponds to shed their old feathers, and re-grow new ones. Because they are unable to fly during this time, they can only be moved to areas they can reach on foot. New families and non-breeding geese alike move to these molting sites, doing serious damage to the landscape of the areas that they are temporarily inhabiting.
Not-So-Fun Fact: Each Canada goose defecates about 28 times per day!
Bird-X recommends goose-proofing your property before nesting season so that geese learn to take up residence elsewhere. If geese have already nested on your property this year, be prepared to move them in late May—after their eggs have hatched and when molting season is about to begin. Try combining the Bird-X GooseBuster® with some visual scare tactics. The GooseBuster is a sonic speaker system that creates an audio attack using recordings of actual Canada geese alarm, alert and distress calls. Developed using scientific research and field study, the GooseBuster is the most comprehensive goose repeller in the world.
Dr. Goose has a PhD in biological sciences, specializing in animal behavior. He also has BS and MS degrees in wildlife management. The findings from his extensive studies of the Canada goose have been presented in over 100 publications.
Written by Chrissy Hansen—Media Correspondent for Bird-X, Inc.
Canada goose, 3 eggs slows down production on a $150 mil. luxury building in the UK
A security guard has been assigned to protect this Canada goose and her two eggs in a U.K. building. This little goose has held up work on a $150 million luxury building.
A funny things happen to living creatures every once in a while: they reproduce. Unfortunately for a British construction company, a goose decided to exert her right to reproduce on their production site.
A recent Aol News piece shed some light on the situation, saying that the goose got comfortable. There is even a 24-hour security guard standing watch to make sure she’s safe and sound.
While production on the building isn’t completely stalled — the contractor explains that they are working on a different area until the goose leaves — it’s definitely a hassle. What if this happened to your company? Comfortable geese looking for a nice spot to raise a family just plop down and stay a while? This could cost millions and the liability factor could tack on more to that. Every seen a slip-and-fall incident resulting from a bird droppings? It’s quite expensive.
The GooseBuster is designed specifically for the humane elimination of pesky geese.
Putting up a few sound devices is the best thing to do for this kind of problem. The Goose Buster emits high quality digital playbacks of goose distress and alarm calls recorded in natural environments. Since the sounds are in the geese’s own language, they get the message: STAY AWAY!
Got questions about your specific goose problem? Check out www.bird-x.com for more products, or call us up at 800-860-0473!
Bird-Plane collisions up 25%
A recent Associated Press discussed by the Riverfront Times report stated that nearly 10,000 bird strikes were reported last year, which is up considerably from the 7,507 reported in 2007. And that rise is only an average, with some states reporting an increase considerably higher than that.
In some states, such as Texas and Minnesota, the number of bird-plane collisions have doubled since 2005 thanks to an increase in air traffic along bird migratory routes.
…bird-plane collisions at Lambert-St. Louis International airport have increased nearly 300 percent over the past decade.
Hmmmm…maybe these airports need to try Bird-X’s new Airport Bird Control System.
The airport bird and wildlife control system is perfect for this time of year when birds and other animals start heading to their spring and summer spots.
This system is made up of three of Bird-X‘s best sound devices and one sensory spray: the Megablaster, the Goosebuster, the Critterblaster and Goosechase. The combination of the four of these makes it almost impossible for birds to get comfortable anywhere around an airport.
Oregon park flooded with geese droppings
Tualatin, Ore. has decided to use swan decoys to control their growing geese issues. (source: www.tualatintimes.com)
A recent article in The Times, a Portland-area newspaper, talked about a goose problem at the Lake at the Commons in Tualatin, Oregon. According to Bob Martin, parks maintenance supervisor, the geese are producing “nearly five gallons of excrement a day, which mostly ends up on the pavement.”
The mess is problematic in various ways — smell, chemical, general sanitation, take your pick — so a parks staff person has to spend an hour a day cleaning it up. This costs quite a bit of money over time, Martin says, so the city has tried multiple methods of “goose abatement.”
They hit it right on the head – geese can become a pest, but dealing with their droppings is expensive and can be down-right dangerous. Slip-and-fall incidents are not uncommo, and that can lead to lawsuits. Not to mention that acidic droppings can erode multiple surfaces and are filled with transferable diseases.
Their solution was two plastic swans anchored at the bottom of the lake shown above. Swans and geese are natural enemies, so having decoy swans in the lake does make sense.
A good addition to the swans would be a predator decoy; something like a fox or coyote replica works well because both of them present a valid danger. If the geese get to close, they may turn into dinner! Bird-X carries predator decoys, like our 3D coyote and the fox replica. The 3D coyote is life-like and in attack mode, creating the illusion of danger to the geese.
The fox replica is a menacing 2D decoy that covers up to one acre, perfect for small lakes and community parks. Luckily, both of these bird control options are low maintenance — set it up once and you’re done. No clean up. No reapplying a product. And no hassle.
Get in contact with one of our experts to order one today!
Coyote replica a success in Arkansas
A recent article in central Arkansas’ Jacksonville Patriot talked about the effectiveness of a replica coyote in scaring geese.
Maumelle residents who think they’ve seen a coyote around town aren’t seeing things. Actually what they’re seeing is a fake coyote.
Philip Raborn, director of Maumelle Parks and Recreation, said the department purchased two fake coyotes that they are moving around the city’s two lakes in an effort to keep the Canadian geese off the pathways around town.
The migratory birds have become a problem leaving droppings all over the lake area and even harassing visitors, he said.
This is the city’s first year using replica coyotes for geese control. Last year, the city destroyed goose eggs with special permission from the federal government. This is a common mistake people make when fighting birds; killing the parents and addling their eggs only eliminates the current crop. Unless you make the environment unpleasant for the birds, they’ll continue to be a problem.
And the replica coyotes in Maumelle have been a success.
…the geese appear to be staying in the lake and not getting out to relieve themselves and leave droppings all over the place.
Raborn said that’s the intended purpose (of the replica coyotes) – to keep the geese in the water. He said they won’t excrete in the water and obviously are going somewhere else to do so, but at least they’re not leaving their droppings on the two city lake’s walkways as they did before the coyotes were placed.
Bird-X carries a top-of-the-line 3D coyote replica, as well as a 2D one and a 2D fox replica.
Bird-X's 3D coyote is a humane way to eliminate geese.
This live-size predator strikes instinctual fear in all birds and small animals, especially geese. The 3D replica coyote appears real from every angle, increasing effectiveness more than other products on the market. Since bird vision is strong, this is considered to be more effective than some sound devices.
Using this in conjunction with Bird-X’s GooseBuster and Goose Chase will solve your goose problem permanently.