Geese on your property and around your building can be more of an issue than you may think. They may look harmless, but the damage they can do can start to add up. They’re also kind of cute and actually mate for life (awwww) – and they are a protected species. They have also changed up their routines. See here for what has changed. You may think you just want to leave them alone, but there are so many reasons why having a company come in to put down a professional goose deterrent is necessary.
Why Use Goose Deterrent Services?
Goose poop. It may not be what you want to talk about, but we have to address it. Just one goose will deposit 2-4 pounds of feces per day. That sounds like a lot all by itself, but it will really start to build up the more geese you have. How bad can it be?
- Goose poop carries pathogens, parasites, and bacteria, including histoplasmosis and Salmonella. If the excrement gets into your water source, it can be a serious health hazard. Even if your water source isn’t what you drink, it will make algae bloom, which could kill the fish living in it.
- Goose droppings can erode many materials, including your concrete sidewalk. You already paid to have those put in. You don’t want to pay to have them fixed.
- If you have enough goose droppings around, it can become a liability from a slip and fall perspective. And it’s not just droppings. Should a nest be anywhere near where you are walking, geese can become aggressive. Just like any parent, both the male and female geese will protect the nest. Goose attacks during mating season are not uncommon, making goose control even more important.
- Parks and Recreation departments know the issues of goose poop all too well. Large infestations can shut down a little league game and can cause a dent in the budget when it’s used on cleanup instead of park maintenance.
Landscaping. Geese can do a number on your landscaping! They eat an astonishing amount of grass per day. What’s the big deal?
- Your maintenance staff should be able to focus on maintaining your grounds and your building – not picking up and cleaning up goose poop.
- You pay your landscapers to give you a beautiful lawn, not only to give your building curb appeal but to make it attractive to those walking into it. Geese eat so much grass every day that your lawn will look spotty and sparse. So, at the end of the day, you’re paying your landscapers to create a beautiful lunch for the geese.
- If there hasn’t been a lot of rain to dilute it, the Nitrogen content in goose droppings can “burn” yellow spots into your lawn. You want a nice, green lawn – not brown.
Protected. Geese are a protected species, so you have to be careful about how you encourage them to vacate your premises. There are a few ways to do so.
- Their intelligence levels, attentiveness, and herding qualities make dogs like Border Collies perfect for herding and chasing Canadian geese. Unfortunately, that only works for the time the dogs are there. Geese will wait, especially if their nest is nearby. As soon as the dog is gone, they will come back.
- Goose repellent decoys, like dogs, will work for a while. But geese quickly get used to them and will be back. They won’t be gone for long, either.
- Professional goose control and deterrents like we use at Western Pest Services are really what you need. The product we use is non-toxic and treats the lawn without harming it. It is a smell and taste that geese dislike and will cause them some minor intestinal distress. Nature will take over and remind them that when they ate in that spot last time – it wasn’t good! The only way to really control the geese that are on your lawn and repel future guests is to take away their food source. That will make them move along.
No matter what you think of geese, they don’t belong around your building. The issues they cause run from annoying to hazardous. Unless you have a goose that lays golden eggs, you should give us a call to talk about how to deter them from your property. And if you do have one that lays golden eggs, well, we all know how that worked out for Veruca Salt. Contact Western anyway.