Geese are ruining pond - Commercial bird control in Ocean, NJ
Challenge
One of our commercial customer in Ocean, NJ had contacted Bird Solutions by Cowleys. The customer was having a problem with geese on its property that was getting progressively worse. Perhaps the biggest concern with geese on your property is their droppings. It is far more common than you think for employees and visitors to slip and fall on their slippery droppings. Also, geese droppings, like all bird waste, are a toxic stew of diseases and parasites.
This property in Ocean had landscaping that was naturally attractive geese, including an inviting pond. Geese are especially attracted to still water sources for drinking and swimming. The customers was very concerned, and rightly so, about the damage that the congregating geese were causing to the pond. Geese can easily damage the delicate ecology of a pond because of their prodigious amounts of excrement and the phosphorous and nitrogen emitted from their waste. A single Canada goose can produce up to two pounds of droppings each day, much of which lands in the water. All of this excess phosphorus and nitrogen speeds up what is called “pond eutrophication,” which is the gradual enrichment of nutrients in the water. It sounds like a good thing. After all, we all like food that contain a lot of nutrients. But in this case, it’s a really serious problem. These extra nutrients allow weeds and algae to grow more rapidly in and around the pond. This excess growth depletes the water of oxygen, damaging the aquatic environment and killing fish. It only takes 1 goose on a 1-acre pond to overload the water with phosphorus!
The customer was also concerned about the aggressive behavior of the geese, especially during baby season. Unfortunately, these geese mistake people inadvertently wandering near their nest as a threat. In a split second, you can wind up with one of these birds snapping and flapping at you. These geese may look pretty from a distance, but make no mistake about it, they are nasty manure-spewing creatures. When I arrived at the pond, I noticed a large number of geese in the far corner — and they immediately noticed me. Even though we were at opposite ends of the pond, the geese had already started making noise and raising their guard. They were sending me a message that I was on their territory, however, I was not about to lose any sleep if I hurt their feelings!
Solution
I formatted a game plan to safely and humanely solve my customer’s concerns. Even though these geese are no longer migrating back to Canada, they are still protected as migratory birds under federal law. These statutes prevent anyone without federal authorization from killing the geese, disturbing their nests, or smashing their eggs. The fines range up to $10,000. Legally, you can’t kill them and you can’t trap and relocate them. All you can do with thee geese is harass and annoy them until you “force” them to relocate and become someone else’s problem.
To make the pond less hospitable to the geese, I installed two solar lights around the pond. These lights, which I anchored to the bottom of the lake, give off a flashing beam of light. The geese view this as a danger sign, discouraging them from landing. The goal is to get them to move to a different territory and find a different nesting ground that isn’t disruptive to them. I’m confident this will shake up the geese population and let them know they are not welcome here. I’ll be getting feedback from the customer shortly, and I’ll take matters from there.
In the past, during nesting season, we have successfully applied for a federal permit to allow us to addle the goose eggs. Addling is coating their eggs with corn oil. It’s harder than it sounds since the geese don’t appreciate when you find their nests and try to shoo them away. Addling the eggs will not allow the eggs to develop and produce goslings. This is considered to be extremely humane since no live geese are hurt or killed. The mother goose will continue to sit on eggs, and will not lay additional ones which would be the case if the eggs were destroyed.
