Beware property managers, some of the most unwelcome residents these days are Canada geese, who once they settle in, don’t want to leave. In late winter, they battle for mates and choose nesting sites. In spring, they nest and raise young. In summer and fall, many become permanent residents. Year round, they devour turf, damage property, and inconvenience or even terrorize tenants, residents, and customers.

“Canada geese can eat grass down to the stem, cause erosion from overgrazing, and foul turf, ponds, and common areas with their droppings,” says Greg Vetrick, a regional manager for TruGreen, the nation’s largest lawn and landscaping company that serves more than 2.4 million residential and commercial customers across the U.S.

Landscape experts are the specialists that exasperated property managers are increasingly calling to deliver the “eviction notice” when intrusive geese continue to damage property and just won’t leave.

“Property owners come to us for help, knowing a geese problem can leave common areas unusable, discourage commercial traffic, even lower rent or lease rates,” adds Vetrick. “The geese can be aggressive, especially during nesting. With access to desirable turf and water, hundreds of geese may gather and stay essentially year-round.”

 “Nobody wants to walk through the droppings, and parents are particularly protective of their children,” says Vetrick. “Once when I was called for help, the turf at a homeowners’ association property was black with geese droppings.”

With an explosion in population — 4.1 million geese now take up residence in the Northern half of the United States from spring through fall — Canada geese increasingly make a home on or near commercial and residential properties, which provide abundant food, water and nesting opportunities with few predators. These geese, creatures of habit, will congregate, nest, and raise their young near ideal food sources and once they move in, they won’t move out. If they migrate, and more and more don’t, they’re likely to return to the same spot next year qualifying them as virtual residents, not visitors.

The challenge, then, is to find a means to evict these pests from properties using non-lethal methods since Canada geese are protected by federal and state laws under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Geese Hazards

For commercial and residential property managers, these geese present a number of hazards. Besides the potential for aggressive behavior toward tenants, residents and guests, each goose can eat up to three pounds of grass per day. A small flock can quickly render grassy spaces unusable, leaving them stripped bare, prone to erosion, and covered with feces.

The costs of repairing overgrazed areas and the cleanup of goose droppings (each can leave up to two pounds per day) can be substantial, and the nitrogen content in the droppings can contribute to excessive algae growth in bodies of water. Direct contact with droppings also poses health risks, including pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, as well as slip-and-fall liability hazard.

So how can the flock be effectively managed without harming the geese? There have been many attempts from fake coyotes and real dogs to strobe lights, sirens and noisemakers. But all fail to be truly effective because they’re either too costly, unable to present a continuous deterrent, or offer a threat without consequence, which Canada geese soon learn to ignore.

Evicting Geese

To protect commercial and residential properties from the problems of unwelcome Canada geese, a growing number of property managers are working to evict the flock with an EPA-approved goose repellent called FlightControl Plus.

Vetrick has successfully “evicted” unwanted geese from commercial, residential, and public properties by spraying the repellant near favored gathering places and “no go” zones.

“From hundreds of geese, one property went to virtually none after treatments,” says Vetrick. “They’d fly on, past the treated homeowners’ association property, looking for more suitable turf.”

“On one commercial property, I treated turf to keep the geese away from a wedding photo area,” adds Vetrick. “The geese stayed away from the ‘no go’ zone thereafter.”

Odorless and weatherproof, the EPA approved goose repellent uses a naturally occurring, environmentally safe compound called anthranquinone (AQ) formulated by Arkion Life Sciences. It works first by giving geese that feed on treated turf a harmless digestive irritation, indicating that something is wrong with the food source.

The applied compound also absorbs ultraviolet light, which the geese can see. This creates a visual signal the geese immediately link to their stomach irritation, caused by feeding in the area.

The combined effect teaches geese to recognize and avoid grassy areas treated with the repellant, and they “move out” in search of a better food source.

Use of the turf treatment helped one company get back the use of its riverfront picnic area for employees when it was overrun by Canada geese, says Vetrick. “The geese left, the turf re-grew, and the company reclaimed its scenic picnic spot,” he says.

In contrast, Canada geese cannot distinguish between the treated and untreated turf of other sprayable repellents, such as those made from methyl anthranilate (MA), so they will not learn to avoid it. Sprayable repellents such as MA also tend to be short-lived since they’re volatile, not rain fast and degrade due to ultraviolet radiation and microbial activity.

“The geese learn to avoid the AQ treated turf,” says Vetrick. “Since it provides continuous, long-term protection, it’s a more cost effective solution to controlling geese than dogs, fireworks, or other temporary measures that pose a threat without consequence.” ❑

For more info, call 877-55-GEESE; visit www.flightcontrol.com; email info@flightcontrol.com; or write to Arkion Life Sciences, Airepel Division 551 Mews Drive, Suite J, New Castle, DE 19720.