O Canada Goose...

I was at the Berlin Stop-n-Shop this evening, and the Berlin Veterans Memorial Park is being constructed right across the parking lot. It includes a lovely pond and beautiful lawn area, and of course, a flock of geese. Notice, though, how effective the fake coyote is...I actually watched one goose walk right up to the coyote and peck it on the head.

I know there are many places in Middletown with the same problem (meaning the mess the geese leave behind), and my own neighborhood is one of those places. What to do?

From the 1994 Citizen's Task Force on Canada Geese, Rockland County, NY, one of the most effective methods of goose "dissuasion" is to modify the habitat in question. Specifically, "in suburbia the 'resident' goose favorite is fertilized, closely mown grass. In fact, a verdant lawn leading to a pond - devoid of surrounding shrubs and trees - is the ideal goose habitat." The report goes on to list recommendations to make such areas less attractive to geese:

A. Grass:

1) Reduce grassy areas by planting large borders of ground cover. Geese do not like to walk through such plantings.
2) Plant trees and shrubs. Geese tend to avoid lawns when they cannot see a water body for a quick getaway.
3) Allow grass to grow taller. Geese do not like to walk through tall grass.
4) Turn part of a lawn into a wild flower meadow.
5) At a golf course increase the rough wherever possible.
6) Plant grass less tasty to geese. Substitute fescues for Kentucky Blue Grass.

B. Water Bodies:

1) Surround with trees and shrubs to obscure escape routes and to intercept the 6 degree takeoff vector of the geese.
2) Install vertical rocks and fencing around ponds to limit access.

C. Local Zoning Ordinances Or Land Use Guidelines - could require new developments to include landscape design features that will help prevent or control problems with geese.

Other control methods include noise makers, use of dogs to scare off the geese, balloons and flags hung near water bodies (think used car sales lot...), predator pee, and more lethal methods such as egg shaking (OK when you have a permit to do so). In the end, though, no one method works perfectly, as demonstrated by the poor coyote stand-in. Several methods used together are the most effective, but this takes patience and determination and time. The easiest and least costly method is to leave about a 10-12 ft. unmowed strip around ponds, but it doesn't look as pretty, and it may not be practical in cases where humans are trying to swim in said pond (Wadsworth Falls State Park).

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources puts out a Homeowner's Guide to Goose Problems that explains how to construct physical barriers to keep geese off lawns, and there are several companies eager to sell you "goose fencing" if you so desire. Canada geese molt during the summer and are unable to fly for about a month, so this can be a very effective "herding" method to keep geese and their leftovers out of your yard.

If nothing else, perhaps those of us with children who are already bored with summer vacation could take on the civic responsibility of chasing geese when we see them at the park or wherever else. We could get t-shirts and have meetings...