Geese Take Over Public Spaces, Leaving Filth and High Maintenance Costs

Parks, athletic fields, beaches, golf courses are all meant to be enjoyed…by you, not the geese. However, the manicured grass and wide, open spaces attract geese that want food and ability to scan the environment around them for threats. Geese might stop to eat the grass, but they stay in these spaces because the environment offers them safety from their predators at night: a pond or a fenced in athletic field allow the geese to sleep without worries. These spots are the ideal habitat for geese, covering all of their survival needs, while quickly making the space filthy, uninviting and sometimes all together unusable for those wanting to enjoy them.

Every day each goose leaves abundant feathers and 2 to 4 pounds of excrement. The presence of geese is a sign to others that it is a sustainable site for them to land, and stay, meaning that the group of geese at any site tends to consistently increase. Along with that increase is the three-fold increase of excrement. While a few geese can be tolerable, 30 geese, multiplied by about 3 pounds of excrement per day (90 pounds of droppings every day!) is a problem for everyone.

The owners and managers of public spaces work to give those that use their space the peace of mind that comes from a safe, healthy, and enjoyable environment. A goose population undercuts all of these, and has a far-reaching impact on the great number of people that use these spaces every day. From diseased water at the local park pond or beach; to ruined greens at the golf club; to infections in cuts from slide tackling on a goose infested soccer field, these are serious matters, and ones that can be addressed. The property managers must curb the geese population to restore or maintain a respectable standard of the property. At Away With Geese, we have spoken to many that have tried a range of other deterrent methods first that have failed, costing them thousands of dollars a month, time spent on daily efforts, while the people that the spaces are for can’t use them.

The Geese Population is Growing, and so is the Damage and Disease

There are over 10 million geese currently residing in the United States, and an increasing amount of parks and recreation facilities that include water and/or landscape features that offer an ideal habitat for geese. Further compounding the population increase are the geese that are losing their migratory instincts, and staying year round. With the geese population increasing dramatically and their migratory instincts declining, the damage and health threat to the people that enjoy these spaces is too pervasive to ignore.

• Studies have confirmed the presence of bacteria, parasites and human pathogens in goose feces, so presence of feces in water or on ground where humans may contact them is a very legitimate health concern. In grassy areas this is a heightened concern, as children play, sit and have their hands on the grass, making transmission of disease more likely.
• Ingesting water in residential ponds and community beaches is a common method of documented disease transmission. Because of this the EPA has closed several beaches due to high levels of E. Coli.
• Dealing with geese is costly. A typical golf course with an average number of geese suffers $3,000 damage per year: $1,000 per year picking up droppings and up to $2,000 in repairing or cleaning damaged greens. Some golf courses have reported over $20,000 of damage on greens due to geese.
• When public recreation areas like beaches, campgrounds, and parks are forced to closed, the City suffers economic hardship when the public must avoids these areas due to the overabundance of goose feces.
• Geese wreck havoc on the natural environment: they eat the grass, which causes erosion, shoreline destabilization, and their feces destroys the health of waterways.
• They are aggressive towards people, especially while nesting and rearing their goslings. Hundreds of geese attacks occur every year, with geese chasing and biting, resulting in injuries ranging from small scratches to broken bones suffered during falls.
• Because geese are federally protected, property owners and managers have a responsibility to manage the geese population while staying within the confines of these laws and regulations.

Away With Geese is Guaranteed to Deter Geese from Public Spaces.

Away With Geese is a guaranteed solution to prevent and deter geese from Public Spaces. Our units are solar powered LED amber lights that flash every two seconds in 360 degrees every night, from dusk to dawn in a 75 yard radius. They are mounted on ¼ inch thick black ABS plastic that is incredibly durable; the units are designed to withstand all seasons and any weather. The lights disturb the geese at night, causing them to be restless and insecure in that place, leading them to move to another location entirely, as they prefer to forage and sleep in the same area.

Our units are specially designed for the various landscapes typical of Commercial Properties. They are also designed to keep them safe from vandalism and theft in these public areas. These units are for the geese problems on land (Industrial Unit); in ponds and waterways (Water Unit); and for flat commercial roof tops (Roof Unit). Like all of our units, these come with a two-year parts warranty and satisfaction guarantee. They require no maintenance, and only have to be turned on once. Request a free Placement Study and we will use Google Earth to take a snapshot of your problem area, and recommend the type of and number of units, and their most effective placement, via email.

• Industrial Unit – This unit is specifically designed for public spaces, in which theft is a possibility. Oftentimes public parks, golf courses, and other public places have with troublemakers that may pass through and want to steal an unsecured unit, which isn’t possible with this unit. It features a metal auger that securely twists into the ground to avert theft, and requires tools and time to uninstall.
• Industrial Cage – Our units are incredibly durable, but are not meant to withstand abuse from people. If this is a concern, the Cage is the answer. This accessory completely protects the Industrial Unit with 6 pounds of heavy-duty steel, in places where both vandalism and theft are issues. The cage surrounds and secures to the Industrial Unit, so that the unit is both safe from theft and is protected from harm by the Cage simultaneously.
• Water Unit – Ponds at public parks and golf course are very popular locations for geese to reside. The water allows them to feel safe from predators at night and the adjacent manicured lawns are perfect for foraging during the day. The Water Unit disturbs their sleep and disrupts the sleep-eat-ruin-the-grass cycle.
• Dock Unit – The Dock Unit controls geese that gather on the dock, and also in the surrounding water or adjacent land. It comes with a bracket that allow for the unit to be easily installed on the side of the dock.