What Are The Hidden Costs Of A Goose Infestation?

If you notice your home, business or farmland has seen an uptick in visits from the resident geese, do not hesitate to take action. It's a common misconception that a goose is a silly, harmless bird, but in reality, bird infestations can pose hidden costs and health risks if not managed properly.

The Cost of Managing Geese On Your Property

The cost of maintaining a goose-free property is not just ridding a bird physically from the territory. It comes with a myriad of other unsuspecting problems.

In North America, the most common goose species is the Canada goose, which is also the largest. Canada geese are social animals that typically cohabitate with other geese, operating under the “safety in numbers” premise, which makes the removal process more difficult. Additionally, during the mating season, Canada geese can become extremely territorial and aggressive as they search for safe nesting areas.

Agricultural Damage: When Flocks Target Farmland

Agricultural damage is a big issue for farm communities due to the long-term damage geese can do to crops. When a bird is looking for the perfect nesting home, it seeks a place that provides food, shelter, and access to water. Nesting and planting seasons overlap in the early spring, making young crops vulnerable to Canada geese feeding on them. Without management or some sort of deterrent, farmers will likely have higher costs to replace the eaten crops or suffer a loss in sales.

Canada geese can cost organic farmers even more trouble. Due to the heavy restrictions and guidelines organic farmers must follow for their organic certification, bird feces can threaten that status, halting production and cutting into their profits.

How Bird Droppings Cause Property Damage

Once a bird is full from their crop feast, nature calls. Bird droppings can be a huge cost to farmers due to contamination concerns. With the average bird producing up to 3 pounds of droppings in a single day, the impact on a field of crops or a cow pasture can be significant. If just one bird carries a disease, it could cost the property owner a substantial loss of their herd and harvest.

Farmers aren't the only ones prone to additional costs due to property damage from a bird. Golf courses, parks, and recreation centers are all common locations for Canada geese to frequent because of the large grass areas. Damaged turf, reseeding, and other sanitization and deterrent measures are high costs that add up over time.

Health Hazards and Liability Issues

Even if you are not a farmer, bird droppings can cost home and business owners a pretty penny. Should a person come into contact with a surface contaminated with diseased bird feces, it could cost the business money and damage its reputation. For example, if a child were to play in the grass where a bird keeps its nest, they are likely to come across bird droppings. If diseased, and inhaled by the child, it could cause serious health concerns. Or if your dog played in a contaminated pond, they could become sick too.

If you find you have a pesky goose using your company's walkway or parking lot as their bathroom, not only is this a health hazard, but it also becomes a liability. Should a customer slip on the bird droppings, you now become liable for their injury. The cost to sanitize the walkway, the cost of litigation if the customer sues, and your insurance premiums will increase.

The Indirect Costs of Infestation

In areas where Canada geese have a heavy presence, it's not uncommon for customers and employees to be scared of these birds. As we’ve discussed, geese are loud and aggressive creatures. The population of people who are afraid of Canada geese might frequent your establishment less or avoid it altogether. Golf courses could see a decrease in memberships due to the mess on the greens, outdoor venues could lose bookings due to the bird infestation, and property values may fall. Those who do not take bird problems seriously are likely to have resident waterfowl unless removal methods are considered.

Public Safety Concerns

As previously mentioned, Canada geese are aggressive in nature. This can cause a lot of issues for the public if bird populations in public spaces aren't addressed. High-risk populations, like the elderly and young children, are more likely to face an injury without bird control. Children who invade a bird's nesting area may frighten the bird, causing it to squawk, bite, or strike the child. Public water attractions such as lakes, beaches, splash pads, and water parks are common targets for geese. If polluted by a diseased bird, it could cause an outbreak of sickness that costs the local government time and money to resolve.

It's also common for airports to have a Canada goose problem. Should a family of geese fly in the path of an incoming or outgoing plane, this could be incredibly dangerous. Most airports adopt methods to deter geese or invest in wildlife removal services to guarantee the safety of passengers and employees alike.

Prevention and Bird Management

Another reason why the management of geese is so tricky is that once a goose finds a desirable location for nesting, they will return each mating season. The average Canada goose will lay several eggs per season, multiplying that by their flock size, and bird management can get out of control quickly.

Like most things, prevention tends to be less expensive than the costs of removal after the geese have made a home. A part of prevention is understanding how the bird naturally operates. Consider educating yourself on bird behaviors, seasonal changes, eating patterns, and more. With this education, you can make improvements to the habitat to reduce goose damage and goose problems. Without the knowledge of how Canada geese operate, you will likely waste time and money on ineffective methods to rid them from your home or business.

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What Are The Hidden Costs Of A Goose Infestation?

The Cost of Managing Geese On Your Property

Agricultural Damage: When Flocks Target Farmland

How Bird Droppings Cause Property Damage

Health Hazards and Liability Issues

The Indirect Costs of Infestation

Public Safety Concerns

Prevention and Bird Management

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