Canada geese feces can be hazardous to people’s health, but usually only when inhaled or ingested. Walking past geese feces, or even lounging near them on the beach is likely safe for healthy people. However, children and pregnant or breastfeeding women and the elderly are particularly susceptible to health risks posed by parasites that inhabit Canada geese feces. Geese feces can contain the parasites cryptosporidium, giardia, coliform, and campylobacter. Cryptosporidium poses the most serious health hazard, since it causes cryptosporidiosis, an illness with the following symptoms: diarrhea, stomach cramps/pain, fever, nausea and vomiting.
Fast Facts About Giant Canada Geese
- Protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- Feed by grazing on succulent grasses and small plants
- Weigh 12 pounds or more
- Able to reproduce at 2-3 years of age
- Eggs hatch in 28 days with broods averaging 4 goslings
- They return to the same nesting and feeding areas each year!
The Scoop on Goose Poop:
- The average Canada goose dropping has a dry weight of 1.2 g (~ 0.04 ounces)
- Average droppings per day ~ 82 g/day (dry weight), that’s 2.6 ounces/day (about 1/3 cup)
- Each dropping contains 76 % carbon, 4.4 % nitrogen, and 1.3 % phosphorus
- Geese can defecate as many as 92 times a day (numbers reported range from 28-92)
- In addition to parasites, goose poop contributes nutrients that help fuel excessive growth of algae and macrophytes in our lakes.
- What goes into a goose generally comes out also, and stays in the watershed.
It is that time again when geese will begin searching for nesting sites, Prevention is Key!
Make your property less attractive to geese:
- Don’t feed the geese
- Leave a barrier strip of tall grass (6 inches or more) adjacent to lakeshore
- Chase them off your property, be as persistent as the geese are with hanging out on your property
- Some folks have tried stringing a wire or string about 10-12 inches high along their shoreline. The geese seem to avoid crossing the string and move on.
The Legalities of Goose Control – What you CANNOT do (unless in possession of a federal permit) and the Dept of Conservation police do visit our Lake and will ticket or arrest you…
- Injure, capture or kill geese (except under applicable hunting regulations)
- Disturb geese on an established nest or collect or destroy goose eggs
What you CAN do:
- Harass the birds using noisemakers, dogs, or wave things like brooms or rakes at them
- Check your property frequently for nest building activity in the spring and remove accumulated nesting material (again, PRIOR TO NESTING)
- NOTIFY THE LAKE COMMITTEE of ANY NESTING SITES that get established (because we ARE in possession of a federal permit) we can oil the eggs to prevent hatching. It’s important the goose retain eggs in the nest, otherwise it will lay a new batch. Our objective is to keep our goose population reasonable to minimize their fecal matter and its parasites and contribution to algae growth… Specifically you can call Fran Steffen at 773-558-6570 or notify us via email [email protected]