Apex, NC –  The Nesting for Peace project will hold its first installation event at 1:30PM on Monday, 10 March 2008, at the offices of the Apex Chamber of Commerce in downtown Apex, NC. Local artist Karin Baumeister-Rehm will hang the first of the original art birdhouses to begin an effort to deepen the awareness of all to the need to work towards peace around the world.

Birdhouses may be installed virtually anywhere in on the planet. The yards and gardens of private homes are a natural choice, but public parks and the grounds around public and private buildings will provide those using them for their deliberations and/or business to show they also stand for peace throughout the Universe. This is a project for all to participate, reaching each of us now, and succeeding generations of the future, in a very personal manner.

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

(ARA) – February is Wild Bird Feeding Month. This observance was established in 1994 by the National Bird Feeding Society because winter is one of the most difficult periods in much of North America for birds to survive in the wild.

In fact, feeding wild birds is becoming more and more popular each year in the United States. About a third of Americans feed wild birds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Each year, more people are inspired to put up feeders, buy outdoor pet food and turn wild birds into beautiful outdoor pets.

On the other hand, some people are hesitant to dive into the hobby of feeding wild birds because they are discouraged by the shells (and subsequent weeds) that can accumulate around a feeding station. According to research done by the Wild Bird Feeding Industry (WBFI), the number two reason why people don’t feed birds is because of the mess left under their feeders. Innovative wild bird food manufacturers have taken notice of this concern, which has resulted in the creation of “waste-free” and “less mess” mixes. These formulations allow bird lovers to enjoy the best of both worlds: a yard full of colorful outdoor pets and a lawn that is neat and tidy.

Less mess products are designed to keep outdoor living areas clean because they are made without the shells of seeds. Without the shells, there is less leftover debris scattered around the feeding station. Better yet, premium mixes like Wild Delight’s Less Mess line of products are specially formulated to help prevent the germination of seeds into weeds under feeders.

When trying to keep a clean yard, it’s important to consider the type of seed being put out. “Basic mixes” or “economy mixes” contain many extra ingredients that birds simply sift through and push to the ground. These mixes can also attract less desirable birds, such as starlings and sparrows that typically gather in large numbers and can make quite a mess.

For those who want to avoid a messy yard (and nuisance birds), look for products that are made with premium ingredients like fruits and nuts that more sought-after birds such as cardinals and finches love. Products like Wild Delight’s new Less Mess Fruit & Berry blend, for example, is formulated with real cherries, juniper berries, peanuts and hulled pumpkin seeds – ingredients desirable birds will gobble up without excessive sifting and leftover mess.

Another option for those who want to keep a clean yard is to place a tray under a feeder. Trays will help catch any spilled seeds and make cleanup much easier. Plus, they act as another level to the feeding station. What some birds pass up and toss onto the tray, others might feast on happily, creating a wide variety of feathered friends at one feeding station.

Feeding nectar and suet is another way to keep a tidy lawn. These types of food help attract many different types of sought-after birds like woodpeckers, orioles and hummingbirds, creating a beautiful spectacle of unique wildlife. There are even suet products that you can place close to your home. No-waste products like Deck, Porch N’ Patio Party Suet from Wild Delight don’t contain filler ingredients like corn and milo that birds either toss aside or ignore completely. Plus, premium suet products are formulated so they will not melt even in temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is also important to put out multiple feeders to prevent overcrowding. When too many birds gather at one feeder, things tend to get a little hectic and messy. If birds have the option to dine at more than one feeder, there is less pushing and shoving, which may mean that more seeds are eaten instead of thrown to the ground.

Finally, spreading mulch under feeders is another easy way to keep a yard looking cleaner. Mulch will hide the seeds that may fall, and it can even dress up a feeding station. By adding a border with stones or other decorative items around the mulch, a feeding station can become a nice addition to a landscaper’s design.

With the proper food and a little bit of planning, bird lovers and new bird enthusiasts alike can enjoy both the wonderful hobby of bird feeding and a well-groomed lawn at the same time. Best of all, they can feel good about helping out the wonderful outdoor pets that we all enjoy.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Birders Outsmart the Squirrels This Spring

(ARA) – Few sights ignite as much frustration in the hearts of bird-lovers as a squirrel’s bushy tail bobbing happily in the bird feeder. Serious birders and casual bird lovers alike know that when the squirrels move in there’s not often much left for the birds.

Outwitting the squirrels is even more important in spring, when food is still scarce for birds. Too cool for many insect populations and months away from fruit on trees or ground seeds, birds may struggle to find enough to eat.

It is possible, however, to provide for your feathered friends and keep squirrels out of the feeder. With the right seed mix and some nature-friendly squirrel control tactics you might just be able to win the battle and keep everyone happy in your backyard habitat.

The first step is to draw the birds to your back yard. Next, provide alternatives or deterrents to convince squirrels to stay out of the bird feeder. Here are some steps for doing just that:

Buy the Right Seed

Birds, like people, are selective – even picky – when it comes to food. To attract the most birds to your feeder, buy the best seed possible. Many commercial feed mixes contain cheap filler seeds like red milo that most songbirds just don’t like. They’ll sort through the undesirable mix to get to the “good stuff” – and leave the rest in the feeder or on the ground. What the birds won’t eat, the squirrels will love, so reducing the waste will help reduce your feeder’s appeal for squirrels.

Opt for a mix from Cole’s Wild Bird Products that offers birds select natural seed choices specially formulated just for them. Cole’s feed is comprised of top-of-the-crop seeds pulled from the top 1 to 2 percent of every crop. The complete line of wild bird feed was developed and based on factual research about what birds really eat.

Also, avoid brands that wash or coat the seeds with chemicals and mineral oil to make the seed look more appealing to humans. Cole’s feed is kept as close to a natural state as possible.

Finally, select seed mixes that attract specific types of birds. A good mix will contain seeds that appeal to bright favorites like goldfinches, woodpeckers, cardinals and bluebirds, as well as colorful migrating species.

Birds are like people; give them what they like to eat and they’ll keep coming back – and they’ll bring their friends. For more information on Cole’s products visit www.coleswildbird.com/products.html.

On to the Squirrels

Squirrels need not be an inevitable element of bird feeding. Love them or loathe them, most birders agree they don’t want squirrels in the feeder, where they can damage the feeder itself and devour seed meant for the birds.

One alternative is to stock your feeder with a seed that the birds will love, but squirrels will hate. Squirrels will eat just about anything you put out for birds … anything except Cole’s Hot Meats. Cole’s infuses top quality sunflower meats with an exclusive Habanero chili pepper and Safflower oil that birds find delicious but squirrels simply hate. The blend is a safe, effective and a humane way to feed the birds and not the squirrels.

Another option is to serve the squirrels something they’ll find even more appealing than bird seed. It is possible to enjoy both the squirrels and the birds in your back yard if you lure them away from the feeder. Squirrels love whole, dried corn-on-the-cob and loose dried corn. Cole’s offers Critter Munchies, a blend of whole yellow corn, striped sunflower, peanuts in the shell, black oil sunflower and raw peanuts. Provide Critter Munchies on an open platform style feeder, an ear of dried corn on a stick, or even a stake (or pinecone) coated with peanut butter, and hopefully squirrels will be less of a problem at the bird feeding station.

Finally, if you just can’t stand the bushy-tailed pests in your back yard, consider an organic solution that sends them packing safely and effectively. Messina Wildlife Management’s Squirrel Stopper is an OMRI certified 100 percent organic animal repellent. Easily applied in a ready-to-use spray bottle, it dries clear, has a pleasant aroma and works for 30 days before reapplication is needed, no matter the weather. Spray it around your feeder and the squirrels will stay clear. It won’t harm the squirrels or the birds. For information of Squirrel Stopper, and the full line of Messina’s pest repellents visit: www.messinawildlife.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – What winter traveler can resist the attraction of a small cabin deep in snow-swept woods at dusk, lit and warmed by a crackling fire and framed by two overstuffed chairs and a tray of snacks on the hearth? Indeed, a welcome sight on any blustery evening. This could be the site of a well-stocked bird feeder to the feathered visitors of our wintry backyards.

Winter provides a unique opportunity to attract various wildlife to your yard while lending the chance to be a small but integral contributor to the local food cycle.

The winter view from your home does not need to be bleak. As you move indoors for the season, the time is right to either place or reposition backyard or porch bird feeders within an easy sight line of windows to provide comfortable inside viewing of birding activity. Providing more than one type of feeder at differing heights will invite a greater variety of birds. For example, a raised feeder, five to 15 feet above the ground, will attract evening grosbeaks and finches, while feeders closer to the ground tend to draw doves and sparrows.

Whatever the season, however, always remember to consider the ever-present competition from the local squirrel population for the food you put out. Descending chain feeders are a more ready squirrel deterrent than poled platform feeders. Regardless of the feeder you use, you can often retro-fit a variety of squirrel guards to your feeder to tilt the food competition toward your small flying friends.

Once you have positioned your feeders for easy viewing from the inside, then comes the all-important enticement of food. Not unlike us, different foods attract different types of birds. And higher quality foods lend even more reason for feathered visitors to make your feeders part of their daily stops.

When considering what type of foods to put out, try to stay away from common generic mixes. Lower-priced mixes are often not a bargain, as they contain various fillers, like red milo, which almost all birds discard. Buying higher-quality seed mixes or individual seeds that end up being a complete food to birds are the best value. Sunflowers are a universally popular choice. They attract cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, goldfinches, purple finches, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches. Black sunflowers are a particular treat for birds, as the oilier shell is easier to crack and they are also usually cheaper than the traditional gray and white striped sunflowers we most often recognize.

The use of safflower seed will further differentiate your visitors as this small white seed attracts chickadees, downy woodpeckers, cardinals and titmice, while repelling grackles, blue jays and starlings who often keep smaller birds away from feeders. Another excellent individual seed is niger or thistle. While this seed is a bit more expensive, it provides a high-energy meal full of oil and calories. Thistle is often the meal of choice for finches, one of the most colorful of birds to observe. If you don’t want to mess with putting out individual seeds, the best option is to simply buy a good premium blend of wild bird seed. Premium blends contain quality ingredients and are an appealing food source.

“Providing high-energy bird food is more critical in the winter, when natural food supplies are not as accessible, and no food is better suited to high-energy winter feeding than quality suet,” says Tony Vahedian, vice president of ScottsMiracleGro’s wild bird food division. Suet is a high-fat food that is readily affordable in various size cakes and easily inserted in matching wire-mesh feeders to keep larger tree animals out. Scotts Songbird Selections suet, available in February 2008, is an example of a new high-quality suet bird food. You can be sure to see colorful woodpeckers and blue jays visiting your suet feeders.

Finally, if you like to attend to your feeders daily, remember to sprinkle affordable white millet along the ground and you’ll be sure to spot snacking mourning doves, sparrows and juncos.

Winter doesn’t have to be a dreary, bleak landscape outside our windows. This year, provide some winter entertainment by making your yard like that little cabin in the woods — an enticing stopover spot for the nourishment of our feathered backyard friends.

For more information on bird feeding, visit www.scotts.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – Bold, biting, venom injecting, habitat invasive and just plain annoying, ants come in hundreds of varieties and are on the march across the United States. Fire ants are the worst. Their bite stings and massive numbers swarming over a young child playing in the backyard can cause death.

Fire ants, originally concentrated in the southern United States, are moving north possibly because of global warming. Fire ants are now found in the Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico and other areas never inhabited until now.

Major efforts are underway to stop them. Texas farmers, for example, say Fire ants build huge porous dirt mounds up to five feet deep and two feet high in pastures and fields posing a threat to wandering livestock. Some enterprising Texas farmers have attacked Fire ants with mobile homemade cone shaped microwave contraptions that sit on top of an ant mound and cook the inhabitants inside until they perish.

The process, however, is time consuming and the ants spread faster than the farmers can keep up with them. This leads us to research by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at toxic waste dumps in Idaho where ants burrow as much as 20-feet deep in the ground, carrying buried waste to the surface.

Dr. Douglas Halford, head of the Environmental Surveillance Program (ESER), which assesses, among other things, radio-ecological issues involving toxic waste sites and the possibility of ant-spread contaminants.

Asked what effect radioactive materials have on the ants themselves, Dr. Halford says only extremely high doses of radiation affects ants. Ants, he says, are like cockroaches and other invertebrates, which are almost immune to radiation.

While ants may be capable of unearthing toxic waste, their soil moving habits are also important components of our natural ecosystem. They aerate the soil, spread seeds, release moisture and prey on other, less desirable insects.

The ants themselves are a food source for many animals including birds, bears and fish. Poisonous frogs, it is said, may develop their toxin from feeding on fire ants. Of concern is whether toxic-waste carrying ants can spread such toxins up the food chain to man.

There are 12,000 kinds of ants in the world and their combined weight is higher then the combined weight of all people on the earth. The size of an ant’s brain is bigger than any other insect brain and certain parts of the ant brain functions like the grey matter of human brains. In fact, an ant’s brain may have the same processing power as a late model Macintosh computer.

So, how do you control ants? The Chinese figured it out 2,000 years ago. China has more ants than any other place on earth. The Chinese use a nontoxic powder made from crushed petrified one-celled animals called diatoms that grew in lakes millions of years ago. This powder cuts and dehydrates ants that walk across it and they carry it into their burrows.

Because the powder is a mechanical control, ants don’t become immune to it as they do to chemical pesticides. Commonly known as diatomaceous earth, this powder is produced in the United States and sold in garden shops and hardware stores under a variety of brand names including AntEater Kitchen Bug Powder, Insect dust, and D.E.

Select one that carries the Organic Material Review Institute (OMRI) label. Products that display the OMRI Seal contain no toxic ingredients or petro-chemical insecticides. Another consumer product awareness seal, called “Pet Approved,” means the product is safe for dogs, cats and other pets.

For more information visit www.milkyspore.com or for a free brochure call (800) 801-0061.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – As surely as spring will soon arrive, so will the critters that drive you crazy — moles and voles. Make this the year you send them packing before they can cause damage in your yard.

First, an attack plan for dealing with voles. They are herbivores that if left unchecked will attack flower bulbs and eat the roots from underneath garden plants. Stopping voles can be accomplished simply by placing a six-inch deep perimeter of sharp rocks around your garden or other plantings. They don’t have the clawing power to burrow through rocks, so if a barrier exists, voles will go elsewhere.

Dealing with moles, on the other hand, will take a lot more effort. Through the years, homeowners have tried everything from throwing balls of pre-chewed gum into mole tunnels to thrusting sharp pronged pitchforks into mole tunnels, to no avail.

Want to get rid of them once and for all? Try a two-pronged approach. First apply non-toxic Holy Moley, a granular product from St. Gabriel Organics, to your lawn with a fertilizer spreader to drive the moles away.

Since you don’t want to leave anything to chance, destroy their favorite food source too. Moles snack on earthworms, and other underground insects like beetle grubs, but they are attracted to grubs more then anything else.

A survey of mole problems by the University of Missouri found that moles consume up to 80 percent of their body weight each day. In the stomach of one mole, researchers found the remains of 187 grubs.

To eliminate the grubs in your yard, apply Milky Spore, also from St. Gabriel Laborato-ries, to your lawn. It is guaranteed to eliminate grubs quickly and efficiently, and once applied, will remain viable in the soil for ten years. The spores in the product will not kill beneficial insects such as earthworms and one application keeps working for many seasons, unaffected by freezing or pesticides.

Both Holy Moley and Milky Spore are pet approved by veterinarians and neither will af-fect wells, ponds or streams. For more information on Holy Moley and Milky Spore or to purchase, call St. Gabriel Organics at (800) 801-0061 or visit www.MilkySpore.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – Temperatures are on the rise, more kids are playing outside, and before you know it, gardens will be flourishing. All these signs point to one glorious time of year — spring. For people living in predominantly southern regions of the United States, spring also means that fire ants are back in force.

Fire ants, an unfortunately common pest in about 15 states, are both a nuisance and a health risk. Taking up residence in yards, sidewalks, playgrounds, and electricity boxes, fire ants are most active during the spring season. With warm, humid air and occasional rain showers, a welcoming environment for fire ants is created.

Spring is the perfect opportunity for fire ants to begin working on their mounds. During this time, winged fire ants begin the task of starting new colonies and foragers start doing some work near the surface of the soil. Ants are out looking for food and traveling from yard to yard — so now is the best time to stop these pests in their tracks.

“It is extremely important to treat before the fire ants divide into new colonies,” says Neal Denton, extension agent and county director with the University of Tennessee. “In order to do so, you must get to them early in the spring before they are first waking up.”

Building mounds in areas where humans come in frequent, direct contact with them, fire ants are a threat to families, children and pets. The best way to combat fire ants is to use a broadcast treatment over your entire yard. Broadcast treatments, such as Over ‘n Out Fire Ant Killer, eliminate mounds and ants that can’t be seen. This method is a sure-fire way to gain control and the treatment creates a fire ant-free zone in as little as three weeks.

The broadcast treatment can be distributed by a spreader across the whole yard. Once the Over ‘n Out Fire Ant Killer has been administered, control of fire ants lasts all year long, with results visible in as few as three days.

For homeowners looking to go the extra mile and stamp out fire ants in an entire neighborhood, collaboration between neighbors is essential for a continued and concurrent effort to treat for fire ants.

“Neighborhood programs are extremely valuable in controlling fire ants,” says Denton. “To stop fire ants from spreading from one yard to the next, an entire neighborhood can work together and use a broadcast treatment that is more effective than treating a spot here and there.”

Studies have shown that areas with diligent neighborhood programs, where multiple homeowners treat their property at the same time with the same treatment, can reduce the number of active mounds by as much as 96 percent. Neighborhood programs are a proven method to prevent fire ant infestations, making communities safer for everyone. But for many fire ant experts, lapses in successful neighborhood suppression programs are as irritating as a fire ant sting.

“There are a number of benefits to neighborhood programs,” says Tim Davis, fire ant
suppression specialist with Clemson (S.C.) University. “The larger the treated area, the longer the dormant period lasts. A coordinated effort between neighbors makes the treated areas bigger, making it harder for fire ants to re-colonize.”

For more information about fire ants visit www.FireAntFree.com or the FireRANT! blog at http://blog.TheFireRant.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – When the news first hit, it sounded like something out of a Hitchcockian nightmare: a build up of pigeon droppings may have contributed to the collapse of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Mona Zemsky may have been one of the few people who didn’t gasp in disbelief.

“The corrosive effects of bird droppings are commonly known, especially in industries where facilities managers regularly deal with bird infestations,” says Zemsky, a technical consultant for Bird-X, Inc., a 44-year-old Chicago company that specializes in bird and pest control products. “And anyone who’s ever failed to quickly remove bird feces from their car knows first hand the damage it can cause.”

In Minnesota, department of transportation workers found pigeon droppings obscured their ability to inspect the doomed I-35W bridge as early as 1994 and as recently as last year, according to reports in the Star Tribune. The Associated Press reported that experts believe the droppings may have helped the bridge’s steel beams rust faster.

While many people may be aware of the health concerns associated with bird droppings, fewer fully understand the physical damage droppings can do to man-made structures. Across a broad spectrum of industries, birds cause big problems — and cost big bucks. At the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, for example, cleaning up after interloping pigeons cost more than $100,000 per season, according to the stadium’s manager. Bird guano corrodes not only metal, but a number of building materials, including concrete, stone, tar shingles and brick.

“We have worked with everyone from homeowners, churches, universities and airports, to courthouses, municipal buildings, warehouses, departments of transportation, golf courses, bus terminals and transit stations dealing with bird infestations,” Zemsky says. The key to success for all of them has been finding the right combination of non-lethal methods to convince birds to relocate.

“Killing the birds does not solve the problem,” she says. As long as a location remains attractive to birds, others will move in after the initial group is eradicated. Successful deterrents convince invading birds that an area is no longer safe or desirable, or hinder their ability to comfortably roost in an area.

Many groups dealing with large, outdoor structures opt for sound, physical barriers or in the case of a particularly stubborn situation, a combination of both.

Ultrasonic repellers feature sound waves that are inaudible to humans but highly offensive to birds. They work well in semi-enclosed locations, like under a bridge, where the structure can reverberate and amplify the sound.

Sonic devices use actual bird distress cries and predator calls. These devices work for larger areas and can cover up to six acres. Multiple sounds and programmable settings allow the user to vary the bird-scaring soundtrack for optimum impact.

“The most effective products have variable settings and multiple sounds,” Zemsky says. “Sound deterrents that repeat only one or a limited set of sounds are ineffective because the birds can adapt to the repetition. If the sound frequency, volume or type is constantly changing, it distresses the birds and they’ll leave the area.”

Physical barriers are often the gold standard for bird deterrent systems, as this is a one-time permanent installation providing decades of bird-free facilities.. Mesh netting, made of polyethylene or polypropylene, is more effective and long-lived than ever. Easy to install, the netting is virtually invisible from a distance, making it a good choice for structures that are architecturally appealing. Stainless steel bird spikes that prevent birds from alighting on any surface, or non-toxic tacky gels that make roosting uncomfortable for birds are also ideal long-term choices, Zemsky says.

“Everyone’s needs are different, so they will solve their problems in different ways,” she adds. “For example, an electric powered sound device may not be practical for a large structure where there isn’t easy access to electrical power. In those cases, a physical roost barrier might be a better choice.”

Bird-X, Inc. offers complimentary counseling on deterrent technologies. For more information or advice, visit www.bird-x.com or call (800) 662-5021.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

HONG KONG – In an epic culinary clash in Antarctic waters, whale defenders are managing to stay the harpoons of Japanese hunters.

The Japanese government said Monday that its state-sponsored whaling fleet had stopped hunting after 10 days of harassment by the environmental activist groups Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary near Australia.

Greenpeace said its vessel Esperanza had driven the Japanese processing ship Nisshin Maru out of the hunting grounds after a high-speed chase over hundreds of miles.

Without the factory boat, Japanese harpoon boats have ceased activities, as they have no way of processing their catch.

Clashes between vessels from the whale-hunting countries Japan, Iceland and Norway and their two nemeses, Greenpeace, which uses peaceful means, and the more aggressive Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which has sunk whaling boats, have been an annual ritual for more than two decades. But this year has shaped up as especially confrontational following Japan’s announcement in November that it would target for the first time 50 humpback whales, only to reverse itself a month later under pressure from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and the European Union.

Greenpeace’s victory came after the resolution of a tense three-day standoff in which two Sea Shepherd Conservation Society activists were detained aboard the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2. Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane had boarded the Japanese boat to deliver a warning letter to the Japanese crew. They were released after the Australian government intervened.

Crew members of the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin also threw bottles of foul-smelling butyric acid on the deck of the Yushin Maru No. 2, seeking to prevent the Japanese whalers from working.

Read More:Forbes.com

(ARA) – Goose poop is no laughing matter. With each bird capable of producing a pound or more of feces per day, it doesn’t take long for a fair-sized flock to render a location unwalkable by humans. Not only do the droppings make for an unpleasant environment, they pose a slip and fall hazard, and are a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.

Goose removal has become a multi-million-dollar industry, and it’s not just golf courses, industrial parks and airports who patronize it. Homeowners are fighting the flocks as well, striving to preserve their enjoyment of their homes and the value of their investment.

Still, says Mona Zemsky, a technician with Bird-X, a company that has helped convince millions of Canada Geese to move along during its 44 years in business, “No one bears the birds any ill will.”

“The geese are just doing what comes naturally, and looking for a safe, secure home,” says Zemsky. “No one wants to see them harmed for that. People just want the birds to move somewhere that they won’t cause a problem for humans.”

If you’re fighting the goose . . . er “good” fight, keep in mind the following goose-busting facts, courtesy of the experts at Bird-X:

* Experts estimate that at any given time there are 3.5 million to 5.5 million non-migrating Canada Geese living in the United States. Another 9 million to 11 million migrate in every spring and fall.

* Canada Geese range throughout North America, but are particularly troublesome in the northeast and upper Midwest.

* Geese are looking for water, food, lush greens and a safe, easy place to raise their families. The most successful removal techniques involve convincing the geese that a location no longer is safe and comfortable for them.

* Geese have excellent memories and will return to the same spot year after year unless they are convinced to go elsewhere.

* Demand is high for relocation techniques that do not harm the birds or the environment. In fact, in many areas of the country, it is illegal to harm Canada Geese or their eggs in the removal process. Some municipalities place restrictions on the use of chemicals in goose removal. “In fact, lethal or harmful methods are actually counter-productive,” Zemsky says. “Nature abhors a vacuum and if you don’t alter the location’s desirability to geese, new geese will flock to fill the void. Furthermore, harming geese probably won’t improve relations with the neighbors.”

* Successful removal techniques prey upon geese’s instinctive fears. This is why products like Bird-X’s Goose Buster, which drives birds away using recordings of actual goose distress calls, or the Gator Guard, which makes the birds think a predator is present, work well. In fact, geese instinctively respond to the Gator Guard, a life-size, lifelike replica of an alligator head, even in regions where alligators do not live – and where geese may never have seen a live one.

“The best approach is one that motivates birds on three levels – sound, sight and taste,” says Zemsky. “The Goose Buster makes noise that frightens the birds away. The Gator Guard gives a visual cue that an area is ‘unsafe.’ And Goose Chase, a biodegradable food-grade agent made from the bitter-tasting, smelly part of concord grapes, makes food sources such as grass and ponds unpalatable to the birds.”

To learn more about effective goose removal products and techniques that are also environmentally conscious, visit www.bird-x.com/ARA or call (800) 662-5021.

Courtesy of ARAcontent