INDIANAPOLIS — Canada geese are big, pretty birds when seen from far away, but when they get close to people they cause big problems.
"Well, they poop every step they take," said Shirely Perry, president of the Windham Lakes Homeowner's Association. "They make a big mess and they do attack people, especially when they are nesting."
So, Perry's neighborhood turned to Kathy Petrere and her dogs.
Petrere runs Geese Wranglers, a business that specializes in removing and managing Canada geese.
"You want to make the property less attractive to geese," Petrere said. "These geese can go somewhere else and make a nest where people don’t care."
Petrere and her dogs harass geese and destroy nests until the birds learn to stay away from business parks, golf courses and other properties.
Geese and people don't mix well. The birds are known to hiss, honk and attack people who wander too close.
And geese are messy.
A single adult Canada goose produces up to three pounds of waste every day, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
Petrere and her dogs visited Perry's northwest-side neighborhood on Thursday to remove two geese nesting near a pond.
The nest was on a tiny strip of land, too small for her dogs to help. Petrere used a black-and-white umbrella to fend off goose attacks as she destroyed the nest and removed five eggs.
Perry said the neighborhood hired Petrere about 10-years-ago.
"When I first came to Windham Lake in 2000, there were about 100 geese in here," Perry said. "Now, we've got very few."
Some might think this is cruel, but the Humane Society of the United States says harassing geese, addling eggs and removing nests are the best ways to deter geese.
Geese like to nest in urban areas near ponds where they have lots of food and few natural predators, Petrere said.
The birds aren't very bright, Petrere said, and it can take some time before they learn this particular property isn't a good place to nest.
Just like all migratory birds, geese are federally protected. It's generally illegal to kill them except during hunting season or with a special permit.
Hiring Petrere is too expensive for an average homeowner. She provides a long-term plan, including regular visits with the dogs to harass geese.
Homeowners can legally remove nests and eggs on their own property, but they must first fill out an online form and get a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
If you are brave enough to try, Petrere suggests fending the birds off with an umbrella or a green laser pointer.
Green only, she said. Other colors don't work.
Managers of a downtown Indianapolis building called on Geese Wranglers this week to remove a nest on a roof. Petrere arrived, climbed a ladder and found the nest.
The eggs had hatched and inside the nest were six goslings.
"I'll have to go chase the parent off," Petrere said, after a climb down the ladder.
Water fowl can't be fed like other baby birds, Petrere said. These goslings will starve to death before they are old enough to fly to a river or pond.
"If they're not rescued, they die because they can't get off the roof," Petrere said.
Petrere climbed up, used a green laser pointer to scare off an adult goose, then captured the goslings in a bag to bring them down the ladder.
A short while later, the parents returned — honking and looking for their missing babies.
"Yes," Petrere said. "There they are."
Opening a mesh bag, she released the goslings on the grass as the momma and papa stood a short distance away.
Six chirping yellow balls waddled straight to their parents.
If the adults hadn't come back, Petrere would have taken the goslings to a wildlife rescue organization.
"So, now they're going to be raised by their parents," she said, "Which is much better than being raised by humans."
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on X/Twitter: @vicryc.
