Cincinnati’s mean geese: What can you do about them?

Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WHEN YOU THINK OF DANGEROUS ANIMALS, MOST OF US DON’T THINK OF GEESE UNTIL YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED THIS SOME GEESE CAN BE INTIMIDATING AND DOWN RIGHT MEA JUST ASK JEREMY JOHNSON AND HIS WIFE REBECCA, WHO FOR WEEKS FELT TRAPPED INSIDE THEIR WEST CHESTER HOME. >> EVERY MORNING WHEN I WOULD COME OUT, SHE WOULD MAKE HERSELF LOOK AS BIG AS SHE COULD AND SHE WOULD TRY TO SCARE MY CA SHEREE: IT WAS JUST ONE GOOSE, A FEMALE WHO DECIDED HER BIRTHING SUITE WAS GOING TO BE RIGHT OUTSIDE THEIR FRONT DOOR >> MY KIDS SHOULD BE ABLE TO COME OUT AND PLAY, AND THEY COULDN’T DO THAT. SHEREE: THE PROBLEM IS SO BAD THAT DOZENS AND DOZENS OF LOCA PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE LOOK AT ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO’VE FILED COMPLAINTS JUST THIS YEAR. JEREMY WAS ONE OF THEM, AND HE QUICKLY FOUND OUT HIS GOOSE WAS COOKED. GETTING RID OF HIS FEATHERED FRIEND OR FOES WASN’T GOING BE EASY. >> THEY CAN LAY UP TO 12 EGGS, ONE A DAY, SO IT WAS GOING TO BE TWO WEEKS BEFORE SHE WAS EVEN DONE, AND ANOTHER FOUR WEE AFTER THAT BEFORE THEY EVEN HATCHED. SHEREE: THE GOOSE WAR IS HAPPENING ALL OVER GREATER CINCINNATI. CANADA GEESE ARE FEDERALLY PROTECTED, SO YOU CAN’T CAPTURE THEM, AND YOU NEED A PERMIT TO GET RID OF A NEST OR THE EGG WHICH IS WHY ACROSS THE RIVER AT THOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY, WHERE GEESE USED TO RULE THE ROOST, THEY CALLED IN A FOUR LEGGED DETERRENT. >> GET THEM CHARLIE. SHEREE: THIS IS CHARLIE. AND HIS ONLY JOB ON CAMPUS IS TO RUFFLE SOME FEATHERS >> ANYTIME WE SEE A PROBLEM, WHETHER THE BASEBALL COACH SAYS HEY, THERE’S SOME GEESE ON THE FIELD. CAN YOU TAKE CARE OF THAT? CHARLIE GOES INTO WORK AND DOES WHAT HE DOES BEST, WHICH IS SEND THE GEESE IN EVERY DIRECTION SHEREE: GETTING RID OF GEESE IS SO TEDIOUS MOST ANIMAL CONTROL OPERATORS WON’T DEAL WITH THEM. STAN CUSTER IS ONE OF THE ON GEESE GITTERS IN TOWN. >> PAGE LOOK PAGE LOOK. SHEREE STAN GAVE UP HIS WELDING JOB. >> THEY’RE JUST MEAN AND ANGRY THIS TIME OF YEAR. SHEREE: AND FOR THE LAST 18-YEARS, HE’S MADE A LIVING KEEPING HOMES, BUSINESSES AN PARKS GEESE-FREE. >> IT CAN BE A TERRIBLE PROBLEM. ESPECIALLY, I DO A STRIP MALL AND THE GEESE ALL NEST RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOORS. THEN THEY WANT TO ATTACK THE PEOPLE, AS THEY’RE GUARDING THEIR NEST. SHEREE: STAN HAS FIVE BORDER COLLIES, AND EVERY DAY THEY TRAVEL ALL OVER GREATER CINCINNATI FIGHTING FOWL. >> WE DON’T WANT THEM TO STOP BREEDING. I MEAN, GEESE ARE MY MONEY. I JUST WANT THEM TO GO NEST AT A PARK, OR DOWN AT THE RIVER AWAY FROM PARKING LOTS AND AWAY FROM PEOPLE SHEREE: JEREMY AND REBECCA FINALLY GOT RID OF THEIR GOOSE BY GETTING A PERMIT AND REMOVING THE NEST, BUT THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN THE DAY AFTER OUR INTERVIEW. THEIR GOOSE PROBLEM JUST BECAME THE NEIGHBOR’S PROBLEM. THERE SHOULDN’T BE A DECISION BETWEEN MY CHILDREN OR THESE GEESE. AS MUCH AS I LOVE WILDLIFE SHEREE: OK. SO WHAT CAN YOU DO EITHER CONTACT YOUR DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. YOU HAVE TO FILL OUT A PERMIT TO BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE EGGS OR NEST, OR FIND A WILDLIFE CONTROL OPERATOR. BUT THIS PROCESS ISN’T CHEAP BECAUSE IT TYPICALLY TAK MULTIPLE VISITS. YOU’RE LOOKING AT $30-$50 PER VISIT FOR A HOME BUT A BUSINESS WITH A FLOCK OF GEESE CAN COST HUNDREDS EVEN THOUSANDS OF DOL

Advertisement Cincinnati’s mean geese: What can you do about them? Share Shares Copy Link Copy

There's a growing geese problem around Greater Cincinnati, and it's a much bigger issue than just dodging their droppings at your local park.By April of this year, more than 140 people had filed complaints with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.The complaints come from homeowners, school officials and business owners, grumbling about goose problems. Some saying they were attacked by an angry, violent goose, hissing and pecking at them.Jeremy Johnson and his wife Rebecca were among the families reaching out to the ODNR for help and guidance. For weeks, they felt trapped inside their West Chester home."Every morning when I would come out, she would make herself look as big as she could and she would try to scare my car. So it took me five minutes to even leave my driveway," Jeremy Johnson said of a goose outside of his home.It was just one goose, a female, who decided her birthing suite was going to be right outside their front door.Rebecca Johnson was really worried about their two sons."My kids should be able to come out and play and they couldn't do that," Rebecca Johnson said.Jeremy Johnson quickly found out his goose was cooked. Getting rid of his feathered friend-- or in this case, foe --wasn't going to be easy."They can lay up to 12 eggs, one a day. So it was going to be two weeks before she was even done and another four weeks after that before they even hatched," Jeremy Johnson said.The goose war is happening all over greater Cincinnati. Canada geese are federally protected.You can't capture or hurt them, or you'll face a hefty fine. You'll need a permit to get rid of a nest or its eggs.Across the river at Thomas More University -- where geese used to rule the roost -- they called in a four-legged deterrent.Thomas More invested thousands of dollars in Charlie. He's a border collie trained specifically to ruffle some feathers."Any time we see a problem -- if the baseball coach says, 'Hey, there's some geese on the field. Can you guys take care of that?' --Charlie goes into work and does what he does best, which is send the geese in every direction," said Bill Wilson, the safety director at Thomas More.Getting rid of geese is tedious.Most animal control operatorswon't deal with them.Stan Custer with Geese Management Services travels all over Greater Cincinnati. Geese are his expertise.He's one of the only "geese-gitters" in town."They're just mean and angry this time of year," Custer said.Custergave up his welding job. For the past 18 years, he's made a living keeping homes, businesses and parks geese-free."It can be a terrible problem. I do a strip mall and the geese all nest right next to the doors.Then they want to attack the people as they're guarding their nest."Custer has five border collies. Every day, they travel all over greater Cincinnati fighting fowl.Custer says the bird-lovers out there needn't worry."We don't want them to stop breeding. I mean, geese are my money. I just want them to go nest at a park or down at the river, awayfrom parking lots and away from people."The Johnsons finally got rid of their goose by getting a permit and removing the nest. But the goose is winning.It just moved to their neighbor's home.Jeremy Johnson said it's frustrating as a homeowner."There shouldn't be a decision between my children or these geese -- as much as I love wildlife," he said.So what can you do? You can contact your Department of Natural Resources. You'll have to fill out a permit to be able to remove the eggs or nest or find a wildlife control operator to do so. The process isn't cheap. It typically takes multiple visits by a professional.You're looking at $30-50 per visit for a home. A business with a flock of geese can wind up spending hundreds --even thousands -- of dollars.