On the Job: Paddle-powered pest control

The Predator Paddlers are on the prowl. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE SCHOPEN)

Late last year, my wife, Tami, and I moved from Illinois to Northeast Oklahoma, near Tulsa. We purchased 85 acres, including a nine-acre pond.

I love my pond. I am out there daily, kayaking and fishing for largemouth bass. We have many other forms of wildlife, including crappie, sunfish, catfish, turtles, water snakes, deer, bobcats, blue jays, cardinals, tarantulas, giant cranes and more. I love seeing them all, even the coyotes.

One day in March, however, two Canada geese started to snuggle on the south side of my pond. I tried to ignore them, but they were very loud and obnoxious, pooping everywhere. A few days later, two more geese showed up.

I decided these flying rats, sky carp, hissing cobra chickens — whatever you prefer to call Branta canadensis — needed to go. I bought an airhorn and blasted them from my kayak. After a few days of me harassing them, they got the message and left.

The group, pictured from left, included Joel Garcia, Kenny Battenfield, Al Hughen, TJ Eckert, Terri Sampson, Michael Eckert, Heather Ellis, Brandon Bell, Ann and Mark Runnels, Pete Schopen and Dakota Galey. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE SCHOPEN)

A different kind of bird control

In June, I got a chance to put my kayaking and goose-chasing skills to good use. A friend of mine, Mark Runnels of Predator Impact, recruited me to help him relocate a Canada goose population.

Why kayakers? Runnels explained to me that “in May and June, geese molt and lose their ‘flight’ feathers.” They are basically grounded for about five or six weeks, sticking to whatever water source they chose for the summer. Kayakers, or “paddlers,” as Runnels calls us, gently chase the geese toward a makeshift corral that funnels the dirty birds onto a fenced-in flatbed truck.

Like me, Heather Ellis became a Predator Paddler after she saw an ad on a Tulsa Facebook page. “I wanted to try something beyond the norm,” this middle school counselor told me. I felt the same way, so I signed up immediately and met the crew at LaFortune Park Golf Course in Tulsa.

While Runnels and his wife, Ann, took golf carts to find the geese, the rest of us started the prep work. Under the watchful eye of crew chief Dakota Galey, we put up temporary barricades and netting across a spillway, blocking the birds’ paths. We also used cargo netting to create a funnel that led to a corral. It’s very similar to what you would do with cattle. Runnels and his wife walked the geese to the main pond where a team of paddlers, led by yours truly, were waiting to gently shoo the large birds into the funnel.

Dakota Galey handles an injured goose. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE SCHOPEN)

Relocation is the goal

Each goose job that Predator Impact does during the month of June involves Runnels, his crew and four to six paddlers. Most of his jobs are on golf courses, homeowner associations (HOAs), city parks, government land and cemeteries. The crew relocates the geese to a designated area.

“We never kill the geese,” Runnels reports. “The State of Oklahoma has remote locations where we can drop them off.”

The crew encounters injured birds from time to time, which are picked up by hand. Ann Runnels is licensed in bird handling and helps out on most goose jobs.

Mark Runnels, left, and golf superintendent Scott Schurman chat before the chase begins. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE SCHOPEN)

“I retired from my clerical job a few years ago to help Mark,” she explained.

Why is it important to get the geese off of the golf course? Course superintendent Scott Schurman told me many golfers complain about the feces; some of the weekend duffers even get attacked. Worse still is the economic impact to the course: The geese will chew up the manicured grass, looking for seeds and insects. In the two years since the Runnelses and Predator Impact started the process, complaints have nearly stopped.

“Last year, Mark took out over 200 geese. This year, the number dropped to 64,” Schurman reports. “I love Mark and his team. They are incredibly professional and handle the birds with compassion.”

<p>The post On the Job: Paddle-powered pest control first appeared on Pest Management Professional.</p>

from Pest Management Professional https://www.mypmp.net/2024/08/15/on-the-job-paddle-powered-pest-control/
Sacramento CA