While other communities have unsuccessfully tried border collies, plastic alligators and scarecrows to rid certain areas of nuisance geese, Orland Park has decided to use a little rope and nature.
Village workers have been stringing the rope along the perimeter of the detention ponds to keep geese from wandering out of the water and onto neighboring homeowners’ properties.
“For some reason, the geese won’t hop over the rope,” which will be at a level of about 12 to 18 inches, said village Public Works Director Pete Casey. “It’s just a deterrent.”
The other approach is to allow the grass around the ponds to grow long and natural rather than keeping it short and manicured. Geese will be discouraged from congregating in areas of long natural grass where predators can lurk, Casey said.
Many of the village’s ponds have already been seeded with natural plantings.
About 100 private and public ponds in the village provide a haven for the Canada geese, which are federally protected except for limited hunting in designated rural areas.
The goose population seems to be growing on the lush suburban landscapes, causing a nuisance because of their droppings on parks and sidewalks, Casey said.
“At the Village Hall, we have to wash down the sidewalks because it is very unsightly and slippery,” he said.