From the "Build a Better Mousetrap" Files:

[MorganGrayson]

And, to totally make my day, this was the article right under that one:

Goose Poop a Problem for Oakland Parkgoers

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Piles of goose poop at a city lake have officials struggling to find a way to clean up the mess for picnicking parkgoers.

Full-time resident Canada geese arrived at the city's Lake Merritt in 1954 when several injured birds were introduced to the refuge. Their numbers have exploded in the past 20 years to at least 200 regulars, with some 2,000 geese descending on the park each summer, according to the National Audubon Society.

"Each bird produces about a pound of poop a day - that's literally a ton each day," said Stephanie Benavidez, head naturalist at the Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge.

It's a staggering problem that has Oakland and other cities trying to figure out how to chase away the geese without running afoul of the Federal Migratory Bird and Endangered Species acts that protect many of the birds that live alongside the geese at Lake Merritt, which covers 150 acres.

"The goose droppings on the lawn have pretty much made the lawns unusable to families who want to have picnics or use the park with their children," said Councilwoman Pat Kernighan, who represents the area. "It's very hard for people to use the park for recreation."

Some cities have tried planting grass varieties that Canada geese won't eat, or spraying lawns with chemicals geese find distasteful. Others have tried erecting fences to keep the geese out of areas reserved for people.

Chasing the birds away is another popular trick. Cities hire firms with names like Goosebusters or Wild Goose Chase, which use dogs - trained to harass, not harm, geese - to chase the birds away.

But critics worry that using dogs in Oakland could harm other bird species, such as egrets, mallards and herons.


Apparently, hogs create "manure," while geese produce "poop." Interesting.