Environmental Goose Control

A Big Client with a Big Problem. Over the past 40 years, Dutchtown Nursery has introduced many new methods and ground maintenance solutions. Ten years ago, Johnson & Johnson, a client since 1976, came to us for help with their growing goose population problem. Birds of a feather, apparently did flock together.

A Real Mess to Image and Health. The geese were presenting many environmental and health hazards to both the public and the site. Due to the mild winters, the geese had not migrated and the resulting population continued to rise. The waste treatment ponds were being polluted and presented an unsightly appearance. The geese were also being very destructive to the lawn areas and were transplanting weed seeds from the local farm fields to all of the Class I lawn area.

A Non-traditional Solution that was Nothing to Bark At. Based on our research, we discovered that there was no commonly available and permanent solution to this problem. To satisfy Johnson and Johnson, we needed to invent it ourselves. Frank had experience in raising farm animals. He recalled the use of the Scottish Border Collies as herding dogs and proposed them as a benign method to protect property from geese. We were willing to try anything. We created a full training program that began with herding tame geese and training the dogs not to hurt the birds. After getting quickly acquainted with the dogs and their training, Johnson and Johnson's initial concerns were put at ease.

A Partnership between our employees, the dogs and the client. Our first step in getting the program underway was to select our trainer and dogs and to acquaint them with our staff. Jason worked with our trainer seven days a week to define the program and get it moving as soon as possible. The Border Collies were familiarized with the invisible fence boundaries and they picked up on their duties quickly.

A Solution That Worked. At the start of the program, on any given day, there were approximately 600 to 1,000 geese on the Skillman site. Within weeks, we thinned down the population to approximately 200 and within months, it was down to a dozen. If you were familiar with the Johnson & Johnson Skillman site, our success speaks for itself.

A Safe and Humane Approach that Works For Any Client. Dutchtown Nursery has since expanded and offered our Environment Goose Control Service to commercial properties and country clubs in central New Jersey. Our various programs can be customized to meet your needs.

Each Solution is Unique. Each property needs to be treated individually due to the terrain and surrounding properties. We offer daily tours with a trained dog handler and Border Collies to patrol the entire property -- discouraging the geese from nesting and feeding. In a short period of time the geese become insecure and begin changing there habits and flying patterns. Our programs have proven to be effective in regaining a goose free environment on all our client locations. An accomplishment which might have otherwise proven impossible with the overwhelming and growing geese populations.

Customers for which we have implemented similar partnership arrangements:

• Johnson & Johnson, North Brunswick, N.J.
• NEC Research Institute, Princeton, N.J.
• Cherry Valley Country Club, Princeton N.J.
• Foster Wheeler, Clinton, N.J.
• Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, N.J.
• Ethicon Inc. Somerville, N.J.