Alligator decoys were installed in the moat outside Allyn Hall to guard the campus from geese and their droppings, according to Physical Plant Director Jeff Trick.
Physical plant added three alligator head decoys to the body of water outside the Hangar on May 15. The fake alligators are meant to frighten geese and prevent them from soiling the moat and the surrounding areas, Trick said.
The decoys were purchased from Grainger Industrial Supply and priced at 83 dollars each.
An alligator head works in part by the way it looks and moves, according to pondusa.com. The skin is made from a high quality rubber material and the mirrored eyes flash in the sun. The alligator heads are lightweight, which allows them to bounce along with the water with a life-like motion. The mobility of the decoys denies the geese the ability to notice a fixed pattern, thus frightening them and deterring them from the area.
Trick said that WSU implements other strategies to help eliminate problems caused by geese on campus. The university currently uses a chemical repellent to ward off the intrusive geese. The repellent is sprayed throughout the campus. This method works decently, but it washes away with rain and is very expensive, according to Trick.
Trick said the Physical Plant ground staff is also permitted to addle the eggs in the nests. Addling eggs is a method that involves poking a small hole in the egg while the mother is away from the nest. This results in the egg dying and prevents the mother goose from returning to the area the following year.
The egg addling is the current long-term solution in the process of ridding the campus of the geese, Trick said. The goose removal is a trial and error process for Physical plant. In the past, Physical Plant tried to float swan decoys in the moat. Trick said the swans were ineffective and eventually stolen.
Physical plant also tried to heavily chlorinate in hopes to irritate the wading geese. However, the geese did not seem to mind the added chemicals, according to Trick.
Trick said that the new alligator decoys seem to keep the geese out of the water, but the geese still seem to hang around the ledge of the moat.
