Bird-X Goose Chase / Bird Shield Testing Information For Use On: 1. Apples 2. Cherries 3. Grapes 4. Blueberries 5. Corn 6. Sunflowers 7. Water 8. Structures 9. Rice 10. Turf & Ornamentals 1. Apples Field trials on apples were conducted in Orondo, Washington. Three control blocks were sampled but not treated. Five similar blocks were sampled and treated with Goose Chase / Bird Shield(tm). Random trees within each block were checked for bird damage before treatment. Damage was defined as a pecked, partially consumed, or removed apple. The blocks to be treated were sprayed by air with one, two, and four quart concentrations of Goose Chase / Bird Shield(tm) in ten gallons of water, per acre. Both fixed wing and helicopter spraying was used. Two weeks after treatment the blocks were again checked for damage. Allowing for pretreatment damage, the untreated blocks averaged 20.3 per cent damage, while the treated blocks averaged 1.15 per cent damage. The optimum treatment rate was two quarts per acre, though significant control was achieved at half that rate, and somewhat better control at one gallon. Similar results were achieved in trials with a tracter drawn ground based air blast sprayer using 100 gallons of water per acre to achieve coverage, however it was necessary to use approximately twice as much Goose Chase / Bird Shield(tm) to obtain the same results.
2. Bird Control in Cherries One grower, near Moses Lake, Washington, reported that his pack-out increased from an average of 72% over the last several years to 92% this season. The remaining 8% were culled for bruises and harvest damage. Another grower, near Wenatchee, Washington, only used one application just as the cherries were beginning to turn straw color. His reason? The repellent drove all of the birds out of the 10-acre orchard and never returned. These, as well as other reports received from growers during the year at various conferences and shows, indicate that the early applications of the repellent, when the birds first begin to appear, were more effective than applications begun one or two weeks prior to harvest. What Field Research Showed A crop survey, conducted on thirty-four orchards throughout the Pacific Northwest, supported these comments. In thirty-two of the orchards, bird damage to the crop immediately before harvest was limited to less than 1%, primarily along the edges and near roost trees along the perimeter. Field inspections and pack-out comparisons showed a production increase of slightly more than double that of 1996 in the Okanogan region The only exceptions were a 3/4 acre orchard in the middle of a bird sanctuary and a dozen trees around a house where the birds had been fed all winter. Most of the comments made by the growers centered around the lack of birds they were seeing after applying the repellent. Most growers using Goose Chase / Bird Shield tried it on orchards which had a history of significant damage over the last five years. Cautions about using anti-transparents Anti-transparents were reportedly used by several growers prior to and after the repellent was applied to their crops. Those that used an anti-transparent prior to the application of the repellent found no adverse effect. Those that used the anti-transparent after the repellent was applied found that it sealed the repellent to the fruit and adversely affected both the taste and odor of the crop. Therefore it is strongly recommended that if anti-transparents are used, they only be applied prior to the repellent application. Anti-transparents, however, may not be required, as up to 40% reductions in rain cracking have been achieved in controlled field trials. Packing house results Three major packing houses that were concerned about taste and odor problems, reported that the repellent did not adversely effect the pack-outs of fruit that had been treated with Goose Chase / Bird Shield. They cautioned, however, that each grower must be aware of the potential problem, to be sure that no odor or taste remain on the crop before it is picked, and to use antitransparents wisely.
3. Bird Control in Table Grapes Field trials, at the Washington State University Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, show that Goose Chase / Bird Shield repellent is effective in reducing bird damage to table grapes. In these trials, conducted over more than five years, bird damage was reduced up to 98% to all grapes. Damage to untreated grapes ranged from 15% to 78% while damage to the same varieties ranged from a little under 1% to less than 5%. Trials were conducted using rates of 1/4 gallon of concentrate per acre to 1 gallon of concentrate per acre. All were diluted in water to form a 100 gallon tank mix prior to application. All were effective however application rates at 1/2 gallon of concentrate were more efficient by reducing bird damage more than the 1/4 gallon rate and as efficient as the 3/4 and 1.0 gallon rates. Initial applications were made with gasoline-powered back pack sprayers to test the initial efficacy of the product on the crop. Applications to larger areas, from which the data from the graph were derived, were made with ground sprayers. The most efficient application timing was found to be 15 days pre-harvest when sugar content accumulation was at its peak. Quality Post harvest handling of the crop treated with Goose Chase / Bird Shield repellent was reduced by about 98%. Fewer than 5% of the harvested clusters had to be trimmed prior to packing. Almost all of the untreated clusters required inspection and trimming. No adverse effects of the repellent were found on the treated crop. No quality difference, including taste, were found when the treated crop was compared with the untreated crop when picked 15 days post-application. Environmental Effects Goose Chase / Bird Shield breaks down when exposed to sunlight and elevated temperatures. The active ingredient is insoluble in water and once applied can not be removed by rain or water baths. The length of time the product is efficacious depends on the amount of sunlight reaching the crop. Crops under heavy canopies will be protected longer than those exposed to direct sunlight.
4. Bird Control in Blueberries Most high bush blueberry growers limited their use of Goose Chase / Bird Shield to young plantings with heavy bird pressure. A field survey during the season indicated fewer birds, fallen and damaged fruit than adjacent nontreated fields. Bird pressures were significant in large plantings, where only a small portion were treated with the repellent as a trial, than where the entire field was treated. Growers reported significantly higher yields, some as much as 50% more, than prior years. These observations support earlier field trial data on the repellent's efficacy. What Field Research Showed Crop survey conducted on thirty-four fields throughout the Pacific Northwest supported these comments. In thirty-two of the fields bird damage to the crop immediately before harvest was limited to less than 1%; primarily along the edges and near roost trees along the perimeter. The only exceptions were a 1/16th acre field in the middle of a bird sanctuary and a dozen bushes around a house where the birds had been fed all winter. Most of the comments made by the growers centered around the lack of birds they were seeing after applying the repellent. Most growers using Goose Chase / Bird Shield tried it on fields with a history of significant damage over the last five years. Packing house results Three major packing houses, that were concerned about taste and odor problems, reported that the repellent did not adversely effect the pack-outs of fruit that had been treated with Goose Chase / Bird Shield. They cautioned, however, that each grower must be aware of the potential problem and be sure that no odor or taste remain on the crop before it is picked.
5. Bird Control in Corn Goose Chase / Bird Shield (tm) has been found to be effective for controlling bird damage to sweet corn and other varieties of corn. In a tests of 14 corn fields, four were left untreated as controls, and ten were treated either once or twice with Goose Chase / Bird Shield (tm). The untreated fields averaged approximately 75% damage, while the fields treated twice with Goose Chase / Bird Shield (tm) suffered only about 1% damage. Goose Chase / Bird Shield (tm) was most effective when used twice at five day intervals, beginning ten days prior to harvest with one pint of repellent per acre, applied by air, with five gallons of water.
6. Bird Control in Sunflowers Controlling birds in Sunflowers with Goose Chase / Bird Shield repellent has been extremely effective. In fields treated with two, one pint applications of the repellent at seven day intervals damage was reduced to about 3% while the untreated fields sustained damage from 78% to 90%. These figures represent samples of individually harvested heads from which the damage was both measured and the total amount of seed produced weighed. Harvest weights ranged from 133 to 700 lbs./ac. (mean = 344) in the untreated plots while weights ranged from 1430 to 1909 lbs./ac. in the treated plots. No adverse effects were noted with fish or resident populations of ducks when the cattail marshes and waterways were over flown during the application process. For a detailed report see our article on the Efficacy of the aerial application of methyl anthranilate in reducing bird damage to sweet corn, sunflowers and cherries.
7. Water Goose Chase / Bird Shield has been found to be effective in discouraging birds from using fountains, ornamental ponds, rain gutters, cat tail marshes, and other similar areas. In tests on penned geese, the geese were furnished with two artificial ponds for drinking and bathing. Prior to treatment, each pond received about the same usage. Immediately after Goose Chase / Bird Shield was added to one pond, the use of that pond went nearly to zero and stayed that way for the duration of the test. The labeled rate of use in standing water is one gallon of Goose Chase / Bird Shield in 500 gallons of water, however subsequent experience has indicated that Goose Chase / Bird Shield may be effective at much reduced rates, perhaps in the range of one in ten or twenty thousand. It is suggested that the user try a small amount and increase it from time to time until he observes the birds leaving. It is legal to use Goose Chase / Bird Shield at less than the labeled rate, but not more. There are some cautions about using Goose Chase / Bird Shield in water. Tests have shown that Goose Chase / Bird Shield is toxic to certain types of fish. Read the MSDS, available on this web site, for more information. Be sure to use it only in water that is not fish habitat. Second, use it only in standing water, such as fountains or ornamental ponds. In flowing water, the product will not stay around long enough to do any good, and may flow into fish bearing streams. Around ponds, Goose Chase / Bird Shield can be used right down to the high water mark, as tests have shown that it does not relocate and migrate into the water
8. Structures Goose Chase / Bird Shield has been tested and found effective in reducing bird use for nesting and roosting in and upon structures. Original tests were done in five commercial buildings in Lewiston, Idaho. All of the structures had been built between 1880 and 1920, and pigeons had been roosting in them as long as anyone could remember. Prior attempts had been made to remove the pigeons by various means, including trapping and scaring with noise, balloons, and plastic owls. None of these attempts were successful for any reasonable period of time. During these tests, three buildings were treated with a 50% mixture of Goose Chase / Bird Shield and water applied to roosting areas with a hand pump sprayer. On the other two buildings, a similar treatment was made with water only, for comparison. Immediately before the tests, one day, three days, and thirty days after, objective tests of the bird use were made. The number of birds that perched in an area for more than 30 seconds was counted for each building. In the buildings treated with water only, this number did not change significantly over the life of the study. In stark contrast, there was no reportable bird activity observed at the treated buildings. Similar results have been observed for starlings, sparrows, and woodpeckers in other test environments, however it was sometimes necessary to re-treat two or three times in order to obtain complete control.
9. Effective on Rice and Wild Rice In trials conducted on 15 fields in California, rice heads in the untreated control plots averaged only 53.3% as heavy as the heads harvested from plots that were treated twice with Goose Chase / Bird Shield at a rate of one pint per acre. (Chart Below) In field Trials in Panama, Goose Chase / Bird Shield was sprayed over presoaked seed to test its effectiveness in reducing bird predation on sprouting rice. In addition to untreated plots, a number of plots were covered with wire mesh to better judge the effects in an environment of zero bird predation. The results showed Goose Chase / Bird Shield to be effective in increasing the survival rate of sprouts. There were no adverse effects on the crops at harvest. (Chart Below)
10. Turf and Ornamentals Goose Chase / Bird Shield has been tested and found effective in reducing the use of turf (grass) areas by Canada geese. Testing was done in a public park where geese had become so numerous that officials were considering closing the park for health reasons. In these tests, scientists measured the objectionable residue (feces) left behind by grazing geese. This residue was collected, dried, and weighed every two days from one meter squares placed randomly throughout the test areas. Testing was done with a motorized boom sprayer using one gallon of Goose Chase / Bird Shield per acre, in 60 gallons of water. Application is also possible with a hand sprayer or hose-end sprayer, using enough water to get good coverage. After the first treatment, the treated areas showed a 27% decrease in residue. After a second treatment, the treated area showed an 83% reduction in residue. Additional treatments were successful in reducing the permanent goose population from around 3000 geese to about 150. Complete control was not obtained during the testing, however it was observed that the remaining geese had virtually stopped feeding on the grass and were subsisting on handouts from the campers. After four years, the population had not returned to a number that would require re-treatment. During the tests it was found that watering the grass had little effect on the repellency of the product, however mowing had a significant impact. It is therefore suggested that treatment be repeated after each mowing until the geese have left. In treating ornamental trees or bushes, similar results can be expected. Please keep in mind that, particularly for tall trees, the product must be sprayed with enough velocity to reach the top of the tree. The product cannot protect what it does not reach. Spraying should be repeated as needed until the birds stop roosting in the tree or shrub.