Mice in homes leave droppings and urine and are vectors for Hanta virus and Lyme’s disease. This study tested whether ultrasounds from a TRANSONIC PRO, Bird-X Inc. Chicago Il., (hereafter T-PRO) significantly reduced mouse problems in an old farm house. One T-PRO was used on “quiet volume” (frequency range 20 kHz-45 kHz at 72 - 78 dB @ 0.5 m) for all tests. Three paired tests were conducted, one pair for identical periods of autumn for 2009 and 2010, two for full year cycles 2012 to 2013, 2013 to 2014, 2015 to 2016, and 2016 to 2017. Efficacy was assessed using indirect evidence of ultrasound detection/avoidance by mice based on absence of mice trapped in the house or droppings counted on kitchen counters during test periods when the T-PRO was “ON” versus similar counts when the T-PRO was “OFF.” Mice were free to leave the areas of the sounds and the house entirely, and thus failed to evidence habituation. In all years six peanut butter baited Victor brand snap traps were kept on the top three basement steps below the 2.5-m × 1.1-m entrance hall extending from the exterior door to an inner hall door. The latter was kept closed, but had a 1-cm gap under it that permitted mice to enter the kitchen area. In the three test periods when the T-PRO ultrasonic sounds were being broadcast, nine mice were caught and 14 droppings found on the kitchen counter; versus 91 mice caught and 154 droppings counted when the T-PRO was turned “OFF.” A two tailed T-Test indicated a P = 0.0007, T = 9.2998 df = 4, with a mean of 30.33 mice caught/test cycle with the unit “OFF” versus a mean of 3.67/cycle when it was “ON.” No changes were made in house/hallway during this study. Seasons tested matched precisely for multiple years reducing probability that annual variations in mouse populations near the house might have caused random spikes in mouse numbers trapped. Snap traps and the T-PRO presented an effective integrated pest management system resulting in a nearly mouse-free house.

Increased populations of resident Canada geese create major crop loss problems for farmers, especially in areas that become traditional sites for brood-rearing. Such sites concentrate geese and goslings in locations where food is abundant and flightless adults and young find escape safety on adjacent lakes or rivers. Emerging corn, winter wheat, and soybeans are favorite foods, and these sustain extensive crop damage when near water and brood-rearing sites. From 16 May to 28 August 2007, alarm and alert call playbacks from GooseBuster call units were used with and without other scare reinforcement to assess efficacy of different methods at reducing crop damage at multiple sites near Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin. Test sites were recommended by USDA APHIS Wildlife Services personnel as being sites with heaviest early summer crop damage reported in prior years. Criteria for success were based upon geese/hours/month or geese/hours/week of field use before and after treatment, using frequent counts of geese on properties, weekly farmer interviews, and dropping counts in fields to estimate number and number of hours geese were present. Crop damage assessment by USDA compared current year to prior years’ assessment, or used visible signs of damage and extent. On-demand use of call units, coupled with firing screamer and banger shells, was found to be the most effective method for inducing long-term crop avoidance. Crop damage reduction was very successful, ranging from a 94.3% reduction at one site (17 bushels lost in 2007 versus 297 bushels in 2006), to several fields declared to have “no significant goose damage in 2007” by USDA crop evaluation personnel. Goose hours/month on the largest field data collection decreased from >36,000 to <200 geese/hour/month, a 99.45% reduction. No sign of habituation to reinforced “on-demand” alarm call use was found over the course of the 100 days of the study.

Five biweekly dawn-dusk observations of Canada goose movements near Dane County Madison Regional Airport (MSN) were made 10 October-15 December 2012 and results compared with similar 2010 data that had defined goose numbers, origins, and destinations for local goose flights within 10 miles of the airport across fall migration period dates. Following 2010 research suggestions, MSN airport authorities changed crop leases for lands they owned northeast of the airport to require immediate turning of corn crop residue following harvest. The affected area had been identified as a major attraction site leading to high risks of goose/aircraft strikes for Runway 21 ILS traffic in fall 2010. Following 2010 study protocol, geese were again visually tracked to observe origins/destinations for local flights and visual ground checks made to confirm locations attracting geese through airport patterns. In 2010, corn stubble fields northeast of the end of Runway resulted in observation of 696 geese entering that aircraft strike risk zone. This figure was extrapolated (total seen times 15 days for each cycle) to an estimated 10,440 risk geese entering/leaving there for the study duration. In 2012, only 31 geese were observed to fly in/out to feed there, an extrapolated value (465 geese for fall) representing a reduction of 97.1% in goose risk for that airport zone, despite average 6-fold increase in goose numbers observed at Warner Park roost area near the airport in 2012. Results indicated modification of agricultural habitat attracting geese to the airport vicinity can greatly reduce goose strike risk once attraction sites are identified. Needed changes were accomplished at no airport cost by having field leases require immediate disking of crop residue after harvest.