Egyptian Geese - Capture and Release

Capture & release once more. This time Egyptian Geese with goslings. The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen Aegyptiaca) is a member of the family Anatidae, they were considered sacred by the Egyptians, , appearing in much of their artwork

Riverglades Estate in Jukskei Park contacted us to assist them. The trouble here was a protective mother chasing children away from the swimming pool that she now made her and her gosling's pond.
 
Capturing the female was fairly easy as was all the goslings except for one. This little guy was clever and kept diving underwater as soon as we got close. But in the end we were successful. The male was a totally different story, he kept flying away. Eventually we herded him into our boma and he was captured.

 

 

I'm glad to say that we have relocated them to our plot and they are currently in a big aviary until they get used to the area and being fed by us. Thereafter they will be let out and able to roam around freely.

 

 

The pool area at Riverglades Estate belongs to the residents once again.

Please feel free to contact us with your pest problems on 0861111328 or visiting our website www.critterridders.co.za

 

 

Roman tufted Geese - Capture & release

Shotly after the interesting catch & release of the mongoose in Modderfontein, we received yet another unique call from a Property Management company. They received complaints from various people living in Twin Lakes Estates. Someone released Roman tufted Geese among the other Geese. This caused a vocal territory war, causing those living close to the lake sleepless nights.

This was also a first for us, but determined to get the job done we constructed a boma between a couple of trees and put some feed out.

Shortly thereafter we herded the geese into the boma and caught one of the Roman tufted geese, the other was sitting on her eggs close to the lake. She was easy to capture as she would stay by her eggs.

We decided to relocate them to our plot in Bredell, Kempton Park. Here is a picture of the female...

I am happy to say that she sat on her eggs again without delay and about 2 weeks thereafter had 5 beautiful goslings. They are enjoying daily swims in the pond and thriving in peace

Feel free to contact us with your pest relrelated problems 0861111328 or visit our website www.critterridders.co.za

Mongoose capture and release

This month, September 2014 I was fortunate enough to come across something very different in my daily routine. We had a call to treat some rodents for a client residing in Thornhill Estates. Mr. Martin asked us to use a non-toxic method because their house is next to the stream (one of the best spots in Thornhill I've seen).

Long story.... short, the noise from above was not rodents. After much investigation we found the signs pointed to our culprit in the pictures below....a mongoose (very noisy) who made the roof his home. We set up a cat-trap and caught the little critter a day later. Not wanting to cause the mongoose any more stress than was necessary, we arranged for release that same morning. Mr. Martin arranged with Modderfontein Reserve that we could release the mongoose there (thanks Modderfontein Reserve).

Here are pictures of our escapades.....safe capture and release right by a lovely stream once again. The story is being covered by Bedfordview Edenvale News (thanks guys). So next time you hear a noise in your roof....think twice before just dumping some poison in there. Don't hesitate to call us for all your Pest related needs. Also follow us on facebook for interesting info on critters (insects etc) and more stories. 

Ps. If you are in Modderfontein area go and visit the reserve.....they have peaceful picnic areas and even a lovely restaurant there.

Critter Info: Centipede

Centipede - "100 feet" 

The name Centipede means 100 legs, but is somewhat misleading. Centipedes are elongated with flat segmented bodies that contain a pair of legs per segment. 

The heads of centipedes have a pair of long and sensitive antennae.  They have small mouths and have large, clawlike structures that contain a venom gland. 

Centipedes are mostly nocturnal and carnivorous. Some species can be hazardous to humans because of their venomous bite. Although a bite can be very painful and cause severe swelling, chills, fever and weakness, it is unlikely to be fatal.