Questions about Retention Ponds in/around Carmel (live, move)

[ImmerLernen]

Awesome...thanks for the pdf. Since a pool is something we would be interested in, this is great info.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by ImmerLernen

Awesome...thanks for the pdf. Since a pool is something we would be interested in, this is great info.

Be prepared for some significant annual costs if you're going to own an inground pool in this part of the world. It costs a chuck of change to have the pool "winterized" as well as opened in the spring. If you pay someone to do this and maintain the pool you're looking at annual costs that can get into the thousands of dollars depending on the size and complexity of the pool.

Don't take a pool guy's word for this, either - find a neighbor or someone who currently owns a similar type of pool and see what it costs them. If they do a lot of their own maintenance the costs will be lower, of course, but that also means a major time commitment on the owner's part - and you can't take a week off or skip things, since when the pool chemistry gets out of whack, all sorts of nasty stuff can happen...

RM

[ImmerLernen]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Be prepared for some significant annual costs...

I think the geese described above sound scarier than pool maintenance & costs. (Geese don't find their way into people's pools, do they? )

Seriously, though, this is good advice. Thanks.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by ImmerLernen

I think the geese described above sound scarier than pool maintenance & costs. (Geese don't find their way into people's pools, do they? )

Seriously, though, this is good advice. Thanks.

I'm not trying to overstate things to scare anyone, it's just that it's something I think a lot of people don't give any thought to. I had neighbors with an inground pool, and while it was nice, it did require a fair amount of time, effort and expense on their part to maintain it.

RM

[Serious Conversation]

Some of the retention ponds have visible fountains that keep the water moving. I'm sure some don't. I lived in Carmel and never noticed weird smells or anything when walking by the ones in my community.

The biggest problem is that the ponds attract geese. The geese are a major nuisance.

[BU191433]

I have a retention pond that backs up to my back yard. Newer home about 5 years old. Two young kids - not as young anymore. But the pond was a huge selling point for us - gives us a very nice view and also were guaranteed that no other houses would be built behind us. First thing people mention when coming to our house is how nice our view is. Nice view partially because there is a pond, but just as important is the openness space.

Never smells that I know of. No mosquito problems.

[Chadro77]

Originally Posted by ImmerLernen

I think the geese described above sound scarier than pool maintenance & costs. (Geese don't find their way into people's pools, do they? )

Seriously, though, this is good advice. Thanks.

You won’t have that many run ins with them unless you’re a walker/runner. I have them pass through my yard on occasion but if we go on walks around the neighborhood that’s when we encounter the “gangs”. Even more annoying is the fact that their leavings are about the same size of a small dogs so you have to dodge it everywhere.

The geese are like gangs of teenagers up to no good. Constantly loitering, trespassing and trying to intimidate citizens 😀

Seriously though, don’t let them scare you too much. Some people love them.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Chadro77

You won’t have that many run ins with them unless you’re a walker/runner. I have them pass through my yard on occasion but if we go on walks around the neighborhood that’s when we encounter the “gangs”. Even more annoying is the fact that their leavings are about the same size of a small dogs so you have to dodge it everywhere.

The geese are like gangs of teenagers up to no good. Constantly loitering, trespassing and trying to intimidate citizens 😀

Seriously though, don’t let them scare you too much. Some people love them.

Who loves the geese? I have never heard anyone say the geese are nothing but a nuisance. We had them at my old office and they would attack people walking to their car. One of my co-workers sprained an ankle being chased by one in the parking lot.

[MortonR]

I had a coworker who lived in an apartment that opened out onto a retention pond that harbored a large number of geese. Along with their nasty leavings, they would get aggressive when you had food outside as some (idiot) residents had taken to feeding them.

He was a cigarette smoker, so when he would sit out on the patio and smoke, the geese would come up and expect a handout. He flipped his lit cigarette butts at the geese, who, being so food aggressive, would immediately pounce on the lit cigarette butt, start to eat it, get burned and spit it out, then another would grab it, lather, rinse repeat....

It only took a couple of days worth of this behavior to condition the geese to avoid both he and his patio.

I found it pretty darned amusing.

RM

[ischyros]

Our office park uses the Geese Police. They come by every few days, destroy any nests they see being made, use loud noises and a tub on a long rope to chase geese away and off the water, make it a hospitable breeding ground for them. Plus they have a little collie that chases them. Doesn't try to catch them but has definitely taught them that they can't hang out here. After having tons of geese here for years, we have almost none now. Not sure what could be done for residential, though.