Balboa Golf Course is a municipal golf course in San Francisco, California. We have been dealing with an ongoing pest problem on the course for many years now. The pests in question are birds that feed on the grass and insects that thrive on the lawn. Since the establishment of our website, we have received numerous letters from concerned citizens about this issue and we thank them for their input.
Read more about bird control at Balboa Golf Course: Pest Control: A blog covering the bird issue at Balboa Golf course and what they have done to reduce the pest population.
Balboa Golf Course has a bird issue. It is not an issue that is unique to Balboa and we are working on a solution that will allow our golfers to play while ensuring the safety of the birds. The recent arrival of nesting birds at the Balboa Golf Course has been a source of conversation among our members and guests. To address the nesting bird situation, the Balboa Golf Course has retained the services of an Environmental Consulting firm. Our Consultant is reviewing the current situation, evaluating management options and developing a plan to ensure appropriate course management for all concerned.
The safety of all animals including birds is always our top priority at Balboa Golf Course. We are committed to protecting them and we will continue to work closely with our consultant in developing and implementing a plan that is consistent with our goal of protecting these species while also allowing public access to this wonderful and historic golf course.
Since April of 2012, the Balboa Golf Course has implemented a “scarecrow” type deterrent to reduce the bird population on the course. The bird problem on the golf course was not only a health issue for the patrons but a safety issue as well. The birds’ droppings carry many pathogens that could transmit disease to humans and animals. The birds also posed a threat to those playing the game of golf; they had been known to attack players and cause harm which resulted in lawsuits against the city.
In order to control this situation, we looked into the cost-effective choices available to us. We came up with two different solutions; one was a falconer and his trained hawk which would be at our service twice a week or an electronic predator that would mimic our natural enemy.
The falconer was efficient but expensive, and we have a limited budget for this issue. The electronic device would be cheaper in the long run but more technical in its daily maintenance and operation. We decided that if we were going to do it right we needed someone who was dedicated to this project full time. We hired a full-time employee from within our organization who is dedicated to keeping this device working properly and up to date with all of its necessary tasks for
Balboa Golf Course is a beautiful jewel located in the heart of San Francisco. It is also home to an overpopulation of birds that have been using the course as a food source for years now. The bird population consists primarily of crows and starlings, but there are also geese and ducks that wander onto the course from time to time.
We recently had a major pest control problem at Balboa Golf Course with crows and starlings that were eating our seeds and making holes all over the course.
After the initial shock wore off, we realized this was going to be a major problem for our business and we needed help right away!
The first thing we did was hire an exterminator who came out every day for two weeks spraying poison around the course (I know it sounds bad but they’re pests!). After that, they stopped coming back because they said they didn’t see any more birds on property during their visits.
That’s when we decided to take matters into our own hands! We put up some fake owls on posts around the golf course which seemed like an effective solution at first, but after about two weeks these plastic owls just weren’t working anymore because those pesky birds figured out what was going on and started avoiding them altogether!
Anyone who has played the Balboa Golf Course lately knows that our population of geese and crows has exploded, to the point where they are a nuisance. We have tried many different methods to reduce their numbers, including hiring a falconer with a trained hawk, but nothing has worked.
On Tuesday we will be hiring the services of Pest Control Inc., who specialize in eliminating pest bird populations. They will be using shotguns loaded with birdshot. We would appreciate your cooperation in following these simple rules:
Arrival and Departure: Please park in the lot on the southwest side of the course at 32nd Avenue and Fulton Street. Please do not drive through the course to get to this lot; it’s an extra distance of less than half a mile. You may drop off your clubs at hole
Balboa Golf Course has been around for over 100 years and it is located in the San Fernando Valley. When it opened the course did not have any irrigation. The course was built on land that used to be covered by a lake, and over time the lake water seeped into the ground.
The course got its name from one of its founders, John Balboa. He is said to have made a deal with the city to use their land for his golf course if they would allow him to build roads and other infrastructure.
The course was popular for a number of years until it was closed down in 2009 because of budget cuts. A group of investors bought the property at auction and reopened it in 2012 with plans to bring back some of its former glory.
The bird population at Balboa had been growing steadily since 2009 when a drought hit California and dried up many lakes, including some on the golf course property. The birds started eating bugs and other food sources around them which led them to being larger than normal sizes of birds found elsewhere in California.
In 2013, after much discussion between various parties including local bird watchers who wanted access to see rare species as well as environmentalists concerned about pollution caused by pesticides used on turf grasses growing along side native vegetation areas
The Balboa Golf Course was built in 1928, and is one of the oldest golf courses in San Francisco. The golf course was designed by the renowned architect William P. Bell, who would go on to design over 100 golf courses across the nation. The majority of the tees, greens and fairways are still original to the course; although they were renovated in 1959 by William F. Bell (son of W.P. Bell), and again in 1985 by Robert Muir Graves and John Harbottle III.
The Balboa Golf Course is located within The City’s 1,017 acre McLaren Park, which is one of the largest parks in San Francisco. McLaren Park was originally part of a Mexican land grant named Rancho Cañada de Guadalupe la Visitacion y Rodeo Viejo given to Jose Cornelio Bernal in 1839. In 1905, the City purchased most of John McLaren’s holdings, including his home site and adjoining property known as “Little McLaren Park.” Little McLaren Park became a component of a much larger park development effort titled “City Beautiful,” which was then approved by voters in 1921. However, even with voter approval, this ambitious plan for a large park system for San Francisco encountered significant obstacles as well as opposition from various groups