Ravens still attacking Muskeg Meadows' greens

In 2012, thousands of square feet of the greens at Muskeg Meadows golf course were attacked by hordes of ravens – the ubiquitous local bird seeking food in the fertile soil and rich grasses of the course.

At the end of last year the course seemed on the path to correcting the problem, and at the beginning of the 2013 tournament many of the areas affected by the ravens had healed and were sprouting green grass again.

And then they returned, looking for grubs in the ground of the course.

Last year the damage was extensive on fairway No. 4 with limited damage elsewhere. This season the ravens have expanded their food-seeking efforts to the greens on No. 3, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 9. There are smaller pockets elsewhere on the course, but the most significant damage in a playable area seems to be on No. 7 where the ravens have torn up a significant patch to the left of the putting green.

Shannon Booker, the manager of the course, said last year’s damaged area is looking more like a golf course fairway and that ravens have inflicted less damage to their previous feeding grounds.

“If you notice, on No. 4, the fairway is looking better and the rehabilitation is showing up in a long stretch,” Booker said. “They’re not picking at it.”

In order to lessen the impact of the grubs as food for the ravens the course has instituted the use of nematodes, or microscopic worms that are beneficial to vegetation by entering soil bound grubs through body openings. They then feed on the grubs until they kill them, moving on to look for more grubs to devour.

The course recently purchased more than a million grubs for the pest elimination effort, though many million more will be needed by the end of the season.

“We have not laid them down yet, but we have several million of them, which isn’t very much,” Booker added. “It’s a predator to the grubs and they will burrow in so it won’t survive. We’re starting with the hot spots to see how it goes and other areas that seem to be wet, lowland parts.”

The nematodes so far have cost about $150.

“That’s only for a few million of them, but we will be doing this all over the course during the rest of the season,” Booker said.

Play is currently most affected on No. 3 and No. 6.

“Hole number three is a short par three now, and we’ve modified number six to increase the yardage by making players go from the back tees,” Booker said. “Hole number nine has some damage but thankfully it’s not really in a playable area, so we’re leaving it the way it is.”