The temptation is just too much to resist for some Federal Way residents.

But neighbors along local lakes and city officials are urging people to stop feeding the ducks and geese.

“It is one of the more common mistakes. Almost every other time I go out to the lake I see someone feeding the ducks or geese, no matter how many signs we put up,” said Don Robinett, of the City of Federal Way’s surface water management department.

“Feeding the ducks or geese bread is unhealthy for them,” Robinett said. “It doesn’t feed any nutrients to them. It’s like if your kids only ate Wonderbread every day and that’s all they ate they wouldn’t be getting all the nutrients they need to be healthy.”

Ducks and geese who eat bread products are less likely to forage for food that offers them the nutrients they need, Robinett said. In addition to diminishing the health of the waterfowl, feeding the ducks and geese also diminishes the health of the lakes.

Waterfowl populations multiply when they are fed artificially. Tiny parasites which live on ducks and geese are responsible for swimmers’ itch when a lake becomes overpopulated.

Ducks and geese are encouraged to continue living around Federal Way lakes through the winter when they have a plentiful food supply, a phenomenon called over-wintering. When this happens, waterfowl poop causes pollution.

“It’s bad for us because the normal cycle of a lake is for birds and wildlife to only really be on the lake during the summer season… during the winter the lake basically cleans itself up. It’s allowed to recover from all the fecal matter,” Robinett said. “If the ducks stay, fecal matter continues to build up in the lake and the lake doesn’t have a chance to recover from it.”

Too much duck poop causes weeds and toxic algae to grow. It is also unpleasant for the homeowners who live along the lake.

“They’re terribly dirty when they come onto the beaches,” said Margaret Reyhner, who lives on Steel Lake. “It’s very obvious when the ducks or the geese have been there. They walk by and they leave their poop behind. Swimmers itch is also a problem.”

Reyhner said that, at times, she has had to shovel duck and geese feces off her beach and dock several times a week. She worries about kids at the park playing in the sand with feces in it.

Ducks and geese are wildlife and no wildlife should be fed domestic food, said Tom Dezutter, a Steel Lake resident and chair of the City of Federal Way’s Steel Lake advisory committee.

“Not only is it not good for the waterfowl, it isn’t good because it may encourage them to remain on the lake even if they’re not native,” Dezutter said. “If you’re going to be a good lake steward and enjoy the water fowl you shouldn’t feed them.”

In addition to not feeding the ducks or geese, the City of Federal Way offers the following tips to lake residents for becoming a good lake steward:

-Regularly scoop animal droppings on your lawn.

-Wash your car in your yard or at a licensed car wash.

-Use alternatives to pesticides whenever possible.

-Use organic, time release fertilizers.

-Plant native plants in lawns and gardens.

-Use a mulching lawn mower.

-Properly dispose of automotive and household hazardous wastes.

-Fuel lawn mowers or other equipment away from shorelines or drains.

-Don’t compost near the shoreline.

-Use non-toxic products when cleaning and maintaining docks and piers.

-Educate your neighbors about lake stewardship practices.

Contact Margo Hoffman: mhoffman@fedwaymirror.com or (253) 925-5565.

t Easy meals diminish the health of lakes