MENIFEE -- What was supposed to be a routine capture and relocation of 60 ducks from Menifee Lake last month resulted in the drowning of at least 33 birds and a controversy that continues to ruffle feathers of homeowners near the lake who said the actions of a pest control company were cruel and unnecessary.

Meanwhile the pest control company blames an overzealous resident for botching the job.

But the deaths of the ducks was neither what the homeowners nor the pest company wanted and has left both sides blaming the other. The removal of the ducks was an effort to combat the birds from overpopulating the residential lake.

Stephanie Beeson has lived in the Menifee Lakes neighborhood for four years. She has a home just yards away from the boat docks, where dozens of ducks and coots enjoyed the carefree protection of the fenced-off area. But on the night of Sept. 26, Beeson was locking her doors about 11 p.m. when she saw something out of the ordinary.

"There usually aren't cars back there," Beeson said referring to a parking lot near the lake. "There was a guy talking to security and then he took some cages out of his truck and walked over to the lake. He threw out some stuff to the lake and within three to five minutes, the ducks started wobbling and falling over."

Beeson assumed the pellets being thrown out were tranquilizers, but she questioned how dosage could have been controlled as the ducks and coots indiscriminately gobbled up as much as they could, as fast as they could. She said she called Susan Allen, who is known by residents of the 1,850-home Menifee Lakes development as "The Duck Lady" because of her attention to the animals.

She said that while about 10 ducks passed out on the grass and an additional two dozen or so were in the water when the drugs took hold.

"They later went out with a paddleboat to scoop them out of the water," Beeson said.

By that time, other residents had joined Beeson to watch the duck removal.

"I'm just glad my kids weren't awake to see it," Beeson said. "There is no reason the ducks had to be removed. Yeah, there is duck poop around, but it's nowhere near the amount of the dog poop we have around the park."

Too many ducks

A pest control agreement was made between then-Menifee Lake Manager Don Harris and Animal Pest Management Services Inc. on Sept. 7. The order requested a "one-time domestic duck removal of up to 60 ducks" at a cost of $2,850.

"At the last duck census, which was conducted at the end of August, we had 175 domestic ducks that were residents of the lake," Harris said.

The lake can safely handle 70 ducks, he added. Any more would disrupt the ecosystem of the lake.

He denied accusations he was a duck hater, and said his respect for the animals is why he contracted for the animals to be tranquilized, removed and relocated to an off-site location -- at a cost of $65 per duck.

"These were domestic ducks and were not protected. I was told by wildlife officials that you can, 1) shoot them. You can 2) poison them. Or 3) sneak up behind them and wring their little necks," Harris said. "But we chose to spend the money and remove them humanely."

The work order also requested that a service report detailing the removal be written up by the pest control company. Brent Sherman, area manager of Animal Pest Management Services Inc., was at the lake the night of Sept. 26, watching the effort.

Sherman and Animal Pest Management Services President Dan Fox did not return multiple calls seeking comment, but Sherman's written report submitted to the Menifee Lakes Master Association the following day gives his account of the evening.

Where it went wrong

Sherman wrote he had arrived at the lake and spoke with the on-site security guard -- requesting the guard keep his golf cart away from the duck-baiting area so the birds would not get "spooked" and fly into the water.

With the security guard on patrol, Sherman began to bait approximately 30 to 35 ducks in the parking lot with bread laced with tranquilizer. He wrote that when the ducks were almost fully sedated, he spotted a woman walking toward him. The woman was identified as Susan Allen.

According to Sherman, an argument began.

"I asked her not to interfere with the situation as she could endanger the ducks if she did so. Mrs. Allen then proceed to walk to the shoreline as I protested," Sherman wrote. "Mrs. Allen said I was a killer and that nobody is removing her 'children' from here tonight. I once again warned her as she tried to either pick up or check on one of the ducks that was approximately 10-15 yards from the shoreline."

That is when the ducks became spooked and their adrenaline began to kick in from the commotion, Sherman stated, and approximately 35 ducks flew into the water.

During the next half-hour more residents showed up, as did more representatives of Animal Pest Management Services. The pest-control workers requested the use of paddleboats to retrieve the ducks.

"We were able to retrieve 33 ducks on the lake over the next 45 minutes, most of which had drown(ed) as a result of Mrs. Allen's interference," Sherman reported.

Allen denies the claim.

"The ducks were dead before I arrived," Allen said. "I know they are saying I caused the ducks to run into the water, but I'm not that stupid. The truth will come out."

No investigation

While no investigation has been launched into the incident, Allen said she's not taking any chances and is keeping two of the dead ducks in her freezer in case she needs to defend herself against the claims that she was responsible for the duck drownings.

Before the night was over, Riverside County sheriff's deputies were called to defuse another heated conversation between the residents and the pest control company. No charges were filed.

Riverside County Animal Control Deputy Director Frank Corvino said his Hemet office had also received complaint calls.

"But we haven't been asked to look into it at this point," Corvino said.

He said duck relocations are not uncommon, but are difficult as the process involves sedating, caging and transporting the ducks to another lake. There is no guarantee the ducks won't fly back to their original body of water and nothing prevents migratory ducks from taking refuge on the lakes.

"You can always run the risk of a duck running into the water during the sedation process," Corvino said. "I wonder how well the area was sealed off to prevent interference."

An overpopulation of ducks can pose risks such as the spread of diseases -- salmonella -- through their droppings, a change in the lake water pH level, as well as disruption to the ecosystem, Corvino said.

He said it is possible that state animal cruelty charges could still be levied against either the pest control company or the residents depending on who is found to be a fault. And if migratory or protected birds were killed, federal charges could come into play, he added.

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.