Goose Control & Deterrents

If you want to get rid of geese, you have to stop feeding the local population. This is true in parks, public places, and sometimes private property. Whether it’s private or public land, signs may need to be constructed alerting people to the dangers of feeding wildlife. Not only is human food not good for a goose’s diet, but those geese who become used to handouts and become domesticated will actually attract more wild or migrating geese to the same area—much the same way duck decoys work for hunters.Speaking of decoys: setting up a family of swan decoys might help get rid of geese still looking for nesting grounds.

Like geese, Mute Swans will defend their young quite aggressively, and this is a danger most incoming geese will try to avoid. There’s no reason why you should have to keep swan decoys in your lawn, ponds, or near your lakeshore property all of the time. They will eventually become an eye sore. Put these out if and when you know the migratory season for geese has begun. Here’s a hint: there’ll be honking in the clouds.

Making your pond or water front property less attractive with tall grasses will help get rid of geese. It has been suggested that allowing the tall grasses around a pond or lake to grow at least 18 inches high in a band roughly ten feet wide around a shorelines will help make your property less attractive to geese. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that geese like to be kept abreast of the activities of nearby animals, particularly predators. They will be less likely to make your property into a nesting ground if they don’t have an adequate visual field to ensure their safety.

Restricting easy access to the water will ensure that geese stay away from your beaches and ponds. There are several ways to accomplish this. One way is to build a dock that lines the water’s edge, of sufficient height that geese cannot easily climb up onto it. Perhaps an easier method is to set up bird netting or a bird fence near the water’s edge to prevent easy access to and from the water. If you’ve ever chased geese, you’ll know their first instinct is to go for water. If they don’t feel they can do that very easily, they will find another area to build their nest.Goose Chase, distributed by Bird-X, is a turf and lawn treatment specifically designed to get rid of geese. The spray itself contains an ingredient called Methyl anthanilate, and according to Tom Starling of Bird-X, it’s a “food-grade substance that’s been used as flavoring in foods for years and is biodegradable.” He also assures me that any Methyl anthanilate “would be well broken down by the time it got through the lawn to any sort of water source, but even if it did there’s no way it is going to hurt you.” Good things to hear from a man who’s company has be recognized as the people to go to for over 40 years.

More Goose Control Ideas

Gator Guard, another product made by Bird-X, is a clever decoy with mirrored eyes that trick the geese into thinking they’re being watched. The reason Gator Guard seems to work so well is because unlike regular decoys or stationary silhouettes, Gator Guard decoys move around the water with the wind and the waves, making them seem like more of a real threat.

Goose Buster, yet another product made by Bird-X, is audible alarm system designed to cover large amounts of land like golf courses, parks, and other recreational areas. Goose Buster amplifies the alarm call of Canadian Geese to scare them, or at least make them nervous enough to make the immediate area an uncomfortable place to be. Two units will supposedly provide an audible deterrence for up to 21 acres, which explains the price of the product.

Mylar tape has been suggested as a great visual deterrence that may be added to fencing or tied to posts that have been set up near traditional goose nesting sites. The Mylar tape not only provides the kind of reflective properties that birds seem to hate, but it also makes a bit of noise when it starts to blow around in the wind. Moving the posts every couple of weeks in a while will help to keep the geese from getting used to the presence of these reflective strips.

Edgewater fencing is a more convenient way to keep geese away from the water’s edge. While it’s not a fool-proof plan, geese do prefer property with easy access to the shoreline. Using Edgewater Fences may help you get rid of geese.