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How To Keep Canadian Geese Off Your Lawn

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Plant Bushes And Tall Flowers

How to keep geese from signing a lease in your yard

Remember that geese like to have open areas because it gives them a clear line of sight for tracking predators. When they cant see all around them, they wont feel safe from the potential threat of predators.

Letting your grass grow to be much taller may not be something that homeowners are willing to do. If this is the case, try growing some shrubbery instead. Big bushes and tall flowers can provide a much more appealing visual aesthetic while working to make the geese feel unsafe.

It also depends on the size of your yard. For larger spaces, this might not work out so well as the geese can simply permeate the open space and stay far away from the plants.

Adding plants to your yard is rarely a bad thing, but if you are doing it solely to get rid of the geese problem, theres a chance that youll wind up disappointed instead.

Stop Feeding The Geese

Supplemental feeding encourages a high concentration of geese year-round. Geese will not abandon a site as long as people feed them. However, when the diets of geese are not supplemented with handouts and they have to depend on the more limited natural food supply, some or all will move elsewhere. Feeding geese artificial foods such as bread can even be detrimental to the birds health. Signs should be posted in public areas to discourage wildlife feeding, and some localities may need to enforce no-feeding regulations or bylaws.

Visual Ways To Scare Geese Away

The coyote is a natural predator that Canada geese fear. Take advantage of this fact and buy a coyote decoy to deploy on the lawn. The geese will recognize the shape and color as being that of a predator that they fear and will stay away.

If you own a dog that is allowed to spend time in the yard, the dog can essentially be substituted for a coyote . Indeed, the dog will be more effective than a decoy because a charging dog represents imminent danger, whereas the decoy is stationary and merely suggests danger. But allowing dogs in your landscaping poses its own set of problems. If you do decide to opt for this way of getting rid of geese, you are covering multiple bases, since:

  • Seeing the dog will scare geese away.
  • Smelling the dog will alert them that a predator is present.
  • Hearing the dog barking will strike fear into the geese instantly.

To kill two birds with one stone, if you will, simply install a motion sensor light in the problem area it will not only scare the geese when they see it turn on but also deter criminal activity on your property.

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Geese Hate Loud Noises

Geese are frightened by loud noises and this is one of the most useful ways to stop them from rooting around on your property. If geese are consistently bothered by loud noises in an area they will be less likely to return there to stay for the winter or to nest in the spring.

If you have a dog, then you are one step ahead of the geese. This is the one time you want your dog to bark! Let them bark away at the geese and those pesky birds will most likely fly away and choose another property to hang out on.

If you dont have a dog you can still use loud noises to scare away geese. YouTube is a gold mine for this type of stuff. If you have a Bluetooth speaker you can play a recording of a dog barking near where the geese are. You can also bang pots and pans or play loud music to scare away geese from your property.

Where Trapping Is Restricted

How To Keep Canadian Geese Off My Property

Due to excessive hunting, geese have been on the watch list and even considered endangered at one point. This has led to regulations restricting the capture or killing of geese in many areas. In the event youre in one of them, fear not: a wildlife removal expert has the proper permits to do the job for you.

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Predator Decoys Keep Geese Away

Another way to frighten away geese is to use decoys in areas where they are gathering. Pay close attention to areas where they might want to nest in spring and graze or drink at other times of the year. Implanting a predator, or a look-alike of one, can be a good deterrent for geese if you use it correctly.

Predators to geese differ depending on where they are. Different regions will bring about different predators, but some of the most common predators are raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and alligators.

Using a decoy of one or more of their predators can be effective at keeping geese away. You can buy predator decoys like this Flambeau Outdoors Lone Howler Coyote Decoy and place them in your yard. A decoy will be more effective if it is moving in some way. Some decoys can be placed on a swivel or bobble that they move slightly on their own.

You will also want to move your decoys around to different areas on your property as geese can come to expect what you are up to, rendering your decoys ineffective.

If you live in areas where geese have water predators, placing a decoy of this kind near the waters edge should do a good job of keeping geese away.

Switching it up is important for almost all of the methods you can use to repel geese. You will want to vary their placement, frequency, and type or repellant so that you keep the geese from coming to expect what you are doing.

How Do You Stop Geese From Pooping

So if youre wondering how to get rid of geese from your lawn, the best thing you can do is prevent the geese from eating and pooping on your lawn Flight Control® Plus Goose Repellent. Flight Control® Plus can keep your garden looking good while humanely and effectively preventing the geese from feeding on your lawn.

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Impacting The Geeses Sense Of Smell

Smell and taste are so closely associated with each other that they are essentially treated as one category in listing goose repellents. The disadvantage of all products that impact a gooses sense of smell/taste is that they have to be applied again after it rains and after you mow the lawn.

Applying predator urine to the lawn can be effective at repelling geese. The geese smell the urine and assume that the predator in question is present.

Like using predator urine, chemical repellents offer an option for goose control. You can buy them at most home improvement centers. For example, Anthraquinone and methyl anthranilate are known to be effective. The former irritates the digestive systems of the geese, while the latter simply tastes bad.

You can buy repellents infused with concord grapes that are designed specifically to keep Canada geese away because of the scent, which, for some odd reason, they find repulsive.

What Keeps Geese Away

New Way To Get Rid Of Geese

One of the best products you can use to keep geese away is a Liquid goose protection. These EPA-approved liquid deterrents use food-grade ingredients like grape seed extract to irritate geese. As the geese feed on the applied grass, they are driven away by the irritation associated with the spray.

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How To Keep Canada Geese Out Of Your Yard

Before we go any further on how to keep geese out of your yard, lets take a look at why Canada geese are the most common breed of geese to show up in yards.

Because Canada geese are one of the most abundant species of geese in North America, they often show up in peoples properties. Statistics have shown that this goose breed is found in every contiguous U.S. state at one time of the year or another. Although Canada geese in your yard can be a beautiful sight, they can also quickly destroy your lawn.

Below, well take a look at how to keep Canada geese out of your yard using goose repellent.

What Attracts Geese To Your Yard

Its difficult solving a problem when you originally dont know the cause of the problem. Youre halfway to solving a problem when you know the cause of the problem.

The first crucial question is, what keeps attracting geese to your yard? Is it how tidied up the lawn is? What are you doing thats fueling these birds constant visit to your yard? Lets find out.

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What Problems Do Geese Cause

At the moment, scientists know more than 60 diseases transmitted from birds to humans some of them are even fatal. That is why it is better to avoid contact with geese and the remains of their vital activity. Apart from health problems, you can get damaged property.

By trampling down the lawns, geese damage sports and golf fields. They can also leave up to 1 lb of droppings daily. It leaves stains and can even degrade building materials. It costs a lot of money to clean it up and cope with the consequences. A lot of geese feces in water bodies can also disrupt the local ecosystem.

Scare Them With Strobe Light

How to Keep Geese Off Your Lawn

To deter Canadian geese, you can also use goose deterrent light. There are mainly two types of Canada goose repellents available in this category.

One of them is sound-activated, so it will keep geese away by scaring them whenever they come close to the device. The other option would be to leave a strobe light on for the duration of a whole night.

While it might seem like a nuisance if you place the goose deterrent light next to your home, if youre creative enough to cover the sides so that the light doesnt get into your house through your windows, it will get the job done properly.

As is the case with any other goose deterrent products, there is a considerable disadvantage to using this method, too, and it consists of the fact that it will attract a variety of bugs, such as mosquitoes and others.

Fortunately, some strobe lights currently available for sale are customizable, which means that you can set the amount of time they work for and the intervals at which they do it.

That will at least prevent your porch from getting flooded with an insect population for which youll have to find other repellents in the future.

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How To Keep Geese Out Of Your Yard

Whether you manage a residential, corporate or hospital property, Canada geese arelikely no stranger to your yard. These birds can be a big nuisance, showing aggressivebehavior, damaging your property and posing a variety of health risks to your tenants.Luckily, you have some options when it comes to keeping geese away.

Keep Geese Out Of The Water

To keep geese off your pond , consider constructing a system of suspended wires over the water to deny them access to the pond surface. Geese prefer to land and take off from open water. This works best for areas under one acre that are not used for other recreational purposes . Single strands of 14-gauge wire, 80- to 100-pound test monofilament fishing line, or stainless-steel cable should be strung on a grid pattern across the water with 10 to 15 feet between lines. Each line should be suspended 12 to 18 inches above the waters surface. Also, use perimeter lines to keep geese from walking in under the grid lines. Attach brightly colored flagging or tape to the lines to make them more visible.

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How To Keep Geese Off The Lawn

Anyone that is lucky enough to have a nice lush lawn that backs onto a lake ought to be the envy of most other homeowners. The rest of us can only imagine the joy one must experience spending sun-filled summer afternoons stretched out on the lawn with a book and your favorite ice-cold beverage, with the sound of the water and birds in the background. Unless those birds are geese, that is. If geese take a liking to your lawn, this picture-perfect scenario can quickly become a living nightmare, and youll be anything but relaxed. In fact, the only thing you will probably care about any more is finding out how to keep geese off the lawn! It becomes your mission in life.

Allow Your Grassto Grow Taller

Cheap and Easy way to help keep geese out of your yard

Allowing your grass to grow 6 inches or taller can help prevent geese from making a home in your yard. Because geese prefer open spaces where they can see predators, tall grasses will make them feel unsafe, therefore making them want to leave. Around ponds, it is recommended to allow your grass to grow up to 20 inches tall. Also, limit the amount of fertilizer you use on your lawn.

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Youre Not Doing Enough To Chase Them Away

When geese walk into your yard, and you dont chase them away, then youre encouraging them to stop by more often.

However, if you make them feel unwelcomed, chances are they wont like to stop by your yard over time.

So, start chasing geese away, but ensure that you or whatever means youre using doesnt lead to the birds demise.

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Visual And Audio Goose Deterrents

The first deterrents you should look into are visual and audio deterrents. Golf courses, sports fields, and lake front properties are particularly difficult to control geese, requiring solutions that can quickly and effortlessly cover vast open areas. Bird B Gone carries a multitude of visual deterrents but the coyote decoy ranks above all for goose control. Acting as a natural predator to geese, moving the coyote decoy periodically will make the surrounding environment uncomfortable for the flock.

Pairing visual deterrents with an effective Audio deterrent will quickly increase the probability of pushing the flock away from the targeted areas. Audio deterrents use a combination of prerecorded goose calls and predator bird calls to drive them away. Not only are these sound units available in plugin models but solar powered units are available to help stop geese in wide open areas.

Key Features & Benefits:

  • Visual & Audio deterrents cover large open areas
  • Easily Deployed and maintained
  • Move Coyote Decoy periodically on the property

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What Kind Of Damage Can Geese Cause

If your property is overrun by geese, you might suffer a few different kinds of damage to your property.

Geese droppings can damage grassy areas on your property. If you have a lot of geese, you will most likely be noticing this problem quickly getting out of control.

If you have water on your property, which you most likely do if you are being visited by a lot of geese, their droppings can pollute the water on your property as well.

If you are a farmer or gardener and have certain crops planted, like different types of grains, corn, or even sunflowers, geese will eat these and you will suffer crop losses.

Bird Blinder Repellent Pinwheels Garden Pinwheels To Scare Geese Off Lawn

How To Stop Geese From Pooping In Yard

Moving shiny objects reflect light and scare birds away with constant blinking. The Bird Blinder Repellent PinWheels package contains eight items made of mylar tape. This set is perfect for small yards. Arrange the pinwheels in an open area free from bushes and trees for direct sunlight. In the wind, they shine brightly and rustle slightly, irritating geese vision and hearing.

Pros:

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Lethal Removal Of Geese

Environment Canada will consider kill permit requests from property owners or managers however, applicants wishing to obtain a kill permit must demonstrate that all other reasonable management options have been attempted and that the problem persists. The applicant may be required to submit a comprehensive goose management plan indicating what the target population is and how the population will be managed after the kill. In some situations, public consultations may be required, to ensure that there is adequate public support for the proposed plan. It is the applicants responsibility to make necessary arrangements for the humane destruction of the geese and their disposal. There will be a requirement of permit holders to report on their control activities non-compliance may result in future permit applications being refused. A more detailed description of Best Practices for Lethal Removal of Canada Geese may be obtained upon request and will be provided automatically with an approved permit from Environment Canada.

Permit Requirements:

It is important to note that possession of a permit issued by Environment Canada does not exempt permit holders from other federal, provincial or municipal laws and regulations. It is up to the person undertaking goose management actions to be aware of and comply with all appropriate laws and regulations.

Whats So Bad About Geese

The couple of geese never stays just a couple. Eventually, they will become a huge gathering and your yard will be their favorite place.

Geese can degrade a yard fairly quickly. They do this through the number of droppings that they leave each day, roughly two to four pounds for each goose.

There are homeowners that have had to use wheelbarrows to pick up the goose droppings in their yard, unable to take so much as a step without potentially landing in goose droppings. That alone is enough to make homeowners want to get rid of the geese for good.

Another major factor in wanting to get rid of geese is that they carry parasites, bacteria, and pathogens in that feces. For those who have a local water source, major health concerns can be caused if the feces get into the water supply.

For residences with children who like to play in the grass, the transmission of disease is even more likely. People with pets run the risk of them stepping in the goose droppings, tracking them in the house in their wake.

Geese also tend to graze as they walk around. Get enough geese in your yard and you can find major dead areas of grass. This can make a yard look unkempt, ugly, and bring down the overall aesthetic appeal of the entire property.

Lastly, geese are aggressive toward people. This is especially true while they are both nesting and rearing the goslings. Weve all seen videos or heard stories of geese chasing and biting people.

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