How To Keep Geese Off Your Property
Canadian geese are really remarkable animals. They will migrate up to 3,000 miles each winter and can even travel as far as 1,500 miles in a single day if the weather conditions are right. However, Hoosiers know that the return of spring also means the return of the birds to the waterways, lawns and roadways of Indiana which can become a nuisance for residents.
Geese live and feed in areas of short grass and still water. So naturally, they are drawn to places like golf courses, lakes and subdivision retention ponds. By eating grass and leaving their droppings, Canadian geese can turn a lawn into a spotty brown mess and make it unsafe to swim in areas where they feces collects.
So it is no surprise that many homeowners want to keep these birds at bay. To help, weve put together a few tips to help you win the fight against these ghastly geese.
Tip: Dont Feed The Geese
Feeding the birds will cause two challenges. One on hand you are encouraging them to linger on your property longer. In addition, you are attracting more geese in general because there is less competition for food in the area and therefore new birds can arrive and get their fill.
Tip: Leave Grass Long
Tip: Fence It In
Put wire fences around the perimeter of a pond. Since Canadian geese will land in water and swim to shore, this will inhibit them reaching land.
Tip: Use Chemicals
Tip: Act Quickly
Tip: Dont Let Them Nest
Tip: Dont Get Too Close
What If My Property Has A Pond
If you have a pond on your property, it is more difficult to scare geese or even get rid of a single goose from your pond. We didnt say impossible though, so here are some tactics:
- Use your shaker to make noise and throw out in the pond as far as you can every time you see them. Even if they dont leave each time, you still are an annoyance to them and hopefully this causes the geese leave on their own.
- Grid your pond with wire if it is not too large. Run wire across your pond in 12-inch checker board squares 8-inches off the water. The grid will be too small and too low for geese to land or walk in. Dont worry, mallard ducks should not have a problem.
- If you see any nesting areas on the pond, utilize the same four tactics given at the beginning of this article. And remember, if a goose does lay an egg, stop all goose scaring tactics immediately and please contact the Ohio Division of Wildlife for the proper permit.
Scare With A Geese Predator Decoy
The best geese deterrent is the one that doesnt cause any health problems for the birds, and its as easy for you.
There are a number of geese predators out there, and if you purchase a decoy that looks like one, the birds will try to avoid that area.
Some people have had excellent results with DIY goose decoys, but the truth is that in many cases, they arent realistic enough.
The best goose deterrent actually resembles an animal thats threatening to Florida geese or to Canadian geese, so it would have to be either a fake alligator head or at least a fake dog or coyote.
Another natural geese repellent consists of plastic geese that look like they have been killed.
This wouldnt resemble a goose predator, but it would still give the birds the feeling that they are in danger if they keep hanging around on your property for too long.
Since swans are known to attack geese, one way of getting rid of Canada geese, for example, would be to get a pair of swans to live on your pond or use several fake ones on your water bodies.
Such a decoy usually comes with one or two anchors so that the plastic bird remains in one place.
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How To Get Rid Of Geese: What Scientists Say
Long-term solutions are the best ones as they allow to permanently solve the problem. So, if you are considering how to keep geese away, the first move in your strategy should be habitat modification with the aim of removing food and water sources attracting geese. Once these pests find out that there is nothing in your lawn to satisfy their needs, they will lose interest to the location and stop visiting it.
Primarily, do not practice hand feeding of geese and convince your neighbors not to do it either. This may sound strange, but feeding geese increases their aggressiveness and provokes to attack people as they get accustomed to receiving food and become angry when denied it. But most importantly, hand feeding habituates geese to the location and makes them perceive it as a source of easily accessible food. The next move is getting rid of waterfowl decoys from ponds and pools because they attract geese and for this reason are popular among hunters. Perhaps the most important measure to be taken is to alter the landscape to make it less appealing to geese.
Bird Blinder Repellent Pinwheels Garden Pinwheels To Scare Geese Off Lawn
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.
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Place Dori Poles On Your Dock
These poles can easily discourage ducks and geese from stepping their feet on your dock.
This is because they dont like being under the shadow of a pennant and it drives them crazy.
Dori poles with flowing pennants are the perfect scare tactic because the pennants cast an extremely big shadow on the dock and the ducks will not want to be under them.
Do remember that these only work effectively if your property doesnt have too much wind.
The more wind there is, the more ineffective the pennant will be.
A slight breeze is the perfect amount of wind needed to scare these birds away.
Restrict Access To Water
If you want to make geese go away, you can effectively and conveniently use their water fondness to your advantage.
If you set up barriers around any body of water that you might have on your property, these birds will be less likely to spend time in those areas.
Since they also tend to hate tall plants, to deter geese, you might also want to plant some shrubbery around your lake or pond.
Anybody of water that is surrounded by plants that are at least two feet in height will automatically make a goose be gone, nevermind a whole population.
Remember that geese like open and clear spaces as they can easily survey them and check whether there are any predators that could pose a threat to them.
To get rid of goose flocks, you can merely line your water bodies with plants or other types of barriers that have a minimum height of 18 inches.
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Is It Unsanitary To Have A Flock Of Canada Geese Around
Their excrement can harbor parasites, E. coli, and viruses.
Canada geese will not stop at the lawn when dropping their excrement. They will also cover surfaces like walkways, driveways, and sidewalks with it. Not only is this aesthetically and hygienically unacceptable, but it also poses a slipping hazard, due to the slimy nature of the excrement.
Challenges Of Having Geese
If you have ever been to a park that is frequented by geese you will notice that they tend to cover the entire ground with droppings. This abundance of waste is less than ideal for those of you that swim in your pond. The additional influx of organic waste can also cloud your water and promote increased weed and algae growth.
Geese can also carry problematic items from neighboring ponds. Duckweed and leeches commonly hitch a ride on the feet of water foul like geese and ducks, which are then introduced into your pond as they loiter in your yard.
Whether or not you should let geese use your pond depends on what you want to use your pond for. If you use your pond for recreation or decorative purposes it will be in your best interest to keep them away. If your pond exists for reasons outside of recreation and you enjoy the additional sights and sounds of geese in the summer then rest assured that your feathered friends would be relieved to see your decoy free pond.
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Scaring The Geese Away
Geese are simply looking for water and food. The more your property offers, the more attractive it is to those geese. And if you have a pond, thats just an extra point of attraction for the geese.
The first thing that you should do is take away the food options. If you have any wildlife or bird feeders on your property, that is likely going to be a big flashing sign to the geese that they are welcome on your property.
Stop this for a season or so to let the geese know that there is no longer food available to them. The geese will initially return but as they realize that there is no more food in the area, they will eventually find other sources of food.
There are also grass treatments and goose repellents that can be used. Apply them each time that you cut the grass in order to keep the goose from returning to your yard.
It is important to note that most of the grape-based products out there are not effective when it comes to keeping the geese away.
Of course, you can also make your own goose repellent. All you need is a laundry detergent bottle, some rocks, and a rope. Fill the bottle with the rocks and then tie a rope around it.
As the geese are walking around your yard, just walk towards them shaking the bottle. The noise is meant to scare the geese away.
This should be enough to scare them away again. It should also go without saying that you do not want to actually hit the geese with the empty detergent bottle.
Grow Your Grass Taller
To repel Canadian geese or any other species, for that matter, you could keep your grass longer than 6 inches.
The reason these birds loathe staying in areas that arent clear is that in long grass, there could be any number of predators just looking to pounce and attack them.
While this isnt a geese repellent per se, it is a solution to some of your geese problems.
If there is a pond anywhere on your property, your grass has to be a species that gets even longer than six inches.
If you could keep it at a length of about 20 inches, it would be even better as they arent going to want to come anywhere near it.
They will avoid it so much that they will start to look for food elsewhere, so they might even leave your property for a longer period of time.
Keep in mind that all water sources, whether natural or man-made, appeal to geese, so having high grass around them will at least partially solve the issue.
If you want, you can plant particular species around your water sources so as to deter geese from coming to your property.
Choose anything between cattails and rushes to sedges and warm-season grasses and make sure they have a height of at least 2 feet .
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You Have A Gorgeous Pond
If you have a pond nearby, probably close to your home, you may find geese around your property now and then. Geese boast an undeniable love for the water. And there are obvious reasons for that.
Firstly, after eating, they need to consume water to aid digestion. The water clears up the geeses sinuses and allows them to breathe. Failure to drink water after eating means theyll have challenges breathing correctly.
So, if you have food sources and a pond around your property, then you have the right combination to keep attracting geese.
Besides drinking, geese also enjoy playing and taking their bath in freshwater.
Intimidate With Goose Distress Calls
A bird noise maker is another type of device that can help you deter Canadian geese or any other species, for that matter.
There is the option of you picking a model that actually emits a goose distress call, but you can also opt for one that emits ultrasounds.
Sonic repellents are particularly effective when it comes to displacing geese from a particular area, even though this method only works if you have the device on all the time.
Although they are a temporary solution, most sonic repellents get the job done.
The best geese repellent in this category is usually equipped with a solar panel so that it can work with little to no effort on your behalf.
Moreover, a timer is necessary as it allows the unit to make the distress call every once in a while so that it scares geese away. Such a geese repellent is usually marketed as having an operating range.
Keep in mind that every model has a specific one , so pick the right one for the size of the area you want to be covered.
The sound typically lasts for approximately two minutes and it is repeated every ten minutes or more.
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How To Set Up Reflective Bird Tape
Depending on the size of your pond, you can create a fence out of the reflective bird tape to keep the geese away. Dont worry, building a reflective tape geese fence is far less complicated than it sounds.
Heres what youll need in order to build an anti-geese reflective bird tape fence:
- 20 30 Wooden, Metal or Plastic Stakes
- 1 2 Rolls of Reflective Bird Tape.
- 1 Hammer
If youre looking for a quality reflective bird tape, I wrote a guide talking about some quality natural pest repellents which includes reflective bird tape. You can to check out that guide.
Once youve got your supplies, youll then want to go ahead and figure out just where around your pond youll be setting up the fence as we arent placing the fence around the entire pond .
First, youll want to identify the most frequent spot where the geese are landing around your pond. From what Ive noticed on my pond, geese generally land in the middle of the pond and walk onto the land on the opposite side of where we usually are.
For instance, I built a fire-pit pictured above that my family and I often use . Even when we arent out there using it, Ive only ever seen geese on the other side of the pond and not where we usually interact. This is because the grass is more of a natural habitat to them.
Wherever you decide that the geese land the most frequently, the fence should be set up along the edge of the pond about 2 3 feet away from the shore.
Tall Grass And Shrubs
Geese like short, lush, mowed grass. They need space to land and take off, and are also uncomfortable feeding in areas where their view of potential predators is poor. Allowing grass to grow to a height of a foot or more will reduce the attractiveness of the area to feeding geese. If geese are walking onto your lawn from a pond, let the vegetation along the shore of the pond grow tall, plant shrubbery, or create a stone barrier along the shoreline. Planting shrubs and small trees interspersed throughout a feeding area can be very effective.
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Visual And Audio Goose Deterrents
Golf course, sports fields, are lake front properties are particularly difficult to control and require solutions that can quickly and effortlessly cover vast open areas. The first deterrents you should look into are visual and audio deterrents. 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
- Economical and cost effective
- Coyote Decoy should be moved periodically
Plant Bushes And Tall Flowers
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.
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