Are geese messing up your land and taking over? You’re not by yourself. It can be hard for homeowners to take care of their yards while also dealing with the problems that wild ducks can cause. Taking steps to control geese is important for keeping the area clean and safe. We’ll talk about effective ways to get rid of geese and keep them away for good in this complete guide.
From figuring out how they act to using real-world barriers, we’ve got you covered. It is important to know that all native wild geese in the US are protected by federal law. This includes Canada geese, which are sometimes just called “Canadian geese.”
This means that you can’t hurt them, their eggs, or their nests without a special permit. Find out how to keep birds away in a way that is safe, kind, and legal below.
The Problem With Geese
Getting rid of geese is important for both farmers and homes. These birds can really mess up lawns, fields, and crops, and their droppings are a mess that is both ugly and unhealthy.
Bacteria and bugs that can make people and pets sick can be found in goose droppings. Places where there are a lot of ducks can become breeding grounds for diseases like E. salmonella and E. coli.
For landlords, having a lot of geese in their yard can ruin it and make it useless. Farmers have even more problems because geese can damage fields and pollute water sources, which costs a lot of money.
Geese can also be mean, especially when they are mating, which can be dangerous for kids and pets. Goose control that works keeps property values high and makes the area safer and cleaner for everyone.
Understanding Geese Behavior
It’s important to know why geese choose certain places and what keeps them coming back before you try to fix the problem.
Habitat Preferences
Lakes, ponds, and big fields with bodies of water are places where geese like to hang out. They like to be in places where they can see predators from afar, which makes wide-open fields very appealing.
Feeding Habits
Geese usually eat grains, grasses, and plants that grow in water. They are known for grazing too much on fields and crops, which damages landscapes and wears down the soil. A group of geese can quickly destroy a lawn or crop field, leaving behind dead spots and damaged plants.
Breeding Patterns
Geese usually have babies in the spring and lay their eggs in nests near water. They are likely to come back year after year once they have found a place to nest, so getting rid of them early is very important. Geese can be very mean when they’re trying to mate, which makes them very dangerous for pets and kids.
How To Get Rid Of Goose From Your Lawn
A well-thought-out design plan is the first step in keeping geese off your yard. Geese like open areas where they can see predators from a distance, so letting your yard grow longer (about 6 inches) can be a good first step to keep them away.
Be deliberate about the type of grass you put in your yard by picking something they don’t like, like tall fescue. You can also get good results by using natural groundcovers.
You might want to think about clover, spreading phlox, and wild blue phlox. You can also aerate your yard to help water drain away and make it less wet, which is what geese love.
You could plan your lawn carefully, or you could use treatments to keep geese away. Garlic and cinnamon are natural items that can be used to make smells that geese don’t like. Spray a mix of these around your yard to keep birds away without hurting the plants or grass.
Use professional repellents made just for geese for a more targeted approach. A compound from grapes called methyl anthranilate is often found in these goods. It bothers geese but is safe for people and pets.
To keep these repellents working, use them often, especially after it rains or you water your yard. Geese will stay away from your lawn if you use both natural and commercial repellents together. This will keep your yard clean and fun to use.
How To Get Rid Of Goose
You can get rid of Canadian geese that are eating your plants and trees in a few different ways. There are “sight aversions” that you can use to keep geese away, but you can also use their senses of smell, hearing, or touch to keep them away.
You may need to use more than one of these methods because geese that really want to eat on your yard can be very tolerant and may need to be persuaded in more than one way.
Scare Geese Away With Visual Deterrents
The Canada goose is afraid of the wolf because it is a natural predator. Because of this, you should buy a coyote fake and put it on your lawn. The geese will know that the shape and color belong to a dangerous animal and will stay away from it.
If you let your dog spend time in the yard, the dog can pretty much be used instead of a wolf since they are both dogs. In fact, the dog will work better than a fake because a charging dog means immediate danger while a decoy stays still and only suggests danger.
But letting dogs into your yard comes with its own problems. If you choose this method to get rid of geese, you will be safe in more ways than one:
Seeing The Dog Will Scare Geese Away
Smelling the dog (and its pee) will let them know there is a danger nearby.
When the ducks hear the dog barking, they will become scared right away.
Goose control can be done with scarecrows. Try to make them as real as you can. Goose eyes can also be caught by flags or other things that move in the wind and scare them away. Holographic tape that is blowing in the wind also makes sunlight bounce off of it, which makes geese feel lost.
The eye-spot balloons or kites work especially well. The scary eyes are made to look like they are following you around wherever you go. They will move like a real predator if you hang them in trees and let the wind blow them around. They should be moved around every so often so that the geese don’t get used to being in one place.
To get rid of two problems with one stone, put a motion sensor light in the trouble spot. This will scare the geese away when it turns on and keep criminals from entering your land.
Impact The Geese’s Sense Of Smell
Since smell and taste are so closely linked, they are pretty much treated as the same thing when naming goose repellents. All items that change a goose’s sense of smell or taste are bad because they need to be used again after it rains or after the grass is mowed.
Geese can be kept away from your lawn by applying predator pee to it. When the geese smell the urine, they think that the attacker is nearby.
Chemical repellents are another way to get rid of geese, just like using predator pee. They are sold at most home repair stores. Anthraquinone and methyl anthranilate are two examples of chemicals that are known to work. The first one makes the geese’s stomachs hurt, and the second one just tastes bad.
There are bug sprays with Concord grapes in them that are made to keep Canada geese away because of the smell, which, for some reason, they find disgusting.
Use Sounds To Scare Geese Away
Another thing you can buy is something that makes an ultrasonic noise that scares geese away. Geese, on the other hand, get used to noises very quickly. This is especially true if you live in a noisy area. There are three main types of noise blockers:
- Pyrotechnics
- Propane cannons
- Recordings of the actual distress calls of Canada geese
Annoy Geese With Netting
A lot of animals, like Canada geese, don’t like how netting feels under their feet. Because of this, a product called “BirdBlock” sells better. It’s rolled up. Birds won’t want to land on it even if you put it on the ground.
This method works best when Canada geese are drawn to a property because it has water on it, though. It has to be limited to certain places; not all homeowners will have to follow it. It would not be possible to put nets down over the whole surface of a big lawn.
The net is a great idea if you have a pond on your property, though. Put the net along the edge of the pond to keep geese from landing there, which is one of their favorite spots.
Putting up a tall fence around your property can also keep geese from walking in. When you pick out your material, make sure it’s strong enough to keep geese away from food and water. Fences need to be at least 30 inches tall.
What Causes A Goose Infestation?
Geese like to be near water and grass. Both are places where they can get food. Geese will be more likely to bother you if you have a big yard, a pond, or if you leave out bread or other food that geese like.
How To Prevent A Goose Infestation
Canada geese could move into your home if you have a big yard, especially if it has a pond next to it.
The geese are drawn to lawns for two different reasons:
- Grass is a food source for them.
- They can see any animals sneaking up on them on a big lawn because it is open. In this way, they can eat without too much trouble because they can easily fly away if they see a predator.
- Based on these facts, it seems like a simple way to keep Canada geese from taking over your lawn: make it smaller. Put shrub beds in that grass space instead. The geese will see the shrubs as dangerous places where predators could be hiding, so they will stay away. Plus, you’ll have pretty plants to look at.
How To Get Rid Of Goose From Your Property
Pests will stay away from your property if you put up real barriers like fencing and netting that keep them out of certain areas.
Geese like open spaces to land and take off, so putting up a low fence that is only 2 to 3 feet high will keep them from walking on your yard. A mesh or wire fence works well, and you can make it work even better by turning it outward so that geese find it hard to cross.
You can use landscaping as a natural deterrent in addition to fencing to make real barriers. Put up tall plants and shrubs around the edges of your property or near water to block the geese’s view and make it harder for them to land. Plants like switchgrass or native bushes can block out unwanted views and make your yard look better at the same time.
One more useful tool is a decoy. Plan ahead and put predator decoys like coyotes or alligators near places where geese like to hang out. These can be especially useful if they are moved around every so often to keep the danger illusion going.
Goose can also be scared away by moving and making noises that they don’t expect, like sprinklers that turn on when they sense movement.
How To Get Rid Of Goose In Ponds
Keeping your pond in good shape is important if you want to keep ducks away. Clean the pond and the area around it often to get rid of any food sources that geese might be interested in. They don’t like the surroundings as much when the water is clear and free of trash.
Using natural deterrents can be a kind and eco-friendly way to keep geese away. Geese may not be able to see the pond as well if you plant tall grasses, shrubs, or aquatic plants around it. This can make the place less appealing for landing and nesting.
Geese can be scared away by changing the water level and other features in your pond. Geese like water that is shallow and quiet, so making the pond deeper or adding fountains and aerators to keep the water moving can make it less appealing to them. This keeps birds away and makes the water look better and better.
Changes to the pond’s physical structure can also work well as a barrier. Geese find it hard to get in and out of the water when there are steep banks or hurdles around the edge of the pond. Making the shore rough or uneven can also keep geese from getting to the pond.
For a more direct method, pond nets can be used to keep geese away. Goose will not be able to land on the water if you stretch a small mesh net over the pond.
Make sure the net is firmly attached to something and has a mesh size that is small enough that geese can’t get through it. This works especially well when geese are coming back to nest, when they are very persistent.
Other Preventive Measures
Use a mix of landscaping techniques and seasonal factors to make your property look bad so geese refuse to come there. Geese-repelling landscaping methods change the environment to make it less appealing to them.
This can be done by putting tall grasses or dense shrubs near water features or open areas where geese might nest. This makes it harder for geese to graze and nest.
Geese are migrating birds that often look for places to nest in the spring and summer, so seasonal factors are very important. In these times of the year, you can keep geese from staying on your property by using visual scare tactics or putting up temporary fencing.
To make an area less appealing to geese, you can get rid of things that could be food sources, like spilled bird seed or trash that isn’t locked up, and use things that scare them away, like motion-activated showers or predator decoys. By using all of these methods together, you can successfully stop geese from nesting on your property and reduce any problems that may arise.
Best Geese Repellents
Goose repellents can be very effective at keeping geese away from your property, especially if nothing else has worked. Here are some of our best choices:
Goose D-Fense System
You can quickly and easily set up and take down this movable fence, which was designed to keep geese away. It’s a great choice if you want to enjoy your yard without any barriers. The fence is made up of thin poles and wires that are almost impossible to see. It is subtle but works well to keep geese off your lawn.
Critterfence
This fence is made of 100% brand-new polyethylene and comes in rolls of different sizes. It will not rust or corrode. If your pet is medium-sized and doesn’t like to chew, this is what you should do. This is a good way to keep geese away from your pond because it is easy to set up and doesn’t weigh much.
Garden Craft Black Metal Steel Border Fencing
This fence is made of black powder-coated steel and is sold by the panel, which makes it easy to change to fit your needs. Being 32 inches tall, this is tall enough to keep geese off of your land and also add some beauty to your garden.
Protective Pond Netting
Geese might not want to go near your pond if you put up protection netting when you’re not using your yard. These are pretty cheap, and they come in a range of sizes to fit your needs.
Spray Goose Repellent
For a more targeted answer, you might want to try a spray that is made to keep geese away. Avian Migrate Goose Repellent is safe and doesn’t harm animals. It only takes one spray to make geese less likely to come near. This spray also works on coots, mute swans, and other small birds.
FAQs
What Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of Geese?
Changing the habitat, putting up visual and auditory deterrents, and doing regular care are the best ways to get rid of them.
Are There Humane Methods To Deter Geese?
Yes, there are several reasonable ways to keep geese away. To keep geese away, you can plant tall grasses and shrubs around ponds and lawns. This will block their view and make the place harder for them to get to. If you move predator decoys around every so often, they can scare geese away without hurting them.
Chemicals that aren’t poisonous can make geese dislike the taste and smell of something, which makes them want to leave. Putting up hurdles like low fences or pond netting can keep geese out of certain areas while still keeping the birds safe. These ways will keep the geese under control without hurting them.
Can I Use Chemicals To Keep Geese Away?
Yes, it is safe and useful to use chemicals to keep geese away. Chemicals that aren’t harmful are often used to keep geese away. Geese don’t get hurt by these chemicals, but they do make the place smell and taste bad, which makes them want to leave.
You can spray these on grass, bushes, and other places where geese like to gather.
How Do I Prevent Geese From Nesting On My Property?
If you know exactly where the geese want to nest, you could use an automatic time-release aerosol bird repellent like Avian Fog Force to keep them from doing so.
Automatic sprinklers and noisemakers are also good ways to make your property a bad place for birds to nest.
Do Decoys Really Work For Geese Deterrence?
Decoys can sometimes keep geese from building their nests on your property, but their effectiveness will depend on the specifics. The geese might get used to them and figure out that they are not really dangerous in the long run.
To make them work better, move them around every so often or use them with other scare tactics, like visual or audible ones. To keep geese away, decoys work best when used with other methods.
Canada Geese Vs. Other Geese
Other than the very similar cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii), the Canada goose is easy to tell apart from other geese. The Canada goose is easy to spot because it has a long, black neck and head with a striking white chinstrap and cheeks.
It doesn’t look like much else: the top of its body is grayish-brown and the bottom is white, and its legs and webbed feet are black. It’s black and flat. Their heads and necks may be a bit bigger on boys, but otherwise they look the same. The Canada goose is about the same size as a mallard duck and a mute swan.
Canada Goose Identification
This is the link to the guide for the Canada Goose at allaboutbirds.org, which is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Other geese can cause problems for homes in the same ways that Canada geese do. You can keep them from becoming a problem on your land in the same ways that you get rid of Canada geese.