Canada geese can wreak havoc on your property, destroying the grass, covering the lawn in messy droppings, and irritating tenants and guests. Getting rid of this pest is possible, but it’s not always easy. There are several steps you can take to remove geese from your yard, from do-it-yourself solutions to professional goose control services. Here’s an in-depth look at how to get rid of geese.
Why are Canada Geese a Problem?
Canada geese cause a lot of problems. They can be aggressive, especially during nesting season, putting people nearby at risk of attack. Geese also eat and kill grass, destroying the look of well-maintained yards and leaving droppings all over the place. Additionally, geese can spread diseases, creating a health risk for anyone on your property.
Aggressive and Annoying
Nesting geese can be aggressive and may hiss or attack if people and pets get too close. This puts tenants and guests at risk of injury and puts you at risk of being held liable for those injuries. Geese may also show aggression towards other geese by squawking at them and appearing to fight them. This, along with the birds’ usual loud honking, can irritate people nearby. Getting geese to leave will create a quieter, calmer environment for people who live or work on your land.
Property Damage
Lawn care is difficult with Canada geese around, as these birds eat and damage grass. A single Canada goose also leaves behind up to 2 pounds of poop each day, making the lawn and walkways messy and difficult to navigate. By getting rid of geese, you’ll not only create a nicer looking space, but a clean one that people can actually enjoy.
Health Risk
Geese can carry and spread bacteria, viruses, and parasites, posing a health risk for people on your property. Geese can spread health threats like E. coli, listeria, chlamydiosis, salmonella, and pasteurella multocida through droppings, nasal discharge, and biting. Persuading Canada geese to leave your land helps create a healthier location for humans.
What Attracts Geese?
Why do so many geese keep showing up? If your yard has manicured grass, plenty of food, a water source such as a pond, and no predators, your property is an ideal spot for geese to live. Geese are also fond of urban areas because buildings, rooftops, and parking islands make great places to build nests and allow the birds to see any potential predators. When geese find a good nesting spot, they’ll return to it for up to 12 years. It’s important to get rid of Canada geese as well as prevent them from retuning to keep your property a safe and pleasant environment for people.
How to Repel and Remove Geese from Your Yard
There are a variety of methods you can try to get rid of Canada geese, including do-it-yourself solutions as well as services from professional goose control companies. Some methods are more effective than others, and the amount of time and energy you’re willing to put into keeping geese away also affects how successful your efforts will be. In general, the best and most humane way to get geese to leave is to scare them. Once they perceive your land to be an unsafe place to live, they’ll move out on their and find a new home.
Repellent Sprays
One DIY way to get rid of Canada geese is to spray the grass with goose repellent. These liquid products are made with grape extract, which makes the grass taste bad and irritates the goose’s stomach. Realizing your food options are unappealing, the geese decide to look for better food elsewhere. Goose repellent can be sprayed over your yard and near buildings and ponds.
Decoys
Placing decoys on the lawn can scare the geese by making them think there are predators nearby. The geese decide that your property isn’t safe and find somewhere else to live. Try using decoys that look like a predator of Canada geese, such as a coyote or dog. To prevent geese from swimming in your pond, try placing a swan decoy in the water. It should be noted that geese are intelligent and may quickly stop being afraid of the decoys.
Noisemakers
Another way to scare away geese is by making loud noises. You can buy a noisemaker or create one by filling an empty laundry detergent bottle with rocks and tying a rope to it. Then, shake the bottle while walking towards the geese (but be sure to not hit the geese). You can also make noise by playing recorded sounds of predators, yelling, or using an air horn. However, building tenants and neighbors may not enjoy this method.
Professional Geese Removal Solutions
DIY goose removal methods are often ineffective in the long run. Instead, let professionals get rid of geese for you. Goose control companies like Goose Masters use border collies to scare geese away from your yard. It’s a humane and effective way to get these birds to leave and find a new home. Hiring experts is also a convenient solution that gives you time back in your day to focus on other tasks on your to-do list.
How it Works
Goose controlling professionals bring trained border collies to your property on a regular basis. These dogs have a “herding eye” and desire to stalk the geese. Although the dogs never attack, Canada geese fear the dogs (who they perceive to be predators) and decide they are no longer safe on your property. The dogs herd and chase the Canada geese off of your property, and the geese find somewhere “safer” to live. To achieve the best results, the dogs should work your land on a seasonal or year-round basis. Follow-up visits can also help prevent geese from returning. A professional will talk with you about your needs and the goose population on your land, and determine the best course of action.
Remove Geese from Land and Water
Highly trained border collies are excellent at scaring geese away from water as well as land. When geese notice the dogs stalking them in the grass, they may move to the water, not realizing the dogs will jump into the pond to continue chasing them. When the geese see that there are no safe land or water areas on your property, they take flight and find a new home. At Goose Masters, we specifically choose goose dogs that enjoy swimming and are willing to chase geese on land and in water.
About Goose Masters
Professional goose control from Goose Masters is an effective and humane way to get geese to leave your property without physically removing the birds. Our skilled dog handlers direct our highly trained border collies on which direction to move the geese. The dogs enjoy stalking the geese, and the geese learn to stay away. The Goose Masters team serves a variety of property types and organizations throughout Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, including private estates, homeowners’ associations, assisted living communities, beach-front living, lake-front living, corporate properties, parks and recreational facilities, cemeteries, golf courses, schools, and more. We can work on properties with water sources like a pond, lake, stream, or reservoir, or no water at all. Our team only uses goose control methods that are safe, humane, and environmentally friendly.
Our border collies love what they do and are excited to go to work. We select dogs to be goose dogs based on their unique characteristics, including predictable temperaments, and outgoing personality, and good health. We even match our dogs to specific handlers based on who we think will best complement each other. Before our border collies become goose dogs, they train for months or years until they are ready to get real-world experience. The world-class dog handlers at Goose Masters have raised, trained, and handled three National Champion dogs, including the 2000 National Nursery Champion, the 2000 Working Border Collie Herding Dog of the Year, and the 1995 Purina Herding Dog of the Year.
The Humane Geese Removal Solution
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the USDA Wildlife Services approve of our goose control techniques using border collies. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society recommend using working border collies for controlling geese. We pride ourselves on offering a goose removal service that is humane as well as effective.
How to Prevent Birds from Nesting
In addition to chasing geese off your yard, there are steps you can take to help prevent the birds from returning and staying. Geese go back to the same nesting spot every year for up to 12 years when they find a location they like, so it’s important to make your property a less-than-ideal place to nest. Canada geese eat grass, aquatic plants, seeds, and berries, so areas with water and low vegetation are the perfect places to call home. If this sounds like your property, you can reduce your chances of attracting geese by getting rid of food, allowing the grass to grow, covering the pond if you have one, and blocking nesting sites.
Get Rid of Food
Geese are attracted to areas with plenty of food. To prevent geese from sticking around, get rid of their food options. If you have bird feeders on the property, remove them, and consider posting signs to discourage people from sharing their food with the geese. When the geese realize there’s no food for them, they’ll leave and eventually stop returning.
Allow the Grass to Grow
Canada geese prefer grass that is short, so consider letting your yard grow tall. This is especially helpful near water, as tall grass makes it harder for geese to walk from the yard into the pond, and vice versa.
Cover the Pond
Canada geese like areas with bodies of water, which give the birds a place to get away from predators on land. If you have a pond, cover it with wire netting. You can create a cover by running wire across the pond in a grid formation, creating 12-inch squares placed about 8 inches above the surface of the water. This small, low grid will serve as a deterrent, making it difficult for geese to access the water. Mallard ducks, however, should still be able to access the water just fine.
Block Nesting Sites
The nesting season for Canada geese lasts during the spring months, so if geese find a site they like on your land, they’re going to be there for a while. Plus, geese may return to a good nesting site for years. Once geese have moved away from your land for the season, place large objects in areas where you’ve seen geese nesting. Make sure the objects are too heavy for the birds to move. When geese come back in the spring and see their nesting sites are blocked, they’ll look elsewhere for a place to call home.
It's important to note that you should never move or destroy a goose nest. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 protects a variety of birds, including Canada geese, and states that it’s illegal to disturb Canada goose nests when there are eggs inside, unless you have a permit to do so. If you see nests, wait until the geese are done with it for the season, then place a large, heavy object there to make it unusable in the future.
Get Rid of Geese
Canada geese are a common nuisance for commercial and residential properties. Getting rid of geese creates a healthier, safer, and more pleasant environment for the people on your property. While there are a variety of do-it-yourself goose control methods, the most effective solution is hiring working dogs to scare the geese away. At Goose Masters, we provide our humane service year-round to achieve the best results. Contact us to learn more about how to get rid of Canada geese.
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