Suggested Goose Control Methods
No matter which methods you try, you must respond quickly, you must be persistent, and best results are achieved when you use more than one method at a time.

The effectiveness of these methods often depends on whether the geese are walking or flying into your yard. When geese return in the spring, the flocks are attracted to the first grassy areas exposed by melting snow. Later, they move to lakes and ponds free of ice. Then the geese disperse to nest. After that they start molting (growing new wing and tail feathers) and cannot fly. At this time they concentrate on many of the lakes and large ponds in town. After the molt, the flocks remain together but can once again fly to large, grassy fields all over town.

1. Stop All Feeding Homeowner efforts to frighten geese away are often frustrated by people feeding the geese next door or across the lake. If you or your neighbors are feeding Canada geese, you might as well give up trying to scare them away.

   Wild birds do not need to be fed in summer. Natural foods are plentiful.

    

    

2. Hazing The simplest method involves frightening or hazing geese. In some cases, repeatedly and vigorously chasing geese from your property while armed with a broom or water hose will cause the geese to relocate. Hazing is most effective when the geese first arrive. When are molting and flightless, hazing is less effective than temporary barrier fencing. A permit is not required to scare, repel, or herd geese to protect your property, provided no attempt is made to confine, injure, or kill the birds. Some golf courses have successfully hazed geese using highly trained border collies with skilled handlers to repeatedly chase geese from fairways and greens, forcing the birds to relocate. At homes, confined or chained dogs are not effective deterrents because geese quickly learn that the threat is limited. Free-running dogs are not popular with neighbors and are prohibited by the municipality's leash law. However, dogs confined to a yard by an electronic "invisible fence" may be useful in some situations. A dog must be carefully trained for the "invisible fence" to work properly. A dog may also be temporarily secured to an overhead cable oriented along the shoreline. Careful selection and training of a dog motivated to chase geese is necessary to ensure success. Dogs cannot be allowed to catch or harm geese.

    

    

3. Bird Scare Tape and Balloons Bird scare tape or bird flash tape is a short-term or emergency tactic to reduce problems from geese walking onto your yard. Bird scare tape is most effective with small numbers of geese that have other mowed grass areas they can move to. Bird scare tape is not effective if geese are flying into your yard. Bird scare tape is a thin, shiny ribbon of mylar about ½ inch wide. It is silver on one side and colored, usually red, on the other. When properly used, the tape flashes in the sun and rattles in the breeze. The flashing and rattling frighten geese. Mylar tape can be supported by wood, metal, or fiberglass stakes. Mylar should be attached to the stakes with duct tape, because tying knots weakens mylar tape. Inspect and repair the tape daily. Pets, people, wind, and wildlife can break the tape. Locate the tape where it is visible to the geese.

    

    

4. Repellents Repellents to spray on the grass to make it untasty to geese and which are not harmful to plant life are available.

    

    

5. Barrier Fencing Barrier fencing is a very effective method for excluding walking geese from your yard. This method consists of placing a physical barrier that geese cannot pass through between the water and the area you want to protect. Barrier fences can be constructed from woven wire, chicken wire, plastic construction fence, corn cribbing, chainlink, netting, wood, or boulders. Low fences may also be a temporary solution when geese have young or are molting. For example, 5 strands of 20-pound-test monofilament fishing line, strung at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 inches above the ground will exclude walking geese. Flag the lines to warn people, and expect pets and wildlife to knock them awry. Another version of barrier fencing is also effective in some circumstances when the geese are flightless. Rather than leaving a smooth gradient that allows geese to walk from lake to lawn, a vertical "step" at the water's edge can discourage goose access. The "step" should rise at least 18 inches above the normal summer water level. It will lose its effectiveness if the water level rises.

    

    

6. Landscaping Landscaping your property to make it less attractive to Canada geese and their broods is considered the most effective long-term and environmentally sound method of reducing goose problems on individual yards and lawns. Canada geese avoid feeding and loafing in areas where plants obstruct their view of the surrounding area. Temporary measures such as fences or repellents may be necessary to keep geese from your yard until landscaping is established.

   Canada geese prefer to eat short, fertilized grass. Mowing your lawn less often may cause geese to feed elsewhere. Planting trees or dense shrubs may also make your lawn less attractive to geese.

   A hedge near the water with a gate to allow human access can be decorative as well as effective at reducing goose access to your lawns. The hedge should be at least 30 inches tall and must be dense enough to exclude geese. Check with your local nursery or greenhouse for shrubs that will work in your yard.

   Leave (or plant) a dense strip of naturally occurring trees and shrubs (20-30 feet wide) along the shoreline. A narrow (3-4 feet wide) S-shaped footpath can provide access to the lake.

   An unmowed shoreline buffer of native grasses (e.g., Calamagrostis) and wild flowers that grow 20-30 inches tall in a strip 20-30 feet wide along the shoreline can discourage goose visits. Native grasses generally remain standing even after winter snows have compacted most other grasses. Use a mowed S-shaped footpath (3-4 feet wide) to provide access from your yard to the shoreline.

    

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