How To Get Rid Of Geese, According To An Expert

Geese are beautiful in their natural setting. But they’re not so great when congregating on your lawn, damaging your turf, honking loudly, and leaving behind droppings. “Geese can be destructive,” says Robert Pierce, PhD, state extension fisheries and wildlife specialist at the University of Missouri.  “Once they have a nest, it’s difficult to get them to leave. It’s easier to move them off your property in the winter before they start breeding.”

Throughout the Southeast, there are both migratory and resident geese. Geese start nesting from late winter to early spring to produce one brood per year. Both birds attend the nest, which consists of 4 to 8 eggs that are incubated for about a month. During this time, the adults molt and don’t fly.

While some geese flee if approached by people or pets, others will stand their ground to defend the nest and will bite or strike with their wings, says Pierce. The goslings stay with their parents for a year until the following spring or until they migrate, and migratory geese may return to the same spot every year.

Toward the end of the summer, geese gather in large flocks. Because each goose can produce up to two pounds of waste per day, they create health hazards with their droppings, which can run into storm drains, contaminating recreational and drinking waters.

As a federally-protected species, special permits are required to take lethal action against geese, including managing the nest or eggs, says Pierce. Check with your state’s department of wildlife services for details (find yours here). But there are many other steps you can take to discourage geese from lingering on your property.

How To Manage Geese

If you currently have a geese population on your property, there are a few ways to encourage them to leave, though you’ll need to be persistent, says Pierce. Combine these techniques for a better chance of success:

• Use a fence. Obviously, geese can fly, but fencing can keep them away from areas close to your living space. A triple-strand wire electric fence (it’s enough to discourage them but not hurt them) is a good option.
• Hang “scare” tape. This technique often is used with fencing to create a visual barrier and to startle geese when the tape shimmers in the breeze. Silver mylar tape is twisted and hung between fence posts, or cut into strips and hung on fencing.
• Consider using repellants. Two types of registered repellants can be sprayed on grass: methyl anthranilate tastes bad, though geese may still frequent the area. Anthraquinone enhances the UV spectrum, so grass appears visually odd to geese (though not to people); geese also experience  harmless GI upset after eating the treated grass, and this encourages them to go elsewhere. Both products must be reapplied after mowing, says Pierce. They’re also expensive, so they’re suitable only for small areas.
• Use harassment techniques. Geese prefer not to be disturbed, so you can make an area seem less hospitable with persistent harassment, says Pierce. These methods are legal, as long as the geese are not physically harmed. The techniques are most effective from January through March before breeding season has begun. Options include using air horns, motion-activated water sprays, chasing on foot or with a golf cart, or using trained herding dogs (dogs are not allowed to harm the geese, and they cannot be used during molting season in early summer when geese can’t fly).

How To Deter Geese from Your Property

Changing the habitat is the most effective way to make your yard less inviting to geese:

• Don’t feed the geese. “Feeding concentrates the birds and makes them more aggressive to people,” says Pierce. Post a “no feeding” sign near street areas, and talk to your neighbors so that they know why you’re attempting to manage the geese.
• Let ponds freeze in the winter. This forces geese to look for other water sources.
• Create a vegetative buffer around ponds. Tall grass is less palatable to geese, and they don’t like walking through it because they can’t see hidden predators, says Pierce. Eliminate mowing for 20 to 30 feet from a shoreline.
• Reduce turf areas near water sources. Geese love lush, mowed turf and young, tender shoots of grass, especially fertilized lawns. Some of their favorite types of turfgrasses are Kentucky bluegrass, perennial rye and fescue, which have a higher protein content. Instead, use less-preferred plants such as Centipedegrass, St. Augustine grass, zoysia, big and little bluestem grasses, switch grass, myrtle, or pachysandra.
• Create a rock barrier. Geese prefer to walk into the water, and rocks near the shoreline, especially when combined with a vegetative barrier, discourage this behavior. Borders of rough rocks, such as large chunks of limestone or riprap, can be added along the edges of ponds.
• Forget about decoys. Sonic devices, scarecrows, and plastic scare devices such as alligators, swans, snakes, and owls don’t work, partly because the geese quickly figure out there’s nothing to fear.