Thanks to recent conservation efforts, the once-dwindling Canadian geese population has again soared throughout Canada and the United States. However, this sudden increase in their numbers brings new problems for homeowners and businesses, who are struggling to deal with their droppings, bacteria, noise, and aggressive behavior. To treat this growing problem and reduce the numbers of these otherwise harmless birds, many people have taken to lethal actions, not realizing that this solution is only temporary, since it has tremendous negative consequences for the ecosystem.

Fortunately, there are plenty of organic, eco-friendly, and humane solutions that can effectively remove geese from your property, while causing no harm to the environment and geese populations as a whole. If geese have taken over your property, utilize the following treatments and tips to effectively and humanely remove these nuisance birds for good.

Make Your Yard Unsuitable for Geese

The safest and most effective way to prevent geese is to make your yard unsuitable for a nesting site. Geese love short, well-manicured grass, as it allows them to easily graze for their food. To keep geese from infesting your lawn, incorporate organic gardening techniques, such as keeping grass at least 3 inches in length at all times and planting tall native plants that block access to their food sources. Please note that it is vital to perform these changes during winter, because trying to treat geese during their spring nesting season will be a difficult endeavor.

Eliminate Food Sources

Once you have created an environment unsuitable for these birds, the next step is to remove any food sources that may draw them to your property. One of geese’s favorite meals is Kentucky blue grass, and you must make sure to remove it completely from your property to prevent intruders. It is also important to avoid feeding these animals once they have arrived. This may seem like common sense, but many homeowners will inadvertently feed geese by leaving out scraps of food. Over time, the birds will grow accustomed to the free meals your yard provides and will feel safe on your property.

Fence Off Access Points to Survival Necessities

Like all animals, geese prefer to reside in areas with easy access to food, water, and nesting sites. One of the best ways to keep geese out without harming them is to fence off access points to these areas around your property. The fencing may consist of temporary plastic, permanent wood, or metal fencing, depending on the severity of your goose problem. Planting dense shrubbery can also serve as an effective fence and provide a natural and aesthetically-pleasing addition to your property.

Structured Harassment

Harassing geese off your lawn or pond can be an effective solution to your problem, but it must be performed in a structured manner to be effective. The goal is to incorporate a punishment/reward system to train these birds from choosing these areas as nesting sites. Begin by harassing geese as they land on your lawn or pond with loud noises or other such techniques. Once they fly away, immediately stop harassing them, in order to let them know they are being rewarded for fleeing the property. For this solution to be effective, it helps to understand the seasonal schedule that geese follow to land on your property, and it must be repeated over a period of time.

Contact a Pest Control Professional

Sometimes treating invasive wildlife is best left to a professional. At Greenleaf Pest Control, we provide industry-leading wildlife removal and prevention services that are not only effective, but place no unnecessary harm on the geese themselves. Through the use of live traps and the implementation of physical barriers, you can be rest assured that your property will be free of these nuisance birds.

The most successful management programs for geese incorporate multiple methods. Don’t be lured into a false victory after a few geese leave your property – it takes time to eradicate such prevalent and persistent beings. Fortunately, by combining the aforementioned preventative treatments and working with a pest control professional, you can keep geese out for good and live in pest-free bliss as you await spring’s arrival.

About the Author:

Daniel Mackie, co-owner of Greenleaf Pest Control, is a Toronto pest control expert well-known as an industry go-to guy, an innovator of safe, effective pest control solutions, and is a regular guest on HGTV. Mackie, along with business partner Sandy Costa, were the first pest control professionals in Canada to use detection dogs and thermal remediation for the successful eradication of bed bugs. In his free time, he is an avid gardener.