Scaring Geese?

[DaveM]

Hi All,

We're just coming up on our first anniversary at our new home and it's been interesting to experience all the seasons and some of the joys and sorrows of living here. Actually very few sorrows as this place is a long time dream come true /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif!

But in addition to deer, rabbits. groundhogs and foxes which all can be a nuisance in their own ways I'm getting pretty annoyed at some geese. Two families of Canada geese would like to set up home in our small pond (aprx. 100' in diameter). The first couple of days when the pair with their 5 babies showed up it was kinda cool... that is untill I discovered that their #1 activity is pooping all over the place /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif! Now that the babies are 1'+ tall the family can make a HUGE mess in just a few hours. I can go down and scare them away by waving my arms and throwing a few rocks but they just move a few hundred feet to our neighbor's pond. I like to swim in the pond so keeping the ground around it and their feathers out of the water is pretty important to me. I'm also not sure what impact they have on the general health of the pond which is pretty much algae free and supports a nice school of bass.

Any tips for keeping them away?

Thanks- Dave

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Set up a Christmas tree and wave a box of stuffing /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. Just kidding.

Seems to me airports have had trouble with birds and have tried a number of different approaches, right down to hiring Falconers to guard the runways. I'd suggest putting something out there that the Geese are afraid of. Maybe a fox decoy or something, and moving it every now and then so they don't figure out its just a dumb statue. I also recall that there's some kind of disease you can get from ducks pooping in the water. Dr. Dan may be able to tell you if its the same for geese. Only thing I do know is birds are hard to get rid of once they decide they like the spot.

SHF

 

[JOR_EL]

Dave,

[[[I can go down and scare them away by waving my arms and throwing a few rocks ]]]

This method is much more effective if you wear your hairy gorilla suit!
Seems to work best on really hot days. Keep running and running at them every time they land. Don't let them rest, for even a second. Show them that if anybody gives up, it's not gonna be YOU!!

(But don't slip and fall on the goose-poop, ...it really messes up a gorilla-suit!) /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Seriously though, I think Seattle has warned about some disease such as you mention, regarding their "Green Lake" park.

Better get gorilla suits for the whole family, ...then you can run in shifts.

Larry

 

[Von]

12 Gauge would work!

 

[RPM]

Get the 12 gauge out. Nothing like a death in the family to keep the geese away. If you let them stay you will have a tremendous mess in and around your pond. And yes, you can get all kinds of interesting bacteria in their poop.

For ornamental ponds they also recommend stringing cheese-wire across at a couple of foot intervals so the geese can't land and take off on it. Apparently it works well.

 

[RichZ]

Dave, geese are tough to keep away. Airports use cannons shooting blanks, with limited results. Besides, that would be too noisey at your house. What many airports and golf courses are now doing is hiring trained dogs to chase the geese. From what I've read it works well. If you have dogs, letting them chase the geese, if that is practical, may work well. It would be nice to wait until the babies could fly, though, or there might be unfortunate results. Also, the parents won't leave the babies, so if the babies can't yet fly, the parents may stand their ground.

Rich

 

[skent]

A friend of mine had a pair in his swimming pool. He too thought it was cool at first. He ended up shooting them. The water in the pool was never right after their visit. He tried super-chlorination over and over and it never cleared up. Weeks went by and he ended up pumping the whole thing out and acid scrubbing it.

Steve

 

[dmccarty]

DaveM,

Dog or Dogs will solve the problem. We have permanent populations of geese in the Triangle area of NC. I love to see them fly and I love their honking as they fly. But they leave one heck of a mess. And they aren't honking while I"m trying to sleep. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif We have a swamp behind our office building that the geese like to nest around. Like other visiters, they leave their calling cards when they visit the office building. Just a different kinda card.... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The local golf courses are hiring trained sheep dogs to come in and harass the geese until they leave. It appears this will be something the golf courses are going to have to do for a long time.....

While the 12 gauge may solve the problem and provide a dinner check with the game laws on this. The penalties can be hefty if the game is taken out of season or without the right stamp and license.

Later...
Dan McCarty

 

[Knight9]

There is a suitable spray that can be used. Methyl Anthranilate is a naturally occurring sweet flavored compound found in plants such as jasmine,concord grapes and orange blossoms. Geese (along with some other bird species) find it very distasteful. You spray it on the grass and they will apparently leave. Available in products like Goose Blocker

Caveat: I have no idea if this stuff is considered safe to use...especially if you swim there? Would check local laws also.

Kevin

 

[ronjhall]

Dave
The Marina that I have my boat at has a Border collie. That dog keeps watch over the whole Marina. Makes the Geese stay in the water or the Conservation area across the creek. Sure is fun to sit and watch the dog work the Geese over./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I'm afraid that with that kind of dog around you may not see many of the other animals that come to use the area./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Check out the link and attached picture.