Managing nuisance geese on residential property requires a combination of habitat modification and persistent, humane deterrents. Canada geese are highly adaptable, often drawn to residential areas that inadvertently offer them ideal food sources, safety, and water access. Successfully keeping them out involves making your yard less appealing to their natural instincts, ensuring they view your property as an unsafe or unsuitable place to graze and rest. The most effective strategies focus on sustained, integrated methods rather than relying on a single, short-term solution.
Removing Attractive Elements from Your Yard
The primary attraction for geese is easily accessible food and clear sightlines for predator detection. Closely mowed lawns, particularly those featuring Kentucky bluegrass, provide the short, tender grass geese prefer. To counter this, allow your grass to grow to a height of six inches or more, which makes the forage less digestible and difficult for them to clip. You can also switch to less appealing turf species, such as tall fescue, which geese find less attractive than manicured lawns. Finally, remove or modify small, shallow decorative ponds and eliminate all feeding sources, such as spilled birdseed, which attract geese for bathing, drinking, and safe escape.
Physical Barriers and Exclusion Tactics
Geese prefer to walk from water onto a grazing area rather than flying over barriers, making low-profile exclusion tactics effective. A simple fence or barrier placed between a water body and a lawn can prevent easy access to the feeding area. Fences should stand approximately 30 inches high to discourage adult geese from stepping over them.
A more subtle option involves using two or three parallel strands of nearly invisible wire, such as monofilament fishing line, strung horizontally near the ground. Effective configurations include wires placed at heights like 5, 10, and 15 inches above the turf, creating a psychological barrier that disrupts their walking path. For small ponds or swimming pools, overhead wire grid systems can deter geese from landing on the water surface. These lines should be suspended 12 to 18 inches above the water, spaced 10 to 20 feet apart, restricting the wide-open space geese need for landing and taking off.
Natural landscape features can also function as physical barriers by obstructing the geese’s sightlines. Planting dense shrubs, tall native grasses, or other robust vegetation along a shoreline creates a visual buffer. Geese are wary of moving through high cover where predators may be concealed, especially if the buffer strip is 20 to 30 feet wide. Using large rocks or boulders along the water’s edge makes it difficult for them to exit the water and access the lawn.
Active Sensory and Harassment Methods
Active deterrents rely on startling or repelling geese, and are most successful when implemented consistently and varied frequently. Visual deterrents, such as predator decoys or reflective Mylar tape, can initially cause alarm. However, geese quickly become accustomed to static objects. To remain effective, visual deterrents must be moved every three to four days to prevent habituation, or they should be motion-activated to create an unpredictable threat. Auditory deterrents, like systems broadcasting authentic goose alarm and distress calls, exploit the birds’ natural communication system and must be used intermittently and randomly.
Taste-based chemical repellents offer a reliable method for making grazing areas undesirable without causing harm. Products containing the active ingredient methyl anthranilate (MA), a compound derived from Concord grapes, are applied directly to the grass. This chemical irritates the geese’s trigeminal system, causing temporary discomfort and conditioning them to avoid the treated area.
The most immediate and effective harassment technique is consistent, non-harmful hazing, such as chasing the geese away with a trained dog. This consistent pressure convinces the flock that the area is not safe for resting or feeding. Homeowners without a trained dog must be equally persistent, repeatedly moving the geese off the property the moment they arrive to break the habit of residency.
Legal Status and Professional Management
Canada geese are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). This law makes it illegal to pursue, hunt, capture, kill, or destroy the nests or eggs of migratory birds without proper authorization. Humane, non-lethal harassment techniques, such as hazing and the use of approved deterrents, are generally permissible without a federal permit, provided the actions do not result in harm to the birds.
If a goose population is too established for do-it-yourself methods, or if nesting and egg destruction is necessary, official permits are required. Resident Canada goose nest and egg destruction is sometimes authorized under specific depredation orders, often requiring the landowner to self-register with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). For complex or large-scale issues, contacting a Certified Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator (NWCO) ensures that any intervention is performed legally and humanely.