Canada geese, particularly non-migratory “resident” populations, have become a common nuisance in urban and suburban environments across North America. Their adaptability to human-altered landscapes, such as golf courses and parks with manicured lawns and open water, has led to a population boom in these areas. This overpopulation creates significant problems, including excessive droppings that foul properties and waterways, noise, property damage, and occasional aggressive behavior, especially during nesting season. Addressing this conflict requires a strategy that is both effective at managing the population and strictly compliant with federal wildlife protection laws. Control methods must prioritize legal compliance to avoid penalties and ensure long-term, humane solutions.
The Legal Status of Geese
The first and most important consideration in dealing with geese is their protected status under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918. This federal law protects nearly all native bird species, including Canada geese, making it illegal for an average citizen to capture, kill, harm, or possess the birds, their nests, or their eggs without specific authorization. The MBTA is enforced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which regulates all actions involving migratory birds.
The USFWS and state wildlife agencies control the legal “take” of geese, nests, and eggs through a system of permits and depredation orders. For resident Canada geese, the USFWS has established a special Nest and Egg Depredation Order that allows certain entities, including private landowners, to destroy nests and eggs on their property. However, this requires self-registration with the USFWS online before any action is taken and a subsequent report of activity.
Any action that involves the lethal removal of adult geese requires a more stringent federal depredation permit, which is typically reserved for extreme cases of property damage or threats to human health and safety. The applicant must generally prove that non-lethal methods have been tried and failed before a permit for lethal control is granted.
Effective Non-Lethal Goose Management Strategies
The most effective, accessible, and legal way to manage geese is through a combination of non-lethal methods that make the area less attractive to the birds. These strategies focus on modifying the environment, using harassment techniques, and excluding the geese from specific spaces. Non-lethal control activities that do not result in harm to the geese, eggs, or nests do not require state or federal permits.
Habitat Modification
Habitat modification involves changing the landscape to remove the elements that attract geese, which are primarily short, nutrient-rich grass near open water. Geese prefer to forage on well-manicured lawns, so allowing grass to grow to a height of 10 to 14 inches near water bodies can discourage them from feeding in the area. Reducing the use of fertilizer and planting less palatable, coarse grass species, such as fescues, also lowers the nutritional appeal of the lawn.
Exclusion Methods
Exclusion methods use physical barriers to restrict the geese’s movement between water and land, a path they need to feel secure. Short fences, approximately one to two feet high, installed close to the water’s edge can deter geese from walking onto the lawn. For small water bodies, a grid system of wires or monofilament lines suspended 12 to 18 inches above the surface can create a flight hazard, preventing the birds from landing.
Harassment and Hazing
Harassment, or hazing, uses sights and sounds to make the area feel unsafe, with consistency being the main factor for success. Techniques include using trained herding dogs, which can be highly effective at chasing geese away without harming them. Other visual deterrents like Mylar scare tape, flags, balloons, or even effigies can be employed, though geese quickly become accustomed to static devices. The use of sound devices, such as pyrotechnics or specialized bio-acoustic alarms, can also be utilized for hazing, provided they are used without making direct contact with the birds.
Highly Regulated Lethal Control Options
Lethal control is generally considered a last resort and is only performed under the strict oversight of the USFWS and state agencies, typically after non-lethal methods have failed. The destruction of nests and eggs, while a form of lethal control, has a specific allowance for resident Canada geese under a federal depredation order. This process, known as egg addling or oiling, is a common population control measure that prevents the embryo from developing.
Egg addling involves treating the eggs to stop development, which is most often done by coating the eggs with 100-percent food-grade corn oil, which prevents oxygen transfer through the shell. The treated eggs must be returned to the nest so the female continues to incubate them, preventing her from re-nesting elsewhere that season. This activity is authorized for private landowners who self-register online with the USFWS each season and report their results.
The physical culling or euthanasia of adult geese is the most restricted form of control and is almost exclusively carried out by licensed wildlife control professionals or government agencies under federal depredation permits. This is often reserved for situations where large resident populations pose a health risk or present a hazard, such as near airport runways. The process typically involves rounding up flightless geese during their summer molt period and humanely euthanizing them under strict USFWS regulations.