Natural Ways to Get Rid of Geese

Canadian Geese are migratory birds that may decide to make your property a stopping off spot. These beautiful birds may seem attractive at first, but they are messy and pollute your lawn with their droppings. There are natural measures to take to get rid of geese, including decreasing grazing areas, discouraging feeding, chasing them away with a well-trained dog, using goose fencing and modifying landscaping around ponds.

  1. Decrease Manicured Lawn Areas

    • Geese love to graze on short, manicured and fertilized grass. The more manicured land you have, the more geese you attract. Rich in nutrients, fertilized grass is more attractive to geese, so reducing your fertilization helps. If you are able to decrease your lawn space, you eliminate a prime feeding area, making your property much less attractive to geese.

    Don't Offer Food

    • Discourage neighbors who feed geese, and don't feed them yourself. Feeding geese only encourages them to stick around and invites more geese. Get the word out to neighbors that you have a goose problem and ask them to refrain from feeding them. Post signs in the neighborhood to educate neighbors of the problems with feeding geese. Bread is usually what folks choose to give them and it is unhealthy for geese. Baby geese fed bread don't get the proper nutrients and won't grow flying feathers.

    Chase Them Away With a Dog

    • Geese stay in places where they rest and graze in peace. A well-trained dog disturbs them enough to chase them away. Geese are protected animals, so it's illegal to kill, injure or harass them. Your dog needs to be trained to not attack or hurt the geese. Border collies are good geese dogs because they are naturally prone to herd other animals without injuring them.

    Use Goose Fencing

    • Placing goose fencing between the areas where geese rest and graze discourages them from staying on your property. Fencing works best in the summertime when geese are molting and unable to fly.

    Alter Pond Landscaping

    • Changing the slopes and landscaping around your pond makes it unattractive to geese. Geese like gentle slopes to the water because it makes it easier for them to get their young to the pond. Making the slopes around your pond steeper and planting tall grasses around the waterline makes it difficult for geese to access the pond. Large rocks and shrubs along the shoreline also help. Geese stay away from such barriers, which prevents them from seeing potential predators.