Best Canadian Goose Deterrents

When soaring high in the sky, a v-shaped pattern of migrating geese is a wonder to behold. But once these creatures step on land, there’s nothing wonderful about them at all. On land, geese are a nuisance. Geese tend to gather in large groups near water and a food source; a grassy slope leading to a water source is goose heaven. Grass is an excellent source of food and may provide shelter and secure nesting spots for geese and their families. These birds are persistent, aggressive, and messy; a gaggle of geese taking up residence on your property is a serious problem for the following reasons:

Geese Droppings

One large Canadian goose can produce one and a half pounds of feces every day. When you’ve got a whole flock of them on your lawn, that’s a lot of bird poop. Goose droppings are slippery, unsightly, and toxic. Large amounts of accumulated goose droppings will often deter visitors to your location. When the droppings leach into adjacent water, it often becomes necessary to close off the area for health reasons. And goose poop is hard to clean up. The locations make cleaning up a challenge and the quantity of feces involved generally requires costly, expert cleanup by skilled professionals with the appropriate safety gear.

Property Damage

A dastardly combination of eating and trampling wreak havoc on any green space regularly inhabited by large numbers of geese. One flock of geese can eat a beautiful turf lawn down to bare soil in almost no time at all, and what they don’t manage to consume gets hopelessly crushed. Gardens and crops can also quickly fall victim to a horde of hungry geese.

Safety

Geese and humans have a distinctly uneasy relationship. When geese live in the neighborhood, they cause dangerous traffic snarls as they cross the road in search of food and water. Geese are also known to attack and even bite, especially if they believe their nests are at risk. Many small children live in fear of these large, feisty birds.

There is simply no question about it: geese are a nuisance bird. They inflict damage everywhere they go, provoking accidents, attacking children, eating crops, trampling lawns, and casually contaminating everything they touch with copious quantities of toxic droppings. What’s more, Canadian geese are able to adapt to any environment; they’re moving into cities and towns with increasing frequency. Keeping geese away is becoming a greater and greater challenge.

How to Keep Geese Away

While controlling geese is certainly a challenge, the situation is not without solutions. If you are experiencing a goose problem, large or small, there are a number of steps you can take to alleviate the problem and keep geese away. In some cases, it may take very little effort to convince geese to leave, but most situations require a strategic combination of techniques and products to achieve long-term success.

Habitat Modification

Removing food and water pretty much guarantees geese will go someplace else, but this technique is often the most difficult to achieve. Planting trees around water can prevent sunlight from nourishing grasses at the water’s edge. Replace grassy slopes with hard, steep banks at least three feet high. Plant tall grasses at water’s edge to make accessing the water difficult or plant tall fescue which upsets goose stomachs. And never allow anyone to feed the geese.

Exclusion Devices

Exclusion devices such as netting, monofilament wire, and fences may work to keep geese at bay. Laying knotted netting along the edge of the water is effective at keeping geese away as they do not like the feel of the knotted netting under their feet. Wire grids constructed over water, electric fences, and wooden corn cribbing may also be used when the situation warrants.

Repellents

Repellents are used to drive geese away. Scare tactics are one common goose repellent. Predator decoys like coyotes require constant moving but are an inexpensive way to keep geese away. Loud sounds, distress calls, and even dogs can be used to deter geese, but they may also disturb neighbors and should be used with consideration. Liquid repellents are also available.

A Closer Look at Goose Repellents

At Bird B Gone, our mission is to solve bird problems. To that end, Bird B Gone offers a number of excellent solutions to address nuisance geese. Your specific circumstances will dictate which solutions are right for you. Our team of experts is here to assist you in protecting your property by designing a comprehensive goose control strategy that involves a variety of elements including exclusion devices, deterrents, and repellents. When it comes to geese, repellents are an especially important element in any control program because, in large outdoor areas where geese are most prevalent, it’s just not possible to remove or block every element that might attract geese. Repellent sounds, lights, and smells make spaces less attractive for geese and they will not only leave but stay away.

The best Canadian geese repellents bother the senses of the birds in order to create an inhospitable environment. Canadian geese are actually quite sensitive and scare easily. Examples of humane methods for repelling geese include moving reflections and lights, predator sounds, and unpleasant smells/flavors; sights, sounds, and smells can all be used to repel birds. Repellents can be used in any bird control regimen, but they are especially invaluable in large-scale environment such as gardens, marinas, commercial agricultural locations, parks, golf courses and other large-scale areas where other bird control solutions are not practical. In these scenarios, repellents can be used to deter geese from entering the space and maintain a bird-free zone.

The Simplest Solution: Reflect-a-Bird™

Bird B Gone’s Reflect-a-Bird™ is a simple visual goose repellent. This silent, mirrored, wind-powered visual deterrent uses reflected sunlight and movement to create a distraction zone that scares skittish geese away. Its sturdy aluminum and plastic construction withstands harsh weather and its innovative design allows for easy, flexible installation. Reflect-a-Bird is effective when used alone and is also easily layered with other bird control products for even greater effect.

Pros

• Affordable
• Easy to install
• Can be installed on a wide variety or surfaces
• Maintenance free
• No special equipment required

Cons

• Sunlight and a breeze are required; will not deter birds on still, gray days
• Effective across a relatively small area
• Must be glued, screwed, or tied down

Take it Up a Notch with Liquid Deterrents

Many goose control programs require a more aggressive approach, which is where liquid repellents come in. Liquid geese repellents use the powerful active ingredient Methyl Anthranilate (MA) to repel birds. MA is a non-toxic, EPA-approved substance proven to repel Canadian geese. MA is derived from an extract of concord grapes, making it completely safe for humans and terrestrial animals. To people, MA has a pleasant, mild, grape smell, but to geese it’s like pepper spray. MA irritates a bird’s trigeminal nerve, causing discomfort to their nose, eyes, and throat. MA is humane and does not harm geese, but it does make them miserable. Bird B Gone’s AVIAN line of liquid bird control products all contain MA as their active ingredient.

When buying a liquid goose repellent, it’s important to consider the following:

• How large is the area you need to cover?
• Is any portion of the affected area partially enclosed?
• What is your ability/tolerance for maintenance?

Let’s take a closer look at three of the outstanding liquid geese repellents offered by Bird B Gone.

Buyer’s Guide to Liquid Geese Repellents

Here are some great options for liquid geese repellents:

1) AVIAN Control

Avian Control™ contains a 20% solution of MA and an additional active ingredient, methyl 2-aminobenzoate. This is a powerful combination of irritants that effectively drives geese away when consumed or breathed in. One gallon of AVIAN Control will treat approximately 4 acres and the product can be dispersed using any type of spray or fogging equipment, including large-scale agricultural spray equipment or thermal fogging machines.

Pros

• Non-toxic
• Easy to apply using sprayers or foggers
• Repels large congregations of geese
• Coverage area is large

Cons

• Requires repeat applications every 7-14 days

2) AVIAN Migrate

AVIAN Migrate contains a 14.5% solution of MA as well as a proprietary colorant visible only to birds. The smell and sight of AVIAN Migrate drives geese away and teaches them not to return to the treated area. One gallon of AVIAN Migrate allows you to treat about 16,000 sq. ft. or 1/3 of an acre. AVIAN Migrate can be sprayed or fogged to obtain results.

Pros

• Non-toxic
• Easy to apply using standard sprayers or foggers
• Uses sight and smell to deter geese
• Repels large congregations of geese

Cons

• Requires repeat applications every 7-14 days
• Coverage area is small

3) Avian Fog Force™ TR Bird Repellent

Avian Fog Force™ TR Bird Repellent contains a 14.5% concentration of MA. This powerful repellent is dosed using specialized programmable spray mist dispenser cabinets containing disposable aerosol cans. Each dispenser cabinet is programmed to release an invisible aerosol bird repellent mist intermittently on a user-selected programmable schedule. Dispenser cabinets can be placed strategically in areas where geese are a problem. 

Each aerosol can of Avian Fog Force™ TR Bird Repellent will keep geese away from a 42,000 cu. ft. area for roughly 30 days. Avian Fog Force™ TR Bird Repellent is an excellent solution for well-defined, partially enclosed areas where geese may gather, including dairy barns, stables, stadiums, marinas, open garages and storage buildings, pools, patios, and outdoor eating areas.

Pros

• Non-toxic
• Easy to apply using time-released dispenser
• Repels large congregations of geese
• Appropriate for use in semi-enclosed areas
• Maintenance requires minimal effort; set it and forget it

Cons

• Small coverage area

Trust Bird B Gone to Keep Geese Away

Bird B Gone’s lineup of AVIAN geese repellents has something to offer anyone with a goose problem, large or small. If you still have questions about which AVIAN product will work best for you, please call us today. Our bird control experts are standing by to help you drive geese away and keep them away.

Protect your property from costly damage caused by geese with powerful repellents from Bird B Gone.