Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Non violent goose/duck control?

Our one acre pond has a goose and duck problem. Any ideas on how to get rid of them without fire arms... The pond is in a public park so open hunting is not likely to go over well. Looking for "behavioral management" tips that have worked for others. Thanks

Let a dog chase them away.

On a one acre pond, only one dog won't chase them away if they don't want to leave. My Springers would swim after the geese, chasing the geese 'round and 'round my pond and whenever they got a bit too close the geese would take flight for 20' just to stay ahead of them.

A dog chasing them in the water and a person in a boat or a canoe, that's a different story. They won't stay on the water for long.

Are they roosting there? "Away with Geese". It works if there isn't a vandalism problem. http://www.awaywithgeese.com/awg2_web.nsf?Open

Another thing to do if they are walking out of the pond and grazing on the grass is to spray the grass with a repellent. Look at http://www.flightcontrol.com/

WIth it being a park, momofilament line strung on stakes around the pond perimeter probably won't work very well.

My dogs will keep geese out of the yard. They will chase the geese into the middle of the pond where they think they are safe. But guess what, no food in the middle of the pond & most of the geese around here like eating grass.

I can't remember if someone posted it on here but its on youtube. For some reason, geese don't like green laser lights around them. Kinda funny to watch....Bottle rockets are fun also!

TFM Frank, my bad buddy, I should have said this first....Welcome to Pond Boss!

I can tell you a story about hunting ducks. This might not be the solution for a public park but maybe it will be good enough for another person.

A relative of mine used a trap for beavers and herons (take a look at the picture below):



He managed to catch some beavers, a heron and afte some time even a duck. After that he put some traps in shallow areas of the pond and put some bread or what as a bait. This method was highly succesful. Do you need a duck for dinner? Simply put 3 traps and don't forget to collect your duck the next day.
Many may dislike this approach because it seems unusual but I don't see anything bad in it. Anyway, in shooting there is always a high possibility of injury only.

The "Away With Geese" light hasn't worked so well for me. Constant harassment has worked the best (canoe, rocks, etc) - especially in the spring when they are trying to nest.

X2 for the 'constant' part - chase after them with a slingshot daily for a week or two - they'll get the message. They're dumb but not THAT dumb.

I have one of the laser lights (red) that the dogs like to chase around. But the dogs also keep the geese off the dock and out of the yard. Like I said, no food in the middle of the pond.

And bottle rockets are fun too!!! even with those d*** herons that have killed three nice sized LMB and two amurs in the last 4 weeks.

FlightControl® PLUS: LABEL
1.Anti-feedant (consequence): Geese experience a temporary but very effective digestive irritation, usually within 20 minutes, when they eat turf treated with FlightControl® PLUS.
2.Visual Warning (threat): Geese have four retinal cones (unlike humans, who have three) and have the unique ability to recognize FlightControl® PLUS in the ultraviolet light spectrum in addition to the visible light spectrum in which humans see. The appearance of turf treated with FlightControl® PLUS is unnatural and, once conditioned to the digestive reaction, the visual signal of the treated turf provides a warning to the geese not to eat the turf.

Studies have shown that birds will refuse to eat food treated with the active ingredient in FlightControl® PLUS once they are conditioned.
Treated turf appears natural when viewed by humans.
Treated turf appears speckled when viewed by geese in the UV spectrum.

What will the geese do after I treat my turf with FlightControl® PLUS?

•Geese will sample the area. They may react by shaking their heads, drinking water, pecking at their bellies and rubbing their necks. (20 minutes for response time).
•As the geese sample, the conditioning process begins.
•Geese will not die as a result of eating FlightControl® PLUS.
•They may feed several times, drinking in between, while being conditioned to respond.
•Geese will learn that a treated area is not a good place to feed.
•Geese have no choice but to find an alternative food source. This conditioning usually takes one to two days.
•New droppings should decrease, and existing droppings will continue to age if allowed to remain in the drop zone turf, turning white with age.

Detail$ available upon request... KD

That's awesome. So it may take several instances of the Geese becoming ill, or at least under the influence of the FC Plus before conditioning becomes effective?

If you want to try something really awesome... Cannon net
http://nicholsnetandtwine.com/product/cnet

Yes please, you can PM me.


Forget the net, I'll take the cannon..

Thanks for the link Kelly, but FlightControl looks like it is hazardous to humans and domesticated animals. I wanted to try it but with friends kids around the pond and my dogs I can't take the chance.

FlightControl looks like the perfect solution in some cases, but not mine. Just curious Kelly, did you have something to do with naming that product ?

I'm curious as to how you came to this conclusion. Do you know something about this chemistry that isn't reported on the label or MSDS?

Nope! I had nothing to do with name. FlightControl was originally a SePRO product. I wasn't aware that SePRO sold it to Arkion until recently.

Err, just let it dry first?

Kelly, on the "label", there is a warning that this product is hazardous to humans and domesticated animals (first page, left side). I'm not a chemist but if a company puts that warning on their label, I will definitely not take a chance of some little kids around my pond getting sick because I ignored something the company warned me about....

I read the (company) label you posted and have not read the MSDS report. Sorry, won't take the chance... Like I said, it looks like a perfect solution in some cases.

I just went back and re-read the label again... Sorry, it reads "hazards" to humans and domesticated animals (not hazardous). My bad... but its still not worth taking the chance around kids.

"Precautionary Statements" appear (and are required) on all pesticide labels; AND for virtually every product offered for sale in today's litigious society. In many cases, I'm convinced that these statements serve to protect a manufacturer from the idiots in the world, more so than to alert consumers of the potential hazards posed by "typical uses" of the product.
The Precautionary Statement on this product's label is the standard and minimum verbiage found on ALL pesticide labels that display the "Caution" signal-word (which denotes the lowest level of practical-use hazard; as opposed to "warning" or "danger" signal-words).
It is the consumer's prerogative to decide which products represent an acceptable "risk:benefit" balance. In this particular case & IMO, repeatedly exposing children to concentrated waterfowl fecal-material represents an avoidable risk that far outweighs the miniscule risks associated with this product's appropriate use.
BTW, check out the warnings found on toothpaste, vanilla, children's asparin and many other household items.

I agree with Kelly on this one. Regular old table salt will kill ya but we still use it.

It's about litigation/risks/benefits. I'd rather be walking around barefoot on grass treated with flight control than grass that is treated with goose poop.

Cripes Kelly, have you read my posts? I have friends with small kids around my pond with my dogs (and in case you're wondering, the dogs take their dumps along the fence line).

Again, my dogs don't like geese but they're not out 24 hrs a day.

I said "FlightControl" looked like the prefect solution in some cases but not "MINE"! I seriously thought about using FlightControl until I read the label (that's where my conclusion came from).

I'm not trying to argue with you Kelly but I want you to see where I'm coming from. Any kids that come over to my pond deserve to be safe (including chemicals). I have life jackets and life rings around the pond and make sure at least two parents are at the pond(even if one child is fishing).

esshup, kinda like alcohol and tobacco???

No way do I want to argue the matter. I’m simply “opinionated” (just ask my wife).
By all means, it is every land and pond owner’s prerogative and duty to determine what is considered “safe” for themselves and their visitors. Some may argue that allowing young kids around a pond at all isn’t “safe”. But, I digress.
I simply want readers to grasp the distinctions between label-verbiage "requirements", "motivations" and "realities". In many respects, the Greenspan quote that appears beneath my posts is applicable to reading product-label precautions.
If one realistically assesses the true risks, hazards and dangers of our normal daily activities, the potential threats posed by products such as FC PLUS would pale in comparison.
I neither expect nor want to change your position on this matter. Instead, I simply encourage the concept of “risk vs benefit” assessments – based on factual data and reality rather than generic statements.

I'm dropping it Kelly...

TFM Frank... I sincerely apologize to you for hi-jacking your thread. Hope you come back. We're all good people here.

HL, correct. There's lots of things out there that we come in contact with that are poisonous to us, it just depends on the quantity that's injested.

Too bad I'm such a fan of all the "violent" methods, Otherwise I would give the product a try myself....