Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Geese!!!!

Any advise on getting rid of un-welcome geese as visitors to a pond?

i tried to bug them for weeks and they kept coming back and crapping all around the pond, nasty stuff, then they pulled my lilies out of the containers cancelled.

Are they Canadas or Snow Geese?

If their in season I'd reccomend a 10 gage with #2 steel shot.

They are Canadas and mean as all get out!!!

Sounds like a clear cut case of self-defense to me!

svoberts,the guys in the office just voted you top honor's for the day.your answer was great

No question, it would be self defense.

There is a new product called Flight Control Plus that is a goose deterant. It is not the grape stuff that has been on the market. It is explanied on the website www.flightcontrolplus.com. Hopefuuly this will help get rid of those pesky geese!

They are trained quickly with a pellet gun, especially if you hide and they don't know where the sting came from. It makes them scared of the pond area instead of you so they are afraid even if they don't see anyone around.

I have considered a single line of fence 1 foot off the ground. This will deter Geese because they need to walk in and out of the water. I was thinking of putting in an electric fence of this type for Herons.

Def. a 12 gauge though a 20 would do, Got any turkey loads? If questioned tell them you were trying to fish with your kid or a kid and they attacked you what other choice did you have? Wax the sob,s there worthless anyway.

My 6 month old Golden Retriver and some turkey hunting seems to have given them the message they ar not welcome at least for now.

You can buy dead goose decoys and throw one or two out, moving them every couple of days to a different location. Thats how a large industrial plant took care of the 200+ they had in there ponds in this area.

Back a few years ago when I was starting to dig my pond a buddy and I grabbed large fish nets and jumped on the 4 wheelers and rounded up 49 geese into a horse trailer, 1 got away and walked down the road, we then took them to a guy a few miles away that wanted them. It seems to have worked, I still get 2-4 a year for short periods of time, but fireworks are cheap and work well.

If you go the "self defense" route, you still might not want to waste them. I recommend filleting off the breast halfs and marinating in a grocery store packet of southwest or mesquite marinade, then grill, but don't overcook. Red wine goes well.

Continuous harasement by a good retriever may also work to keep them away (or bring them to the fillet knife).

dwb,
How about posting your recipe for goose breast here:
http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=000756

I had so many locally migratory Canada geese (plus 5 resident tame geese) come to my fish feeder that I quit using it. They knew just what times meals were served and would fly in for a big snack. I started hand-feeding but the geese soon lost all fear of me. Even a shotgun using non-lethal shot wouldn't scare them away for long. This year, my neighbor started feeding the wild turkeys and the geese showed up for that, too. Now we have a goose feeding area a little way from the pond on the side opposite of where I feed the fish. Scattering a couple of quarts of cracked corn in the afternoon keeps the geese occupied while the turkeys and fish are fed. I have also found that feeding after the geese roost in the evening works, for the geese will not leave their roosting spot to come for the fish food. I like having the tame geese around because I have only seen one water moccasin in the last several years, whereas I used to shoot several every spring. I am convinced the geese are eating the small snakes.

Lou, I guess I just don't understand the problem. See self defense above and figure out who is in charge.

What is the problem, you ask. Actually, there are four problems.

One is that in my county (Shelby, AL) there are very large numbers of Canada geese which migrate in many flocks from pond to pond all year. Unless a person were willing to go blast them from around the feeder every day, it would be impossible to kill them all or even scare them all.

Second, as for putting fear into geese, our Alabama ones don't even know how to fly north and the fear part of their tiny little brains shows "tilt" when food is in the offing. Any fear is very short term.

Third, I really, really, don't like snakes (They are all coppermouthedrattlemoccasans to me) and have come to the scientific (OK, if you insist, superstitious) conclusion that geese think "snake" is spelled f-o-o-d. See above in re geese and food.

Fourth, I grew up many moons ago on the Mississippi flyway. At the time, it really wasn't all that worthwhile to hunt geese because Canadas were so few. I developed an unreasoning hatred for those who didn't shoot them in season and with a migratory bird stamp on a valid hunting licence. I also developed a very reasoned fear of ol' Mr. game warden.

Fifth, (OK, so I lied about having four reasons)geese make great watch-animals, protecting my house from stray puffs of breeze, falling leaves, and their own hallucinations by honking all night seemingly at random but with all the conviction of a revival preacher with a floppy bible. No self-respecting burgler would go someplace with such a gosh-awful racket when he could find a more peaceful workplace.

Finally, my goose problem is solved by my getting a bit of exercise walking around the pond feeding the bream in the late afternoon/early evening and, incidentally, seeing occasional turkey, deer, wood ducks, coons, and discarded beer cans an inconsiderate guest might have left.

So, that's the problems, and I didn't even mention how much I would miss the natural fertilizer on the lawn, walkway, and boat landing or how great their personalities are.
Lou

Lou, I stand corrected! I still remember the time when I was a small boy. My Grandparents had a couple of geese that kept me on the run until I got big enough to swing a bat. Haven't like them since. I also remember where the term "slicker than goose $hit comes from".

A note to all who would use the "self defense" routine above: It is illegal to shoot a Canada goose out of season. It is illegal to shoot a Canada goose in season without the appropriate permits, stamps, and firearm/non-toxic shot. This is a Federal law. All it takes is a not-so-understanding neighbor, some evidence, and you might be going to the Federal pen.

And yes, urban geese can be a significant problem.
Don't ever let them nest on your pond. They have high site fidelity, and those babies will return to make their own little ones.

Sorry if I came on strong. I just don't want to see anyone getting into trouble over something as silly as goose poop on their lawn.