Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Lasers for goose control/harassment??

I was searching for goose control ideas online and saw lasers mentioned as a deterrent. Anyone ever try this?

http://www.laserglow.com/page/golfcoursebirdcontrol

The geese are driving me crazy. The goose deterrent light doesn't work too well at night, because of the location of neighbors and the street shooting is difficult and my border collie mutt is not bright enough to figure things out.

I am going to have to tell my friend about this. The geese drive him nuts. I am sure he will be trying it out.

Just don't point it upwards and get it pointed at an airplane. We don't want to see you in the news.




May be he's not so dumb... he just knows it is a losing battle before he starts

Rob,

I'm not exactly sure where you are located, related to Canada Geese.

I can't legally shoot the miserable critters for most of the year, but friends just a few miles east of me can, where the geese have been declared "resident." It is a very arbitrary boundary throughout PA, MD, WV, and VA -- and probably other states, too.

If you can "take them" much of the year, a bore sight laser is a pretty useful tool. It won't scare them. But, it sure makes quick work of accurate "sighting in" from a deck or porch, to a pond.

Until I recently retired, I worked on an industrial "campus" in northern VA. The whole area was pocked with lots of run-off/containment ponds.

My co-workers and I were harassed daily by the bad-tempered geese. They were especially bad just after hatching new goslings.

Growing up on a farm with more than a few very nasty ganders, I hold no mercy for geese -- driving or walking. My co-workers gave me a lot of good-humored razzing because I usually carried a broomstick between buildings, and to meetings. (We actually had to hire a company to regularly shovel our sidewalks and parking lots to clean all the goose "cigars.")

For many reasons, there wasn't a whole lot that could be done about the geese. Federal, state, county, and local regulations protected these critters. Maintaining the speed limit on our local streets was one of the few legal ways to lower the population.

I also encouraged my co-workers to never hurt or harass the many over-weight snapping turtles that lived in the retention ponds near the office.

A local group has been fairly successful in " addling" the eggs near the ponds of office parks and campuses. They must be a brave bunch -- I'd never been imprudent enough to go near an active goose nest. They obviously know techniques I don't know.

Good luck in your quest.

Ken

P.S. Assuming you find a way to capture a few gooses/ganders, or more, it is possible that an upcoming issue of PB Magazine might have a recipe for preparing duck/goose breast. Properly prepared, duck/goose breast can be very difficult to distinguish between it, and extremely high-priced beef tenderloin.

We have a lot of migrating as well as some resident geese. I have had some nest builders in years past but as of last year they were 'unsuccessful' in hatching their eggs. That part is easy. Right now it's the flocks that settle in around noon time when I'm not there. Other flocks try to land in the pond at dusk. If I'm home it is easy to discourage them simply by clapping loudly or standing by the pond. If they sneak in and I don't notice them they hang out all night. If I could point a green laser at them from the porch and have them fly off it sure would make it simple.

I will probably get a laser. I'm trying to figure out if I need to spend $150 to $200 for a good one. After reading some opinions online it sounds as though the cheaper $20 lasers don't do a good job.

Too bad you can no longer get those high-powered solid state lasers from Russia. Now you are forced to build your own CO2 cutting lasers. A little fire on the butt would make an excellent deterrent. Enough "juice" and you can pre-roast your dinner! Just make sure you are wearing protective goggles first.

A nice high-powered Ruby-YAG (excuse me its been a while if I got it wrong) would be fun in likely plucking the critter at the same time as roasting it. That may not be entirely ethical though...

The new green lasers are very good at deterring unwanted guests, and they are eye safe. I have had very good success with the one I have used in the past. Dusk is a great time to employ them against pests.

What size did you use? The Bird Phazer is 150mw and is definitely not eye safe. I need to have the laser be effective to about 600 feet away. I would love not to have to worry about blinding myself or someone else.

I'll have to check the mw rating. I would guess it might be around 100mw. I know I can see it on the dam during daylight 1200 feet away.

That the one that you showed me?

That is the one I use for long line "marking" the one I use for pests are a little smaller.

That sounds like it might be fun. But you might be able to have more fun for the money......

We have some folks here who will do just about anything to get rid of these fowl things, and y'all need our favorite option: TOYS.

Everything from remote conrol boats to stand-up jetskis.
It's a little early here in OH to be on the stand-ups, as the ice just melted, but the remote control boats you can use anytime and the geese are very afraid of them. Go buy the biggest one (not the most expensive necessarily) and have some FUN. Or send your kids out to do it for you. You won't have to ask them twice.

Kate did it for me today. I noticed a pair on the opposite side of the pond, and when they saw me they walked up out of the water. I sent her around the pond and they took flight before she got within 75 feet of them. No batteries needed, just dog food!

Although, if they're in the water, the RC boats can move faster than she can.

I looked at RC boats but couldn't any that would work at 400+ feet. And if I could find one with lights so I could use it at night...

The Traxxas Spartan is supposed to have a 1,200+ foot range. Surefire makes some small bright lightweight flashlights. Have duct tape, will travel!

Did I miss something? Why do the green lasers work better than red or any other color lasers. Is it just because they are "eye safe"? I'm confused.

Did we ever actually get a first person review of lasers for geese removal.??

Green lasers are not necessarily 'eye safe'. Any color laser can blind you if it�s strong enough. The lasers used for cat toys or presentation pointers are less than 5mW and, from what I can tell, safe. Anything higher is dangerous.


Here is my review of lasers and what I learned. Sorry if it�s too long-winded�..

When I first stumbled upon the idea of using lasers to discourage geese I found the �Bird Phazer�
http://www.discountwildlifesupplies.com/store/BirdControl/Repellents/BIRDPHAZERLASER.html

and an article about the USDA using lasers:
http://www.geesedamage.com/images/tnlaserspdf.pdf

I thought $200 was a little expensive for an experiment so I searched and found loads of laser suppliers online. From what I read a 50 mW laser would be as strong as I would need rather than the 120 mW Bird Phazer. And they can be bought for a lot less money.

There are loads of internet sellers - most from China or HK - some good, some bad. The cheap lasers are usually not as powerful as advertised. Nor are they as reliable. Like anything else there are tons of opinions on the Internet as well as a message board like this one. After reading too much about them I purchased a $20 50mW green laser pointer and finally received it a few days ago. Green lasers are the most effective for birds and geese. I am not sure why but they can see it the best and perceive the laser dot as an object. The nice thing about green lasers is, depending on the mW rating, you can see the beam when it is dark out. Sort of like a Star Wars weapon. I wanted to use it at night to scare geese off the pond while standing on my front porch. The near end of the pond is about 100 feet away and the far side is about 500 feet.

The 1st night I had the laser I heard a bunch of geese flying low over my house and right to the pond. It was already dark out so I grabbed the laser and walked out to the pond to try to see where they were and point the laser at them. I was ready - the laser was not. Even though it worked when I was inside it barely worked outside. I wound up throwing rocks to scare the geese away. When I got back inside I took the batteries out and reinstalled them. Then it worked fine. I could shine a green dot all the way across the pond. Keep in mind laser dots don�t �spread� and are basically the same size whether you point it at something 10 feet away or 1,000 feet away. It�s not easy to see where you are pointing when shooting it a long distance. The green beam at night helps let you know where you are pointing at night.

So, back to the internet to figure out if I bought a junk laser or it was something else. I found out that lasers have optimal operating temperatures and, because they can generate a lot of heat, need to be cooled. The operating temperature for most green lasers is 60-86 degrees. If it is colder than that the electronics can�t generate a laser beam. That�s what happened when I went out at night - too cold. It might have worked if I kept it in my pocket until the last seconds before using it.

I also noticed when I 1st used the laser inside that the beam would fade after short time and then shut down. Since lasers generate a lot of heat they need a cooling system. I bought a cheap laser for $20 which doesn�t have a cooling system. You need to spend about $250 or more for that. The so called �duty cycle� for cheaper lasers is about 60 seconds on and 30 seconds off. That means I can shine it for 1 minute but then, in order to protect the laser electronics, I need to shut it down for at least 30 seconds to let it cool off. The unit itself doesn�t get hot, just the laser diode inside. It you run it too long it can shorten the life of the unit or even burn it out completely. The cheap laser I bought seems to have a duty cycle much shorter than 60 seconds - maybe 30 seconds at best. That is not good since it can take harassing the geese for a few minutes before they leave. From what I have read some will fly away immediately and other will quickly move out of the way of an approaching laser dot but not fly away.

I did have one positive experience using the laser. The other morning I was getting ready to leave for work and it was still dark out. For the heck of it I walked out on the porch and pointed the laser at the pond not knowing if there were any geese on it. As I was slowly sweeping the beam from side to side I heard splashing like a shark feeding frenzy. Since the laser doesn�t illuminate much more than the beam and dot I couldn�t tell what was going on. I figure it had to be the laser scaring the heck out of geese. They didn�t fly away but I�m guessing they were flapping their wings in a panic trying to get away from the dot. Unfortunately I couldn�t use it for more than 30 seconds and, in the minds of the geese, the threat had passed so they stayed put.

I could buy another cheap laser or 2 to give me more time to point a dot on the water. I view it as just another tool in a constant battle to keep the �flying toilets� away from the pond. I do have an �Away with Geese� light but it�s questionable at best as to how well it is working. If I see geese flying overhead I clap my hands loudly which, surprisingly, makes them think twice about landing. If I see them land on the pond I immediately walk to the pond and they usually take off - if not I throw rocks at them. And, for the stubborn geese, I get in the canoe which works great. Many times they take off as the canoe hits the water before I even get in. I am being extra vigilant as nesting season approaches. Last year a resident pair did not have a successful breeding season�� I don�t expect to see any goslings this year either.

Thanks RobA.... But does the green color have something to do with scaring geese?

Yep. Do a search for "laser geese" on YouTube.

HL, I think the geese can see the green where the red isn't as visible to them. In looking for a night light for predator hunting, predators are more "twitchy" with a green light than with a red light. Hogs aren't bothered with a green light or a red light.

RobA, I was out last night with my red laser and the GBH that was on the pond didn't like it a bit. It happened to be the one that is attached to my Kahr CW9, but I didn't make any noise with it.

Something didn't sound right when I let the dog out, so I went out to investigate. Dunno what it was.

Hmmm, even the cheapie RC boat I have will make it across my pond and back--and the geese really do not stay around a pond where there is something in the water they don't like. As soon as I can get my little jetski on the water, the geese go for good--taking their goslings with them. They don't come back, not at night or anytime.

Thanks guys, I was just curious if the geese were color blind to certain colors. My golden retreivers would run on the ceiling if they could catch a red dot laser. Its a cheap laugh but I can't help it. And then they walk around the rest of the night looking at the ceiling (I'm grinning now).

Which RC boat do you have?