Tag Archives: geese deterrent

How do you get rid of Canada geese?

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Play YouTube Ohio Geese Control Video

Ohio Geese Control gets rid of Canada geese with geese deterrents. Successful and cost-effective management of Canada goose activities often depends on identifying the site characteristics most attractive to the geese (e.g., security, food, nesting sites, water). Ohio Geese Control will then design a custom management program based on the potential for reducing these characteristics. Ohio Geese Control strives for an ecological approach to Canada geese management. Choosing techniques while ignoring the biological or behavioral aspects of goose activity will likely not solve the problem.

Our skilled handlers and dogs can be seen working at airports, corporate facilities, parks, home owners associations, apartments, golf courses, universities and hospitals. Currently, we are located in Columbus, Toledo, Sandusky, Akron, Canton and Cleveland.

icon5Watch our video on how Ohio Geese Control works with companies to keep geese away.

Call us at 877-91GEESE (877-914-3373) for a free demonstration.

The Good News and the Bad News

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A Mild Start to Winter is Good News for Geese, and Bad News for Property Managers

You may be seeing more geese this winter on your property than usual. The mild weather keeps the water flowing and the grass accessible, which keeps the geese here longer. If you are having issues, please feel free to call us at 1-877-914-3373.

Resident Canada geese are non-migrating geese; you will see them on your property year-round. The geese that stay in our area were never taught the migration patterns, nor will they teach following generations. Over the past 10 years, their populations increase about 1-5% per year, particularly in urban areas where there are few predators, prohibitions on hunting, and a dependable year-round supply of food and water.

Feel free to give us a call if you see geese on site this winter. Ohio Geese Control will continue our efforts to control the geese population in a safe and humane manner.

It’s not too early to think about Spring

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to control the Canada geese population at Ohio Geese Control this year. Spring is just around the corner and it is a critical time of year for Canada geese management. To begin chasing off the resident geese and be there for the migrating geese we need to be in service in February to ensure relocating the geese before they nest. Starting later in the season will increase the chances of goslings at your property.

Call us for a free site visit and demonstration of our skilled handlers and dogs
at 877-914-3373.

The Greatest Act of Kindness and the Simplest Goose Deterrent

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Feeding geese will only attract more geese, and more droppings. But it is hard to argue when people enjoy feeding birds, especially the Canada goose. Many organizations like the Humane Society and the Audubon Society promote proper feeding of beloved backyard songbirds. People who love watching geese and ducks at local ponds might think they are being kind by dropping off food for the resident waterfowl.

Feeding bread to waterfowl is NOT kind to the Canada goose or to your neighborhood.

Angel-wing

Photo by Catharine Beazley

Bread and similar leftovers (crackers, pastries, popcorn) are easy for people to grab for a quick trip to the park, but are very hard on the geese. In fact, a diet composed of white bread can cause a bone disorder known as “angel wing” in young birds. One or both wrist joints fail to develop properly, and the affected wings will not lie flat against a bird’s body. The disorder is also known as “airplane wing.” Waterfowl with this condition cannot fly.

Animal lover and Ohio Geese Control dog handler Brianna C. often sees geese with this condition at client properties in Toledo. “We care about the well-being of all waterfowl because we are a humane service. It’s painful to watch sometimes when people are throwing bread for the geese. They gobble it down and it’s not good for them.”

Feeding wild canada geese leads to other environmental problems. Canada geese, like all waterfowl, depend on an extremely diverse diet to meet their nutritional needs. They browse in varied environments and nibble at grass, insects, larvae, small mollusks, and aquatic plants. Regular feeding by well-meaning visitors causes geese to congregate and then defecate in the same place where they eat, allowing diseases to spread and affecting water quality.

So if you know someone who’s feeding waterfowl with bread or crackers or other leftovers, see if you can convince them to stop. That’s a true act of kindness.

If geese are preventing you from enjoying the outdoors, let us know and we will kindly offer to help out. And be sure to read about our “No Harm, No Fowl” policy.

Migratory vs. Non-migratory Canada Geese

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Geese walking on water? No, they are walking on the frozen pond.Resident Canada geese are non-migrating geese; you will see them on your property year-round. The geese that stay in Cleveland, Akron and Toledo areas were never taught the migration patterns, nor will they teach following generations. Over the past 10 years, their populations increase about 1-5% per year, particularly in urban areas where there are few predators, prohibitions on hunting, and a dependable year-round supply of food and water.

 

Why do they stay?

During the first half of the 20th century, migratory geese were often captured for use as live decoys, and stayed in our area year-round. By the early 1960’s, the excessive hunting brought the population of Canada geese to near extinction. To counter this near extinction, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and many State wildlife agencies began a program of re-population of wild Canada geese. They did this by taking the eggs from the nests of the surviving resident Canada geese and artificially incubated these eggs while the geese laid another clutch (double clutch). These captive geese were also bred in captivity. As a consequence, their descendants do not have the biological need to migrate, they were not taught the migration patterns. Our resident Canada geese in Ohio are the descendants of these captive migratory geese.

Also, the climate is temperate in our area and the water bodies do not freeze for long periods of time, the resident Canada geese have no need to fly south to find open water and grass in the winter. Even when it is 10 degrees Fahrenheit, as long as the geese can find open water, they stay warm. The water is 32 degrees and the geese have down on their bellies and chest, which insulates them from the cold water.

Since we have ideal conditions, and the resident geese are trained to stay in our area, the problem will only increase. If geese are becoming a nuisance on your property during the winter months, please let us know. We are happy to set up a custom program to manage your Canada geese population.

How to handle baby Canada geese in your goose deterrent efforts

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Now that the Canada geese nesting season is rounding the end, you will start to see many goslings (baby Canada geese) running around chasing their parents, especially if you have not been able to get rid of the geese prior to their nesting. This is why it is so important to start your Canada geese control program in February to deter nesting in urban areas as much as possible.

The goslings are protected under the Migratory Bird Act, so no harm may come to them on your property. The biggest obstacle you will need to face during this time is to stop people from feeding the goslings. It is tempting to feed these adorable creatures when they are young. However, it is doing more harm than good. Feeding the baby Canada geese will not allow them to naturally seek out their own food in nature, being taught to rely on humans for food is neither good for the goose or for humans. Geese are grazers and need to forage for their own food.

Harassment techniques can still be implemented during this time, however great care must be given as to not harm the goslings. We want to encourage them to be fearful of the area without hurting them. Instilling the fear of a natural predator is a humane and natural course, and will only give the goslings greater skill sets when they are in the wild, out of the urban setting.

The longer the goslings are on your property, the harder it will be to move them elsewhere. If they are left to fly away from your property when they are ready for Fall migration, you will increase the chance of them coming back next year. And increase the chance of them nesting at your property in years to come.

Choosing to continue a goose deterrent program during Canada gosling season is fine, as long as it is done with care.