How to keep geese off the lawn once they settle in it in search of food and water? Luckily, there are many ways to keep these birds away, like spray deterrents, putting up a boundary, or decoys that look like Canada geese predators.
There are many ways to keep geese out of the lawn, from creating a protective fence around the lawn that keeps them out to using decoys, loud noises, or bright lights to scare them off.
In this article, we devised different time-tested methods to keep geese from your lawn.
Contents
- List of Ways To Keep Geese Off The Lawn Effectively
- 1. Install A Fence Around The Perimeter
- 2. Use A Geese Repellent Lighthouse
- 3. Keep Your Grass Tall
- 4. Stop Giving Them Food
- 5. Place Your Guard Dog
- 6. Use A Decoy To Scare Them Off
- 7. Make Loud Noises To Keep Them Away
- 8. Keep The Lights on In The Lawn
- 9. Use Grape Kool-Aid For Geese
- 10. Get Professional Help
- Conclusion
List of Ways To Keep Geese Off The Lawn Effectively
1. Install A Fence Around The Perimeter
| Effectiveness | Moderately effective |
| Advantages | Will keep other animals out as well |
| Disadvantages | Takes a lot of time, money and commitment |
| Cost | Moderately experience |
If you have a pool or a hot water tub on your lawn, be ready to attract many geese searching for water, and they would sneak in to come and hydrate themselves. Remember that these animals are pretty birds, but they graze and destroy your grass with the way that they would stomp while walking.
The most annoying part of regular geese visitation is the massive excrement they leave behind. That is why it helps to build a fence around your lawn at least four feet tall or higher.
You can get wooden picket fences and install them all around the lawn, or you can go for an easier option, such as a wire mesh fence. Geese are large birds, so you do not need to build a fine mesh work metal fence. The squares that make up the mesh can be as large as 10 to 12 inches wide and long.
The good thing about this method is that you get to keep other large birds and animals out. Setting up a fence around your property is easy, and we are sure you can do it yourself. However, there is no shame in calling for professional help if you are not handy around the house.
Sometimes when a lawn has been neglected for a long time, the geese will return every year to nest in the same spot. Find out what those spots are and eliminate them this year to keep them from nesting. However, when you install a fence around your lawn, they will surely not come back, because they couldn’t barge and enter the first place.
2. Use A Geese Repellent Lighthouse
| Effectiveness | Moderately effective |
| Advantages | Gets rid of geese without disturbing pets and neighbors |
| Disadvantages | Might not be available easily |
| Cost | Reasonably priced |
Did you know that there is such a thing as geese repelling lighthouse that can be installed on the lawn? This is more or less a variation of strobing lights meant to scare the birds off. Only it is directed specifically towards geese and thus provides better results.
Although it is a great option that you can aim for, on the other hand, it might not be available that easily in the markets, but you can order it online at pretty reasonable prices. Identify which areas of the lawn are frequented most by the geese and dig them into the ground using wooden stakes.
These lighthouses can detect fine movement and keep flashing strong lights that make it impossible for the geese to rest comfortably on the lawn. It might take several days for the family of these birds that would be residing on your lawn at night to lose patience, get up and leave for good.
3. Keep Your Grass Tall
| Effectiveness | Good at keeping geese away |
| Advantages | Does not require any effort at all |
| Disadvantages | The lawn looks untidy |
| Cost | No cost at all |
The geese dislike grass taller than six inches because it greatly discomforts them, especially when they are moving around, as they cannot be able to see and move confidently anymore.
They also feel unsafe on such a lawn as the tall grass could be hiding potential predators within them. The taller the grass is, the more the geese stay away from it, which is why this is a great option that you can opt for. However, leaving your grass tall is not recommended, since it might “bring” other problems.
You can further keep these birds away by planting herbs and plants that are either toxic to them or have a repelling taste or smell. Moreover, some plants that geese tend to avoid are kale, garlic, onions, and lavender. Warm-season grasses survive well when grown tall, so let your grass grow taller if feasible.
4. Stop Giving Them Food
| Effectiveness | Mildly effective |
| Advantages | Makes your lawn less attractive to geese |
| Disadvantages | Might not work each time |
| Cost | No cost |
Deter geese away from your lawn by removing all food sources that might attract them to your backyard. You may be thinking it is something good that you are doing when you leave a bag of food outside, and they would feel welcome and barge into your lawn, however, you are building them a space to come at all times.
This can be a challenge because geese eat such a large variety of food that it takes a lot of work to keep up with the never-ending list. They like to eat the food we like, so you will often find them scouring the garbage cans in search of it, as a result, it would make your lawn look more clustered, and then you have a hassle to overcome.
That is why it is best to secure the lid of the can tightly at night to keep them away from it. The most annoying thing is that they will munch grass blades without visible food sources.
However, they will not go near grass that is allowed to grow as tall as six inches or more. If you do not want the grass to be this tall, spray it with a goose deterrent spray that does not harm the grass.
5. Place Your Guard Dog
| Effectiveness | Very effective |
|---|---|
| Advantages | Some dogs are natural predators of grease |
| Disadvantages | Not everyone has a dog |
| Cost | Price less |
If you have a pet dog at home, taking its help in this endeavor will produce instant results. A dog will not let any breed come to visit your lawn, and the geese will steer clear of such a lawn. Geese are naturally opposed to all sorts of dogs, but some species are better suited for this task than others.
When you are looking for a guard dog, remember that a Border Collie is the best breed because they are natural predators of Canada geese and will not let them near the lawn.
On the other hand, you also have the German Shepherd breed which are known to be an excellent option as they are large enough to scare geese off and smart enough to be trained regarding this. Unless you own an extremely docile and timid breed like a poodle, most pet dogs will be able to keep the geese away.
6. Use A Decoy To Scare Them Off
| Effectiveness | Very effective |
| Advantages | One time investment only |
| Disadvantages | The geese might see through the deception |
| Cost | Depends on the quality of the decoy |
Realistic-looking predator decoys make the visiting geese afraid and unable to enter such a lawn, and when you place them, you won’t see them feeling welcome any longer. This is among the easiest solutions to all your goose problems and requires the least effort and maintenance.
The only requisite is that the decoys should be realistic looking. Otherwise, the geese might be able to see through your tricks. On the other hand, you also have the option to make realistic DIY decoys, then make one yourself; otherwise, you better buy one for better results.
These birds are most scared of animals that are either coyotes or large dogs, or even something like a scarecrow too. Other options are to go for decoys of raccoons, skunks, or foxes instead, all you should do is to place them somewhere brightly lit and visible should these birds visit at night.
In addition, fake swan statues near the pond or the pool also help. You can purchase a pair of real swans if you don’t mind taking care of them. Get decoys made from durable, long-lasting material, and anchor them to the ground using stakes.
7. Make Loud Noises To Keep Them Away
| Effectiveness | One of the most effective methods |
| Advantages | Works instantaneous |
| Disadvantages | Noise pollution |
| Cost | Mildly costly |
Geese are easily scared by loud and sudden noises and quickly learn to stay away from noisy places. Install a motion-detecting speaker in the lawn that emits a loud distress call whenever it detects motion.
These distress calls may be uncomfortable for you and your neighbors late into the night, but it will take only a few days for the geese to take a cue and disappear forever. Although the neighbors as well as yourself, may be in a sudden hassle as well, but after one or two trails, the animals will no longer come.
In addition to this, you can also install a motion activating sprinkler, and even though Canadian geese are primarily attracted to lawns in search of water sources, you can turn the tables on them instead. Suddenly spraying water on them will startle and irritate them, and they will fly off. When this happens to them repeatedly, they will take the cue and stop frequenting such a lawn altogether.
Of course, no one can be expected to stand out on the lawn spraying water jets on geese. That is why you need to install motion-detecting sprinklers on the lawn. Place them somewhere where they can detect geese landing anywhere on the lawn.
They will send a stream of water in the approximate direction of the geese and scare them off. This is one of the more expensive solutions, but sprinklers are extremely beneficial for keeping a well-maintained lawn.
8. Keep The Lights on In The Lawn
| Effectiveness | 80 percent effective |
| Advantages | Geese will not come back after a few days |
| Disadvantages | Strobe lights might disturb family members |
| Cost | Reasonably prices |
Geese prefer to avoid bright lights and stay away from a lawn where the lights are kept at night. Install a bright light on your lawn, especially near water bodies like the pool or the jacuzzi. Keep this light on at night, and the geese will be scared off.
These birds are scared quite easily, so it is more effective when strong lights turn up suddenly whenever they land on the lawn. Purchase a motion-detecting or a sound-detecting strobe light and place them wherever the geese most like to land on your lawn. Once these lights get turned on, the geese get flustered and fly off and then tend to stay away for good.
9. Use Grape Kool-Aid For Geese
| Effectiveness | Highly effective |
| Advantages | Kool aid is available easily |
| Disadvantages | Needs constant reapplication |
| Cost | cheap |
If you like Kool-aid during summer, save some to scare the geese off because they hate this sweet drink. The substance added to sweeten this drink is highly disliked by geese and acts as a repellent to keep them at bay. This substance is called methyl anthranilate, a popular chemical that prevents geese from visiting a lawn.
Just put some grape-flavored kool-aid in a spray bottle and sprinkle it on lawn parts where signs of grazing by the geese can be seen. Geese will graze on grass and plants, so there is no need to waste the juice by spraying it on rocks and fences. Rainwater will wash the juice away, so remember to reapply this homemade goose repellent regularly.
10. Get Professional Help
| Effectiveness | Highly effective |
| Advantages | Requires no effort on your part |
| Disadvantages | Professionals might not be available everywhere |
| Cost | Very costly |
Many of us need more time or energy to invest in finding solutions to keep geese away. If you are sick of them visiting the lawn and want immediate results, call in professionals who specialize in this. You will have to spend some money on their professional services, but at least they will get the job done.
Moreover, you can even try to call a professional, and they would help you with spreading some repellent solution to keep geese away and do not mind using chemicals on the lawn, then go directly for Methyl-Anthranilate sprays. It works like magic and is not harmful to birds, pests, or humans.
It smells strongly of grapes, and just this mere smell is highly intolerable for the geese. You can purchase one bottle of the best-quality goose repellent spray available in the market, follow the instructions given on the label, or the professional can even spray them for you and finally become free of this menace.
Conclusion
Before we conclude this list of all the ways one can keep geese away from a lawn, here is a brief conclusion to summarize everything:
- Substances with the chemical Methyl-Anthranilate can deter these birds from visiting.
- Loud sounds, bright noises, and motion-detecting sprinklers will break the habit of geese visiting the lawn every night.
- Avoid attracting geese to the lawn by letting the grass become tall and not leaving food around.
Now you can decide which one of these methods you would like to try, and tell us how long it took for the geese to stop visiting.
- Growing Brussel Sprouts in Containers – 7 Crucial Steps - May 30, 2023
- How to Care for Carnivorous Plants: Provide The Right Needs - May 26, 2023
- How Long Do Hibiscus Flowers Last: Ways To Elongate - May 24, 2023
