Deterring Pest Birds like Geese from Commercial Property

If you manage a golf course, corporate lawn, private park or commercial greenbelt, large bird pests like geese can pose quite a problem. In addition to their noise and aggressive behavior (they have been known to attack passersby), they can create a huge mess in droppings. Unless these droppings are promptly cleaned up, they can permeate an entire area with a very unpleasant odor. If you’ve ever had a run in with geese, you know that they can trample and destroy flowerbeds and other delicate plants. Geese droppings also carry disease. They can contaminate ponds and other decorative water features on your property.

There’s no two ways about it: pest geese can add considerable cost to your overall maintenance operation. Without effective and humane goose controls, getting rid of geese can pose a challenge. Blasting them water hoses or scaring geese with noise is an ineffective way to scare birds like these. The same holds true for pellet guns and poisons. In some cases, the latter two measures may even be illegal, resulting in costly fines.

Fortunately, the bird control experts at Bird-B-Gone offer a humane and effective goose deterrent that will keep geese off your commercial property. It’s called the Solar Bird Chase Super Sonic. 

Scare Birds with Sounds They Fear

The Solar Bird Chase Super Sonic has been scientifically designed to deter geese using sounds they fear. It broadcasts pre-recorded goose distress calls that convince geese that their fellow geese are being attacked by predators.  The sounds are broadcast for two minutes and repeated every 10 minutes to convince geese that the threat is ever present and real. As a result, geese will leave the area for safer pastures.

Deter Bird Pests from Large Open Spaces

Humane and effective, the Solar Bird Chase Super Sonic goose deterrent was designed to discourage geese from occupying golf courses, greenbelts and commercial parklands. The device comes with a built-in speaker and three satellite speakers to cover up to three acres. Additional speakers can be added to extend the coverage range to five acres. The satellite speakers come with 100 feet of wire and connect to the back of the device. The device’s power cord connects easily to any standard 110-volt AC source.

Ruggedly Designed and Easily Adjustable

The Solar Bird Chase Super Sonic is designed for outdoor use. The rugged, high quality device is constructed of UV-protected materials to ensure it remains both sun- and weather-resistant. A convenient LCD display panel lets you adjust the volume and program the device to automatically shut off at night.

An Ounce of Prevention

Needless to say, if you want to ensure your commercial property or golf course is not overrun by geese, the best time to install this goose deterrent is before the geese arrive.

How to Keep Geese from Destroying Your Backyard

If your garden, pool or spa area is being invaded by pest geese, you’re going to have a busy spring and summer—cleaning and chasing these pest birds. If you haven’t already discovered, geese are big, aggressive and noisy. And they pretty much go where they feel like it, trampling your flower garden and pooping in your pool, spa or decorative water feature. Goose droppings can cause bacterial and algae problems. And they can carry a number of diseases, including swimmer’s itch, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis and giardia.

If your home is near a lake, reservoir, or large pond, you’ll have geese snooping and pooping around your property. Homes near a river or seashore are equally vulnerable. Geese enjoy munching on grasses and aquatic plants—plants you can say goodbye to if geese decide to pay you a visit. Geese possess superb homing capabilities, which means if you failed to effectively deter them last year, they’ll be back this year. To prevent this, you’ll need an effective and humane goose control strategy.

Fortunately, the bird control experts at Bird-B-Gone offer a number of goose deterrents that will keep geese away from your property.

Scare Birds Away with Sounds Geese Hate

The Solar Bird Chase Super Sonic broadcasts pre-recorded distress and predator calls that convince birds—including geese—that their winged brethren are being attacked.  The calls are broadcast for two minutes and repeated every 10 minutes to convince geese that the threat is imminent and real. The Solar Bird Chase Super Sonic was designed to discourage geese and other bird pests from flocking to large commercial areas, so it has plenty of range and reach to handle your backyard. The device comes with a built-in speaker to cover a full acre of property.  Best of all, it’s solar powered and works even on overcast days. The rugged, high quality device is constructed of UV-protected materials, making it sun- and weather-resistant. A handy LCD display panel lets you set the volume and program the device to automatically shut off at night.

Scare Birds Away with the Scarecrow

Geese bold enough to enter a yard guarded by the Scarecrow will get a sudden and annoying surprise—a blast of water that will send them running. The harmless water blast, alarming sprinkler sound, and realistic looking bird-like moving head will "persuade" geese to stay away. Simple to set up and easy to use, the Scarecrow connects to your garden hose, yet it uses only 2 to 3 cups of water per spray. Scarecrows cover approximately 1,200 square feet with a stream that reaches out 35 feet and 45 feet wide. They guard your backyard, day and night for up to 6 months, delivering as many as 1,000 water blasts on one 9-volt battery. And you can easily adjust a Scarecrow’s sensitivity and coverage distance.

Golf Course Manager’s “Goose Gets Cooked” over Killing Geese

The Farms Golf Club in Dyersburg, TN plays along several lakes. And where there are lakes, there are Canada geese, which often create major headaches for golf course managers. One Farms manager recently faced the wrath of local residents when he resorted to killing geese that invaded the golf course and adjoining residential area. Grounds crew even resorted to running the geese over with golf carts, which left several of the large birds crippled. The geese were damaging the newly renovated course to the tune of thousands of dollars. Besides angering the local residents, the manger may face big fines for each goose he shot, since killing Canada Geese is a federal offense. On top of that, the manager faces local charges for firing weapons inside city limits.

Having learned his lesson, the golf course manager agreed to consider more humane solutions to the goose problem. The professional bird control experts at Bird-B-Gone have a few suggestions:

Migrate Goose Repellent to Quell Their Taste for Turf

Ideal for large grassy areas like golf courses and industrial parks, Bird-B-Gone’s Migrate Goose Repellent is a non-toxic liquid that’s easily applied using a standard sprayer. The active ingredient—Methyl Anthranilate (MA)—irritates a goose’s trigeminal nerves and mucous membranes.  It won't harm birds, people or pets. It’s basically a non-lethal grape extract regulated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) under FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act). You don’t even have to cover the entire course with Migrate, just concentrate on the areas most frequented by geese. Rain or sprinklers will not wash it off and any run-off will not contaminate nearby bodies of water. Economical to use, one gallon treats 16,000 sq. ft.  After one taste, invading geese will quickly get the message that your turf tastes terrible and move on.

Bird Foggers to Drive Stubborn Birds Out

If flocks of pest birds (geese) must be removed quickly (without waiting for them to sample the taste of your turf), you have what’s known in goose control lingo as a “high bird pressure” area. In this case, you’ll need a more immediate solution—like Bird-B-Gone’s Bird Fogger. This chemical bird repellent (applied with a fogger) contains the same food-grade methyl anthranilate mentioned above. Bird foggers have been successfully used to repel gulls, mallards, Canada geese, pigeons, starlings, blackbirds and cowbirds. For best results, fogging agents should be used in the early morning hours or late evening when birds are concentrated in a single area.

There’s no doubt that geese can easily become bird pests if they are not properly controlled. The key, of course, is to prepare for their arrival with humane and effective goose repellents. “An ounce of prevention” as they say.

3 Ways to Keep Your Lawn Free of Pest Birds

You take great pride in your lawn. You feed it, weed it, mow it and admire it. But most importantly, you want to protect it.

One threat to your lawn is the activity of pest birds. In particular, large birds like geese and ducks who often graze on green lawns, leaving ugly bare patches. Or annoying, busy-body birds like crows who can quickly ruin a beautiful lawn by digging for grubs. The divots they leave can leave a lawn looking shoddy and damaged. There’s also the accumulation of bird droppings, which is not only unsightly but infested with diseases like E. coli and Salmonella. You don’t want that on your lawn, especially if you have children playing on it.

Compounding the problem is the fact that nesting geese and ducks can also be quite territorial. If they feel threatened while grazing on your lawn they will go after small children and pets.

As a homeowner, you know better than to go after these protected birds with poisons or pellet guns—especially if you have children, pets and sensitive neighbors. You also know from past experience that simply blasting pest birds with a garden hose is fairly ineffective—unless you stand guard with a hose 24/7. You’ve come to realize that the only way to keep pest birds away from your lawn is to implement the effective and humane deterrents used by professional bird control experts. Here are three bird deterrents that will do the trick:

Scarecrow

Easily attached to any garden hose, Scarecrow's hit invading birds with a harmless blast of water. Perfect for lawns, the Scarecrow uses just 2 to 3 cups of water per spray, yet covers a full 1,200 square feet with a stream that reaches out 35 feet and 45 feet wide. The scarecrow stands guard, day and night for up to 6 months (over 1,000 "firings") on a single 9-volt battery.

Hawk Decoy

Most birds avoid any areas where hawks are present. Place one or two of these hawk decoys in a highly visible position and say good-bye to pest birds converging on your lawn.  It’s important to get quality made realistic looking decoys, and to move them around often to convince birds the decoys are a “live” threat.  Some decoys are hollow at the base so you can fill them with sand for added stability. 

Sonic Goose Deterrents

Ideal for large lawns,  Sonic Goose Deterrents broadcast goose distress and predator calls that resemble normal bird sounds to humans (so they won’t irritate pets or your friends and neighbors).  If you’ve got all manner of birds attacking your lawn,  get the Goose-B-Gone Supersonic system. It can emit distress and predator calls of geese. This unit covers up to an acre and can be programmed to turn on or off at night.

Homeowners…Got Geese? Get Goose Control!

If your home is close to the ocean, a river, lake, reservoir, or large pond, you’ve probably had a run-in with geese. They munch on your lawn and on your aquatic and decorative plants. Canada geese will do even more damage, weighing up to 24 pounds, they can trample most gardens flat, leave a huge mess, and even chase small pets and toddlers, giving them quite a scare.

If you have any type of water feature—pool, spa, fountain or pond—they can quickly contaminate it with droppings. These droppings can cause bacterial and algae problems. They also carry diseases, including swimmer’s itch, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis and giardia.

If you’re tempted to use pellet guns, poisons or other lethal means, keep in mind that Canada geese are a protected species under state and federal law.  It’s illegal to hunt or kill them. Only humane goose deterrents are allowed.  So what can you do?

For starters, you should clear away any tall reeds and plants around your home. You should also increase the angle of any embankments near water around your home. Once you’ve done that, it's wise to invest in some effective, humane goose deterrents. Fortunately, there are several you can choose to get rid of geese:

Goose-B-Gone Super Sonic Goose Deterrent

This advanced sound goose deterrent system broadcasts a series of pre-recorded goose distress calls. The calls are recorded in their natural habitat and repeated every 10 minutes. Geese, being ever alert to danger, will avoid the area and move on. The ruggedly constructed unit is weather-resistant and comes with a built-in speaker that covers up to an acre of property. If you have a large property, you can add more speakers to ensure maximum coverage. The unit can be set to shut off automatically at night. And unlike other goose sound deterrents that play high-pitched ultrasonic noises (which geese can’t hear anyway), the Super Sonic won’t bother your neighbors or pets.

Scarecrow

Geese get a sobering but harmless surprise when they enter a Scarecrow’s radius of protection—a healthy blast of water from the Scarecrow’s sprinkler head. Geese will be persuaded by the water blast and opt not to return.  Scarecrows connect easily to most garden hoses and they cover 1,200 square feet  (about 35 feet by 45 feet). Both the sensitivity and the coverage area can be fine tuned to the needs of your yard.

Migrate Goose Repellent

Known as a taste-aversion goose repellent, Migrate is a non-toxic liquid that makes grass and other plants inedible to geese. The active ingredient--a grape extract known as Methyl Anthranilate--irritates a goose's trigeminal nerves and mucous membranes. Not to worry, it’s safe for use around people, geese and pets. This goose repellent comes in a gallon container, which is enough for about 16,000 square feet. The repellent lasts a full three months and won't wash off with rain or watering.

Getting Rid of Geese in Your Backyard

by Alex A. Kecskes
I
f you live on or near a lake, you no doubt will have a problem with geese. You can try firecrackers, dogs, and blasting them with a water hose, but they will return within a few days. Besides their annoying squawking and the smelly droppings they leave behind, geese have been known to carry bird flu. Known as avian flu, this disease is caused by a form of influenza virus that typically only infects birds. Yet, in some cases, the virus can be transmitted to humans by direct contact with birds. Experts are worried that the bird flu could mutate into a new form that can rapidly spread from person to person.

The only sure fire way to get rid of geese from your backyard is to use the kind of goose control measures the professionals use. These devices have been proven effective and humane.

Sonic Goose Deterrent

Designed to deter geese from large open spaces, backyards and gardens, these devices broadcast pre-recorded goose-distress calls that make geese far too nervous to hang around your property.The sounds are repeated every ten minutes to alert geese of imminent danger. The best sonic goose deterrents are weatherproof and designed to last outdoors. They come with a volume control and can even be programmed to turn on or off at night.Sonic goose deterrents typically come with an internal speaker that will cover big backyards—up to one acre. If you own a really large property, you can protect it from invading geese by adding more speakers to the unit. The additional speakers include 100 feet of wire and connect easily to the back of the unit.

Scarecrow Goose Deterrent

Imagine if you could stand guard 24/7 with a water hose, and the minute a goose wandered near your lawn or garden, you hit it with a sobering blast of water. Do you think geese would get the message that your property is off limits to them? Think of Scarecrows as your silent sentry, ever alert to the mere presence of geese. These motion-activated devices react instantly to any birds entering their zone of protection. They feature a realistic looking bird-like moving head that blasts water at invading birds who dare to enter a 1,200 square foot area that extends 35 feet out by 45 feet wide. Scarecrows connect easily to most garden hoses. You can even adjust a Scarecrow’s sensitivity and range to cover certain areas of your yard.

Scary Eye Balloons

Undoubtedly one of the most economical goose deterrents, Scary Eye Balloons work well when used in combination with the two deterrents mentioned above. These balloons feature a large, scary “mock” predator eyeball that makes geese feel far too uneasy to hang around. Easily hung on trees, patios, fences or any highly elevated area around your yard, these balloons bob and weave in the breeze to give them a lifelike quality.

Lakeside Eateries Seek Goose Control

by Terra Anders

It’s a warm summer day and for once the sun has decided not to work so hard.  The weather is finally cooperating, making it a lovely afternoon to meet friends at the little cafe next to the lake.  The agenda included a small table at the outdoor patio along the lake, a colorful iced drink decorated with a tiny umbrella, and some long awaited chit- chat with good friends. The last thing on the agenda was goose control.  It all seemed like a great idea at the time, but that was before those boisterous geese found out that there was a party going on.

A large gaggle of gregarious geese can be quite annoying to lakeside cafes and rest spots at the city parks. It’s hard to believe that these flourishing gangs of Canadian Geese were once quite rare.  Historically there was a time when goose control for these geese meant trying to increase their numbers, not decrease them.  Better management of local wetlands across the United States over the last half decade has left the Canadian Geese population quite abundant. In fact, they have not only become abundant but in many areas they are now considered pest birds.

Canada Geese seem to have a very high tolerance of the human population.  In fact, they often leave their life in the wild for city life.  Almost every golf course in the city has a lake or two.  It is not uncommon for housing developments to be built on the outskirts of protected wetlands.  City parks are frequently centered around a lake or pond, where families of geese are the featured fowl. Since geese prefer a combination of wet and grassy terrain and an unobstructed view of both, these areas, these areas have become a paradise for geese.  They normally have an adequate food supply, and their natural predators are still looking for them in the wild. The problem is that wherever there are large populations of geese, there is likely a problem with unsightly, and sometimes unhealthy goose droppings. It’s impossible to stop bird droppings from happening, but it is not impossible to keep the problem to a minimum.

There are several approaches than can be taken to reduce the goose population in locations that the birds share with humans.  Keeping the geese down to a reasonable gaggle size can improve businesses’ outdoor sanitation and keep customers coming back. Most bird control experts agree that when it comes to geese, an integrated approach to control and maintenance is best. That is, use a combination of habitat modification along with proven goose deterrents.

Habitat modification, like removing tall vegetation around the lake can discourage long-term nesting, but this is often out of the hands of local businesses.  Businesses may be able to join together to see if the city can take some action to minimize the problem by adjusting the landscaping around the lake or in front of the restaurant or cafe areas. A discussion with a goose control expert would be a good place to start.  They can suggest what types of environmental modifications would best help, and these suggestions can be offered to the city for action.

Lakeside eateries still have several effective options to help deter geese from invading their property.  One of the most effective would be a kind of electronic deterrent designed specifically for geese. Weatherproof outdoor programmable sound system can easily be installed at the outskirts of the cafes’ patio area . These sound systems are designed to broadcast the sound of a goose call of danger. The call lasts for two minutes and repeats at ten minute intervals. This type of goose deterrent plays actual distress and alarm calls of Canada Geese recorded in their natural habitat. When geese hear these calls, their natural instinct is to flee the area.  Without the habitat modifications in place this option can provide some real relief for individual establishments by making geese think that that specific area is not a safe place for them to hang out.  One system can cover up to one acre.  Extra speakers can be added to the main unit to provide as much as three acres of coverage.

Some eateries keep a cute cafe canine posted at the lakeside property line. Dogs are the only predator that city geese have to deal with.  Having a goose guard dog on site can also deter these pest birds from thinking that their feeding zone includes the patio of the restaurant. Whatever the choice, property and business owners have several reliable methods to control birds like geese. Talking to a bird control expert is step one. Putting these methods to work are fast, easy and very reasonably priced.