Honk if You Love Your Landscape: Canada Goose Control Tactics

Certainly you can recognize Canada Geese; they are large, aggressive, birds, taupe in color with pale breasts, black necks and heads, and distinctive white chin straps. You may have seen them in the sky on their way to somewhere else in a flying V- formation. But many flocks of geese become unwanted permanent residents in populated landscapes, and this is where Crabapple LandscapExperts can help. 

Historically, due to intense hunting pressure and habitat loss in the last two centuries, the goose population faced a serious decline. But with new game laws, quotas for hunters, habitat restoration in the form of man-made lakes and water features (e.g. on commercial developments, subdivisions, planned communities, public parks and golf courses), and the decrease in natural predators, Canada Geese populations have skyrocketed in occupied areas.

On top of that, due to metro-Atlanta’s mild winter climate large flocks of the geese have become tenacious permanent residents in places such as retention ponds in apartment complexes or detention pools in commercial properties. They have reached the point where property managers and HOA reps consider them to be pests (because of their messy droppings, harmful bacteria related to their droppings, loud nasal honking and noise pollution and confrontational behavior).

Turn to Crabapple LandscapExperts to remove birds, avoid property damage and decrease liability, while eliminating costly cleanup of droppings and the spread of disease, all without toxic pesticides.

Some humane strategies that can be employed by Crabapple LandscapExperts:

Physical exclusion

            low fencing

bird spikes

Turf grass repellants to make grass unpalatable (waterproof / reapply)

Sticky gels to hamper their feet
Harassment by 

            Border Collies

            Trained Hawks
Visual scare tactics

Scarecrows

coyote decoys

owls decoys

eagle decoys

windmills

flashing lights

buoys with flashing lights

Laser beams in ever-changing patterns

Audio repellants

sonic repellants

gun sounds

cannon sounds

Netting

Hatch control

oiling

addling

So give us a call at 770-740-9739 and we can evaluate your goose control needs.

P.S.  Canada Goose Hunting Season is November 19-27 and December 10, 2011 - January 29, 2012. Pick up your waterfowl hunting license and migratory bird hunting and conservation stamps from the Georgia Department of Fish and Wildlife before you go.


photo credits: RSPB.org and Killingworthlake.co.uk