By Alex A. Kecskes
Spring is coming…and so are the Geese. They'll be honking, and nesting and trampling all over your lawn and garden. They'll also be pooping on your lawn, around your pool or spa, and creating quite an unsanitary mess. To successfully deter geese, its important to start early. You'll have to stop them before they settle in for spring. The time for bird deterrents is now.
Remember how they came back last year? Well, they'll do the same this year, maybe even bring a few friends, which means you'll have an even bigger problem this year. If you destroyed their nests, they'll just build new ones. They're strong willed and determined, especially if your yard offers what they like—shelter, food, close proximity to water and protection from predators.
As you may recall, geese are big and heavy, and they can fly approaching speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. They'll ram into your dog, cat or child and knock them down, especially to protect their nests and eggs. Unless you act now by installing an effective goose deterrent, you'll be cleaning a mess on a weekly or even daily basis. Is this how you want to spend or your spring and summer months?
If you don't keep your pool, spa or pond clean, the goose droppings could infect you with any number of diseases, including swimmer’s itch, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis and giardia. Heard enough? Then get ready to implement some effective goose deterrents:
Migrate Goose Repellent. Migrate is a liquid repellent used to keep geese from eating grass or shrubbery and is made from a grape extract. You simply mix migrate with water and apply to affected areas. Geese cannot stand the taste and smell of the repellent and will move on to find a new food source. Migrate lasts about 3 months outdoors and is safe to use around people and pets.Bird Scare Devices. These are relatively inexpensive and easy to install all around your property. They consist of iridescent reflective foil or shiny tape banners that wave in the breeze, crackling and reflecting sunlight to create an “Optical Distraction Zone.” Another effective goose deterrent that falls into this category is the inflatable balloon. These have large "spooky" reflective predator eyes no goose wants to be around. There's also the Scare-Eye Diverter, which, like the balloon, looks very intimidating to geese and makes them feel like they're being sized up for a meal. These goose control deterrents work best when they're moved and switched every so often. Hey, birds aren't stupid, so respect them and beat them by outsmarting them.
Goose-B-Gone Super Sonic. This is an outdoor sound device that plays real goose distress calls mixed with bird predator calls. They work their psychological magic and convince geese that danger is near and that other geese are in trouble. This will convince them to move on to a more secure spot. Best of all this Goose Sonic device is weatherproof and can cover between 1- acres! The unit can be programmed to turn off at night and back on in the morning. The most important thing to remember is to install your goose deterrents now, before geese arrive, the sooner you address the problem, the more successful you will be.