Wild Goose Chase
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive June 2004:
Wild Goose Chase
Now I know where this saying comes from. I have 22 (yes I counted) Canada geese that traipse through my property daily, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon, early evening.
For anyone who thinks this is cute, think again. They are worse than rats! They leave a ton of poop and they get aggressive.
I've been chasing them with a broom and throwing sticks - not to hit them - but to harrass them into moving on.
Tonight I had a group that was so stubborn that I had to go into the creek to get them to move on! Imagine - it's raining and here I am in the creek screaming at geese to go away. It was too funny!
I've cheked out a bunch of websites - most advise you to put out deterrents before they become established. Once you are part of their grazing field, it's really hard to get them to change their pattern. I could spray a deterrent, but I have over an acre of lawn - Can you imagine spraing over an acre of lawn with a backpack sprayer?
Oh well - thanks for reading my goose vent. I wish there were some way to get rid of them.
Ame
We have lots of geese in our area but thankfully not in my yard. LOL! Less than a mile from my house is a big corn field on one side of the road and a river on the other. We see geese daily in the corn field and the river. They fly over our house often. I've heard they can be quite a nuisance but thank goodness we are able to observe them from a distance. I hope you're able to find a way to deter them from your property.
Lol Ame !
I have 2 geese as pets in our barnyard.We actually had 3 but he was so mean and nasty that I took him to the river by our house
I couldn`t stand his hissing and biting.
The kids see him everyday we ride by the river.
Every time I cleaned the goat pen he would charge at me and hiss and try to bite me.
I had no idea that they were like that.
I would have never bought them if I knew.
We have 2 left now and I just went in the barn yard today because the male was being mean to the female so I was scolding him and he started hissing at me then tried to bite me.
I just called him a mean old thing among other things.Lol.
The are aggressive though.I don`t know what you could do.Mine are not even afraid of our dogs either.The goats tolerate them well,I looked out our window and see the geese scolding and hissing at the goats all the time,one time the goat kicked him !
I feel bad for you though because yours are wild and it`s not like you can do what I did and
pick them up and place them
some where else.
You should have seen me doing that !My DH was gone on a business trip so here I am trying to get this goose with the kids,
he kept biting me,so finally I just picked him up by the neck and put
him in our old pick up truck.
When I got to the river he didn`t want to come out
so he was trying to
bite me as I was trying to get
him out with a stick!
People were driving by and laughing.
Finally got him out and we see him every day with some other geese.
The other 2 may go to visit him soon. Lol !
Good luck though , I`ll try to look up some info for you.I am sure you already have tried that though.
I remember hearing about a local park that let two dogs loose to chase the geese away. Actually, now that I think about it, a man started the business and was hired by the township. If you don't have a dog, maybe you could borrow one? Just for a little while?
I hope you find a solution! I remember when I was on my honeymoon and there was a mean and nasty goose that would chase you if you got to close to it. Of course, my DH made it worse by antagonizing it whenever we walked by! LOL
Holy cow. Sue! You are brave!!!! I've gotten within two feet of this hissing male and been SCARED. I had nothing in the yard except a green lawn chair and I had to kind of use it as a shield as I got closer to try and shoo him away. I don't know what I'd do if I had to touch one!!
It looks like balloons and mylar tape are next on my shopping list. LOL
Ame
Just pick him up by the neck ! He`ll flap his wings but he can`t bite you any more ! LOL!
(I`m just kidding,those wild ones are probably fierce ! )
It`s those males ,the must be very territorial.
I thought they were so cute in the magazine almost comical looking. HA !
What a joke.
They are like chucky ,that cute posessed doll!
There has to be some thing you can do.
Next time I get animal feed I`ll ask them at the grain mill.
Sometimes there are old timers hanging out there and they would probably have a
couple of suggestions or two.
In the mean time....be brave !
I don't know anyone who would loan me a dog. I'm a bit afraid of them anyway. They actually train Boarder Collies as goose chasers I know. If somebody had a service, you bet I'd hire them.
Yes, please, Sue, ask the Old Timers. There is so much wisdom out there. As long as their suggestions don't involve arsenic or a .22, I'll try anything!
Ame
maybe firecrackers?? Most birds are scared of firecrackers. My great grandmother used to light them to scare off birds, but we never had geese!! Ame, you're pregnant, aren't you? (if not I apologize, but it's hard keeping track!!) That must have been a site4, you chasing them!!
Yes, I'm, 6 1/2 months in. Luckily, I can still run!
I'd love to use firecrackers. They'd be perfect. Unfortunately, I think they are illegal in NY - I have to find out.
All I'd need is to have a nosy neighbor report me for using illegal firecrackers to "harm" poor defenseless geese. My husband is very active in local politics - the papers would have a field day with that story.
What's even funnier is my 2 1/2 year old son is now getting into the act. He screams, "Go away, geese" from the screen door.
Ame
Sorry, I couldn't resist. 
LOL Trina!
OH i hate geese, there ugly and mean and just poop in midair! We find goose poop in our driveway and sidewalk just from them flying overhead. Gross.
We used to go on vacations to cabins in SE Ohio every year. One year there was goose poop everywhere by the cabins. Some idiot thought it was a good idea to BRING goose to the area! Why on earth would they do that? Well, i know they lost at least one family of vacationers for ever. US!
I am glad we don't have that problem!
Too Funny, Trina! I like them when they're flying away.
I came back from the supermarket today and they were in my driveway. It's a good thing I'm not a homicidal maniac or there would have been goose roadkill in my driveway. I did honk the horn at them. LOL - I was honking at the geese! I also menaced them a bit with the car - but they really didn't seem to care.
It was only when I got out and shook a stick at them that they decided to run for the creek.
I've also noticed my mulberry tree has started to drop fruit. This has been irresistable to them in the past. I really need to get some nasty looking balloons with eyes and put them all over!
At least I'm getting my exercise!
Ame
I read somewhere of someone who collected the AOL disks that you get in the mail offering AOL services and put them up on sticks in a row to deter geese from his beachfront property. From what I read, it worked - maybe because they are shiny and reflective. If you don't want a dog, maybe a dogbark tape? Play it when the geese are on their promenade.
I agree - the geese we have in the US that are "Canadian" geese are protected by treaty, darn it, but they are not by any means wild geese, and they are real polluters. My son tells me a park near where he used to live was infested with geese and the pond became so polluted it was a real hazard. They are also up at the Willow Grove mall near me, which has two creeks running through it and a couple of ponds, and personally I detest them.
One thing, if you can find where they are nesting, some groups have had good luck by dipping the eggs in shellac and putting them back in the next. It deprives the growing gosling of oxygen so it dies, but mama thinks the egg is still good so she keeps sitting on it/them and doesn't lay more. This helps cut down on future generations but won't, of course, help with your problem.
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