Gaylene Strickland says geese ruined her garden with their droppings

This summer geese have invaded an area of Timberlea. An amusing animal to many, geese can damage property and be generally difficult to deal with.

Geese are known to cause numerous problems, such as noise disturbances and crop damage. Their droppings can contaminate water supplies with bacteria and parasites. They can also damage golf courses and parks when they compress and erode soil.

The waterfowl are a protected species under Canada's Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Gaylene Strickland complains that geese ruined her garden with their droppings, damaging her crops. She also finds them aggressive, making them hard to deal with. While a minor nuisance, the geese have caused her grief.

“It becomes worse when the geese have children,” says Strickland. “Trying to get them off my property becomes impossible at that point since they're more defensive than usual.”

Ryan Legere, a dentist at Timberlea Dental Centre, says he isn't too bothered by the birds. Legere says his patients enjoy looking at the geese when coming in for appointments, but he admits that they've been a problem and he's tried to get rid of them.

“We used to have people sit on the grass and eat ice cream, but the geese ate the grass and pooped everywhere (making that impossible),” says Legere. “We've tried to get rid of them with decoys but they just got used to them.”

Butch Galvez, a wildlife technician at the Department of Lands and Forestry, says there are many things that can attract geese, including vegetation and being near water, which describes many homes in Timberlea. They can also be attracted to birdhouses or openly feeding birds in general.

Galvez says many have experimented with methods to deter geese, but not all of them work. He suggests making your property look as inhospitable as possible for geese and recommends using a black flag to cover vegetation. He says consulting the “Cackling Geese” handbook provided by the Government of Canada can also help.

Despite an increase in complaints from urban areas, Galvez doesn't consider geese to be a major problem.

“I usually get about 20 geese calls during summer and the issues are usually short lived,” says Galvez.

Geese usually inhabit an area for a few weeks before leaving. They're flightless for a period during migration so they go on land to feed before heading back into the water and moving on.

The waterfowl primarily feed on grass with a preference for mowed lawns, but they like being near water as it allows them to bath and drink. Geese often make their nests near water for this reason, and the adults will stay in the area until the goslings can take flight. By late September, most geese will have migrated to southern Canada.