Want Pesky, Noisy Geese to Get the Flock Away from Your Neighborhood? Georgia DNR Offers Helpful Tips

If your yard, neighborhood or local park is filled with a gaggle of Canadian geese leaving lots of feathers and more, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources offers some helpful tips, and they start with patience. Canadian geese love neighborhood ponds, office complexes, city parks and other developed areas, often bringing them near people and homes. And during the spring and summer molting season, this closeness can create a frustrating, unsightly mess, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

Migrating geese and their families set up their households in lakes and ponds within neighborhoods. Georgia DNR offers tips for cohabitatingPhoto byDeanLand / OurTravelCafe.com

If it seems that the geese are staying around longer, it's because they lose their flight capability as they molt. "They are hanging around because they cannot fly right now. Geese go through a molting process in midsummer during which they lose their flight feathers and are in the process of growing new ones,” explains Kara Nitschke, migratory gamebird biologist with the WRD Game Management Section. Georgia DNR says that harassment techniques are often useful to rid an are of unwanted geese. But that's more difficult during molting season as the geese can only walk away, limiting their range. And remember, Canada geese are a protected species under state and federal law. It is illegal to hunt, kill, sell, purchase or possess Canada geese except according to Georgia's migratory bird regulations. During the molting season, it may be best for affected property managers and homeowners to be patient. The geese will regain their ability to fly and will likely move on once the new feathers grow in. But if the mess and noise is driving you to take action, check out these tips from Georgia DNR that might help.

Geese with frequent contact with humans lose their natural fear, and instead may seek food. Georgia DNR strongly discourages feeding geese.Photo byDeanLand / OurTravelCafe.com

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