With all due respect for these majestic creatures, for many people, Canadian geese are nothing short of a big problem — and an absolute nuisance. They’re large; they’re unafraid of people; not to mention, they’re really messy.

Because of these issues, owners and managers of commercial properties plagued by these geese often want to get rid of them — and quickly.

What folks lacking experience in managing Canadian geese don’t know is that trying to get rid of them without help can have a few unwanted repercussions.

The Problems Wild Canadian Geese Can Cause

Wild geese can actually cause a wide variety of problems in Toronto, but they are generally limited to three primary areas: human health, agricultural damage, and property damage.

Geese are Often Aggressive

In the short term, wild geese can hurt people directly, because geese with nests or offspring are deeply aggressive. They are far more likely to attack a person too close to their nests than to run away. Considering the size of the average wild goose, that can lead to serious injuries for the person attacked.

Goose Poop Causes Infection

Geese also leave copious amounts of feces in the area where they flock. These feces, usually near water sources, can leach e. Coli into their surroundings. This has led to beach closures and human disease outbreaks.

Crops and Livestock Suffer

Geese are also prone to eating and trampling crop foods. The crops at risk include corn, wheat, soybeans, and oats, along with others. The damage a single flock can do can seriously dent a farmer’s expected return. Geese feces can also sicken livestock, causing concern for farms specializing in animals.

Geese Can Destroy Recreational Areas

Finally, geese can seriously damage real property. In recreation areas, geese will eat sod until it dies off while spreading feces to the point where parks are uninhabitable. The same problem is a proven nuisance commercial areas like golf courses and soccer pitches. These problems lower property values when they occur on private estates, too.

A Better Way for Toronto Business Owners to Get Rid of Geese

There are several methods to get rid of geese on a commercial scale. However, they all require professional help to be effective, and in some cases even legal. Canada geese are protected in Toronto under the Migratory Birds Convention Act. That means that it’s illegal to hurt the birds, the nest, or the eggs in any way without a permit.

The “Goosebuster”

One humane option is to use recordings of the Canadian goose alarm call to scare geese away. This alarm call, frequently dubbed the “Goosebuster,” scares birds to the point where they leave the area and do not return. This requires a permit to avoid legal repercussions.

Egg Depredation

Another method is egg depredation. This Involves having licensed handlers come in and prevent the eggs from hatching through some form of humane “egg addling.” This can be done by oiling the eggs, which stops development by preventing the flow of gas through the shell. This also requires a legal permit and licensed practitioners.

Chemical Repellents

A third method is the use of chemical repellents to ward off the birds. These make the area either smell bad to the geese or cause other problems for the birds. Once again, the proper application of these chemicals is by law restricted to licensed companies with appropriate permits.

There are plenty of humane, effective methods to remove geese from your Toronto property, and we’ve named just a few. The most important thing to remember, however, is that because of the protected status of these birds here, getting professional pest control help is critical for all removals.

Reach out to an experienced commercial goose management company here in Toronto so that you maintain compliance with all necessary permits while saving you time and effort. Reach out today to find the goose-removal method that will work best for you.

About the Author:

Daniel Mackie, co-owner of Greenleaf Pest Control, is a Toronto pest control expert and a regular guest on HGTV. He is renowned in the industry as an innovator of safe, effective pest control solutions. Mackie and business partner Sandy Costa were the first pest control professionals in Canada to use detection dogs and thermal remediation for the successful eradication of bed bugs. In his free time, he is an avid gardener.