Canada geese conflicts often lead property owners and local governments to seek lethal solutions, but there are effective, humane ways to live with or drive away Canada geese.

Canada Geese - Background

Canada geese are the most common geese in the United States and Canada. They are attracted to grass and bodies of water, which often places them in public parks, golf courses and manicured lawns. Although there are several subspecies of Canada geese, the distinction that most people care about is the one between migratory Canada geese and resident Canada geese.

Migratory Geese v. Resident Geese

Migratory Canada geese do what people expect them to do. During the colder months, they fly south to the U.S. and when the weather gets warmer, they return to Canada - where they were born - to build nests, lay eggs and raise their young.

Resident Canada geese, on the other hand, stay year-round in parts of the U.S. wherever food is available year round and the area is suitable for nesting. Resident Canada geese began with migratory geese who were captured or bred in the early 20th century to be used as live decoys for hunters. Their wings were clipped and/or their legs were weighted down so they couldn't fly away. Their descendents had no need to migrate north in the spring to reproduce because they were born in the U.S. and were already "home." After hunting decimated the migratory Canada geese population, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and some state wildlife management agencies began efforts to repopulate the birds in the 1960s, including artificially incubating eggs.

By the 1990s, these programs ended because they had been so successful and people began having conflicts with the geese. A short migration makes resident geese less susceptible to hunting, which, along with a lack of natural predators, has caused an increase in the resident goose population in recent years.

What is the Problem?

The three main problems caused by Canada geese are droppings, damage to vegetation and bird strikes.

People complain about goose poop because it is unsightly, messy and slippery. While some people may be concerned about health risks, parasites and disease from goose feces are usually not a health problem unless the feces is inhaled or ingested.

If there is a large flock of geese, there might be problems with birds overgrazing a lawn or eating crops on a farm.

A rarer but much more serious problem is bird strikes, in which a plane collides with a bird. While planes collide with birds regularly, geese cause a bigger problem than most birds because the geese are bigger. Adult Canada geese are 10-12 pounds. Also, geese tend to fly in flocks, which can lead to multiple birds colliding with a plane all at once.

Canada Geese and the Law

All Canada geese are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, even though some Canada geese are not migratory. The MBTA protects the nests and eggs, along with the geese, and prohibits the capture or killing of Canada geese outside of a legal hunting season. Because of the MBTA, some of the nonlethal methods for reducing geese conflicts may require a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

State laws may also protect the geese and/or establish a legal goose hunting season.