The Geese plague
 

The Geese problem-
For all of us residents and owners on the shorline: we have a remedy for the geese poop, if we band together - In the spring when the geese are spotted - look for the eggs on your property, or have someone look for you . Destroy the eggs.
If every property owner does their part- no more baby geese to add to the current population. Then we are on the road to eliminate the geese plague on Lake Winni an dnearby lakes. Please do your part.

Destroying NH wildlife? Some game wardens would be interested in your plan, I’m sure. Get rid of your green lawn…howzat for a remedy?😡

I don't think we are going to organize to commit a federal offense.

you can destroy the Goose eggs
 

Nice try John- Goose must not be pooping on your property. After Jan 1 any landowner can go online google-- Resident Canada Goose nest and egg depredation order' and after simply registering - you can destroy the eggs. It is a US Fish and Wildlife website.

You may want to read the requirements.
The reporting.
And finally, what is deemed non-lethal management techniques.

Also the section that warns about State or Tribal laws...
In NH, that would be RSA 209:10

Should they be nesting on your land, after the goosling have hatched... remove the nesting site and change the area around it.

A recent regulation change by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) now allows private landowners, public land managers, and local governments the op- portunity to treat or destroy resident Canada goose nests and eggs on their prop- erties from March 1 to June 30. A permit is no longer required to treat or destroy nests or eggs. However you must register online with the USFWS. http://www.fws.gov/permits/mbpermits...istration.html, or go to www.fws.gov/permits and click on “New: Resident Canada Goose Nest Egg Registra

That is what I took the information from.
You are just not reading the whole thing.

You have to register. Report the number of nests destroyed.
It cannot be done if it is a violation of State or Tribal law (NH RSA 209:10)
And you have to show that you have attempted non-lethal management techniques to get NH F&G to sign-off.

But whatever, Mike is right. The state is going to lose the lake if they don't do something. I have heard of lakes in Pa. and other states that have been lost to the geese.

Public Beaches
 

Opechee Park in Laconia has two beaches on Opechee, both destroyed by the geese. Beaches are close due to how fecal bacteria counts. Time to kill the geese by killing the eggs!

So you destroy the eggs.

Who's going to know? Unless you post the act on some forum for all to see.

Hesky park lawns and even some of the docks are filthy with goose poop.
Something really needs to be done.
In the past I’ve kept them away my staking strings of flags from the party store across the beach and lawn but it’s a bit of an inconvenience to have them there. Also, when they appear, we release my daughters golden retriever and he loves to chase them away.
Maybe that’s the solution for Meredith. In the past we have tried fake coyote’s, fake swans and even a fake owl, Good try but the geese are laughing at us.

I have never seen an egg or seen them roost. Sam, you are right, everything is filthy with their poop --what must be in the lake?? Yes, they are very persistent and get used to everything, that is why I have fence and or string tied to little posts around most of my property. But it is a pain when you want to go in the water. They still poop on the outside of the string on the beach when the water goes down. We have a flat lot which makes it easy for them to get on shore and a lot of frontage which makes it hard to keep them out. I did have the "used car lot flags" for a while but didn't exactly like the look.:laugh: I need to borrow a big dog. My little ones won't chase them.

From the Chicago greater area, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis ...... click on the video to see a Border Collie attack the Canada goose from a drone video ..... http://www.wildgoosechasers.com/bird...e-dog-service/

Anyone know ...... would a Dachshund .... www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachshund .....be good to chase away the Canada goose? The small Dachshund seems to be good to go to chase down the goose, but I am just guessing on this?

Hi-

My name is Simba, and I would be happy to chase your geese, (or cats, or squirrels, or bouncing balls)!!

I don't know why Canada Geese are so special. F & G controls deer herds, our local conservation commission can hire somebody to "dispatch" beaver who cause flooding. We add or subtract numbers of fish limits. Anybody here from the RR & D (lake water quality) or F & G (wildlife) House committees? Time is approaching in September to file related legislation. I'm sure there are many here who would contribute to a fund for a goose bounty.

Take out "Canada" and just call them geese. Probably alleviate any PC concerns.

There used to be signs in Hesky Park encouraging people to let their dogs chase the geese. Don't know if they're still there. I'm sure they created a bit of controversy.

What's in a name?
 

I agree with Garysanfran. Let's rename them "Russian Geese" - then we'll be able to kill them all we want!

Canada geese sounds way too nice.

C'mon over Simba! I don't know when they'll come again but they will!

Dogs chasing geese
 

About 5 years ago, I would take our Rottweiler down to Heskey Park, find the geese, make her sit and whisper in her ear about chasing them. She'd shake with anticipation until I released her and She'd chase them into the water. I realized that it would be quite the sh..show if she actually caught one, so stopped going down there with her.

Yes--the thing that geese love as a habitat is broad flat beaches and/or lawns with no vegetation. Very similar to what humans love, haha. Those with mostly natural shoreline have no geese. For those who are able, planting blueberry berry bushes or similar stuff along your shore will discourage nesting. We were lucky with our house in this regard--the previous owners left us with lots of bushes and stone steps into the water

One of the things I wanted was a flat lot, I guess now it's a trade off- but there were no geese around when we bought our land. Yes, the one place I don t have the fence is where the blueberry bushes are. They are too thick for them to get through. They do reach up from the water and grab the blueberries.

Migratory birds are under control of the federal government not the state. That's part of the problem.

Of course, Fed's in charge of migration everywhere and have it all screwed up. Who would guess...??????

Not really.
The federal government has for decades allowed with a permit the destruction of eggs.
Now it is allowing it with just a registration and reporting.
That makes it quite a bit easier.

The State of NH has the law that is the restriction... NH RSA 209:10

Non-lethal methods of deterrence... such as dogs... is considered a vital control method. And to violate NH RSA 209:10, best to ask NH F&G and make sure you document your efforts to use non-lethal methods.

But it is much easier to move geese from grazing momentarily than it is to remove a goose from her clutch. She will become aggressive rather than move away quickly. The gander is also prone to very violent behavior when this situation arises.

Will be trying bottle rockets…..neighbors are all ok with it
It’s safe to hold them using a heavy glove

Our neighbors have set off a firework, keeps them away for a day or two.

I have a natural shoreline with many wild blueberry bushes at the waters edge. The geese come in 20 at a time to eat the berries so, not sure that idea could not be a problem.. the bang from a firecracker works real good

44-Seconds of Fireworks Scattering...
 

This video harnesses two awesome forces:

:look:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J6PjQQtE9tM

geese plague- more proof .
 

Geese plague- John clearly loves the geese- I am sincerely proud of him.
To those who consider them pests- Please Google -Wildlife help.org. then hit -how to treat the eggs. This is a wildlife site -it affirms just register and report- to be legal.
if you want to reduce the geese plague-please -register January-March, treat the eggs and report. DO YOUR PART.
There is a saying about voting- if you don't bother to vote- don't complain about the government you get.-----if you hate the geese- follow the procedure in Wildlife help org. or don't complain about the geese pooping all over your yard.
my final comment. mike

But you'd have to know where they nest to treat the eggs.

Hmmm…no one mentioned the OBVIOUS!
Fatlazydude must be slippin…

NOODLES! Hang ‘em everywhere the geese like to go…but do NOT…fill them with CHEEZITS! 🤣 make your waterfront yard goose-free and festive with a different, dare I say “rainbow” array of colors! 🤪

Motion Sprinklers
 

I have a friend who had a problem with geese landing on his property. He installed a couple motion sprinklers and that took care of the problem.

Dan

The WildlifeHelp.org site allows you to pick a State, and a species.
When you pick NH and ''Canadian Goose''.
It offers you options... such as: ''How to treat eggs in the nest to prevent hatching"

Right under that... it states "Federal and State regulations apply to nest and egg disturbance and treatment, so check both sets of regulations before initiating this control measure."

NH RSA 209:10 is that State regulation.

So it is your chosen website that is telling you that you can't do legally what you are proposing.

I've managed to keep them off my land, but the water is a problem. For years now, neither my wife or I can swim in the lake in front of our
property because we get this terrible "duck itch"...as some call it. I have no idea what can be done, as there are lots of water foul in the water. We have tried washing off with well water, toweling hard, taking showers, etc. etc, but nothing seems to help. So now we do not go swimming.....so sad.

A goose tends to stay on her clutch. So it will appear to be a goose that is sleeping in the same spot for a long time in the early spring.

She will nest year after year in the same location.

They generally will not nest close to an area that they feed in.
Though when feeding you may see a fairly large group of them, when nesting they tend to be anti-social and solitary.

Ugh, such a bummer. Yours seems like an extreme case. Do they populate nearby docks? Are you in a cove with relatively little circulation?

I'm pretty sure you are allowed to control waterfowl population with a permit, if you have good reason. You might look into professional help too

That is just awful. It's pretty bad when you can't even swim. Quite a few years ago somebody, either the town or the state, removed some from Back Bay. Maybe you could contact the town for starters and tell them your situation. I do think if something isn't done, we all are going to have to go to the state before the lake is ruined. Are they oblivious? They were NOT native to this lake. You NEVER used to see them. I remember a sweet lady in Back Bay in Wolfeboro starting feeding them and they began to stay in the winter. My mom and I went down to see them because they were a phenomenon. They grew to 7 and then 20 and then more. I don't know if that same thing happened in another part of the lake, but that is how they started on this side of the lake.

They blocked off large hunting areas that we used.
And all the added factors, the number of hunters deciding to take up the recreation declined.

"Addling" = Shaking...
 

Tis, the first Canada Geese I've seen this summer cruised by last Friday.

I counted (then re-counted) fifteen fully-grown goslings following their two parents. :eek2:

In other jurisdictions, unwanted populations of waterfowl are reduced by "addling" their eggs. The nests are abandoned weeks later, rather than starting a new clutch too late in the nesting season.

Yup, I have seen them. I wonder if that is two families.

They used to be migratory but because of year round open water and people feeding them they are year round residents now.

Must be Massholes. :emb::emb::emb:

Year round residents makes them Cow Tippers.


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Exactly, people fed them.

:laugh::laugh::laugh: Now, that's funny.

It isn't working in those jurisdictions either.
To make them migrate, you need to take away the salad bar.

Or they need to be relocated to populate somewhere else.

Hmmm…respectfully, for the goose-haters, Mother Nature was HERE long before the hordes of humans took over the lake…just sayin’🤔

They would simply return.
It may not be the original animals, but new ones would fill the void as the food source is still available.

It is like planting a corn field year-after-year and watching whitetails.

Wrong, the geese are not natural to the lake and were never here in the past except to fly overhead to migrate.

Well, remove them again.

Was in town today and saw a guy with a couple of dogs keeping the geese at bay…..I counted 50 of them and there was poop everywhere, even on the walks where people step on it.
After a few errands we drove by again and the dogs were gone so the geese were coming back up on the grass for breakfast.
We really need to do something. How about giving some teens a summer job and let them keep the geese away
They will eventually leave if they can’t feed

Canada goose attacks dog in small motor boat
 

Canada goose ...... www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OStX_wrWGg ....2:20-minutes....... verses a medium sized, maybe a 25-lb dog in a small motorboat on a pond, somewhere, sometime?

A goose like that might weighs about 12-lbs, much less than the dog, but it has a lot of fight in it, the goose.

"When agitated or aggressively defending territory, Canada geese will typically initiate an encounter with a high-pitched hiss. Canada geese communicate with ten different vocalizations, each in response to a different situation confronting them." ....... www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose

About a week ago My wife and I walk to Meredith Town docks and there was geese crap all over the aluminum loading dock. People were still putting their boats in, but they had to dodge the geese poop. There was a young girl collecting the ramp fee but I'm sure she wasn't going to clean the dock. :(
I've always seen it all over the park but that's the first time I've seen it all over the dock.

Between goose dodo and fertilizer runoff from luscious green waterfront lawns, plus a host of other things plaguing our waterways…..it’s very sad what is happening to all our lakes!

It requires more the everyone discussing the problem. It requires the state to acknowledge the problem and allow for everyone to address it. Laws need to change for the problem to be addressed. Other states allow for the “ rounding up and killing of the geese. We don’t


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It is sad that your ignorance is allowed in every post!

You are NOT an expert on EVERY subject!

Let a subject go.... Read up on it.... then... NVM

We used to hunt them.
The no hunting zones around the lake prevent that.
I am sure that the State of NH didn't just dream those restrictions up...

And yes, FLL, they fight back... and much worse when a clutch is involved.
That is why the disturbance after the nest has been abandoned works the best. No confrontation and the goose doesn't want to nest in that area again.

Safest way
 

When we redid our property, geese would land every morning and make their way and make the lawn a mine fields. We tried a product called Awaywithgeese.com.Corney sounding but they really work. We now have three of the lights, I have seen others around the lake. opeechee should definitely look int them

Are they at the Point?
I know at the Cove, they moved them from the picnic area by changing the landscaping.

They have a problem with them on the beach... but I think that could be solved by bringing the beach sand up to the parking lot asphalt rather than providing a grassy buffer.

They could even put low shrubs in that zone, the geese don't tend to like that. It interferes with their sight line.

But they still may overnight there, as the beach provides a decent shelter with strong sight lines to protect from predators.

What law will stop hundreds of rafters "going" in the lake? Think a law will work for that?

That’s a little harsh

I've learned to ignore them. Farming and hunting is not something they are all aware of.

If you provide a feeding opportunity for wildlife.
Even when you kill off what is there... a new animal will discover the opportunity.

You absolutely haven't learned to ignore anyone! :emb:

That one good looking dog! ;-)

Best response yet! LOVE it.

Not at all.

Jon took the OP to task in post #3 and was proven wrong. He back peddled along the way without doing any real research.

Good luck there,,,

Too often I have to step away from here unable to read the never ending "expert" comments on EVERYTHING!

But bravo for speaking up.

That's fair.

But we have had fields that run all the way to the water for decades, and no real geese problem.

So I am going to keep advocating the liberal policy of bringing back the opportunity to hunt them. Open those off limit zones, and let those of us that have hunted in the past return to what we do.

You can hunt Geese in NH. Requires a variety of state and federal paperwork that is very achievable (in addition to the proper NH hunting license requirements).

https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-...-new-hampshire


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With all the hungry people in the country, these birds should be an instant source of nutrition ! Time to get some business to commercially harvest.

Maybe we should start a new holiday, Geesegiving?:D

That’s a wonderful idea


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On a lighter note……
 

I think tummyman is on to something…..and goose harvesting makes a whole lot more sense than constantly grousing about it! 😂

The licensing and tags have been the same for decades with only minor changes.
It is the areas that are open to harvesting that are shrinking.

I equate it roughly to the island deer situation.

Eliminate the need to purchase tags and register the kill.


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Joys of living on the lake…..
 

Our grandson, bless his heart, is in the process of cleaning goose excrement off the swim platform. This, after getting rid of it on the jetskis….disgusting! The whole episode reminded me that yesterday, while traveling through Meredith, there were two imbeciles FEEDING the geese! I shouldn’t have been surprised, because people can do really stupid things, and that ranked right up there. 🤨

Can we harass the geese so long as they aren't killed?

Shoot 'em with sling shots?

Throw stones?

Whacking Day
 

Can the same treatment be administered to those who feed the geese? 😂

Feed THEM to the geese