Pond and Lake Wildlife: Canada Geese

Canada geese are part of the landscape of many areas of Pennsylvania. In fact, Pennsylvania is home to a population of resident geese that are largely non-migratory; they nest and winter here. The growth of this population has been phenomenal. Prior to 1935, no Canada geese nested anywhere in Pennsylvania. Today, they are found in every county in the state.

Our resident Canada geese have found paradise in our parks, golf courses, corporate office parks, and waterfront yards in lake communities with nice green grass, water to drink, and no predators. The lack of predators and abundance of food near suburban lakes and ponds allows them to lay more eggs and have more goslings that survive to adulthood compared to their migrating cousins. This unimpeded goose population is leaving its mark on lakes, ponds, and properties.

As grazing birds, geese feed on wild and cultivated plants. They feed on the grasses we have planted on our golf courses, parks, and other areas.

An adult goose will eat around 4 pounds of grass daily and produce 2 to 4 pounds a day of manure. This results in one goose producing somewhere around 1,000 pounds of manure every year. So, when a flock of geese resides on a body of water or property year-round, they deposit a substantial supply of nutrients that can cause an immense imbalance in the water and overall ecosystem.

What Problems Can Geese Cause in a Pond or Lake?

The waste from Canada geese is high in phosphorus, which is the limiting nutrient in aquatic environments. This increased level of phosphorus results in possible excessive aquatic plants/algae in our ponds and lakes, increased algae blooms, and overall poor water quality.

Other impacts of an abundant Canada goose population are increasing levels of E. coli bacteria, which can affect people swimming at pond and lake beaches.

How to Manage Your Pond or Lake for Geese

If geese commonly populate a pond or lake, there are several measures you can take to keep geese away and manage the health of the pond and lake.

To both manage the current impact of geese and prevent future damage, you can try these solutions.

An effective solution in keeping Canada geese from feeding on areas around the pond or lake is to provide a vegetative buffer or barrier to the water body. The goal is to limit their access to the water, causing the geese to go elsewhere to feed. Other barriers include fencing or Goose Grid—plastic line or 20 lb. monofilament at 6 inches and 12 inches.

Another solution is to limit the feeding of geese, especially in public places like business complexes or municipal parks, making sure there are adequate signs discouraging people from feeding geese. Feeding the geese will make them more likely to become residents of that area and make it hard to remove them.

If Canada geese are nesting on or near the pond or lake, addling or oiling their eggs with corn oil will stop air from passing through the shells, thereby preventing the embryo from developing. The adults will continue to incubate the eggs, but the eggs will not hatch. This solution does require a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Other ways to deter Canada geese are chemical solutions you can spray on grass and other plants that deter the geese from feeding. An example is Turfshield. These should be used with caution, as they can cause additional water quality issues when runoff washes off these chemicals into your pond or lake.

The key to controlling nuisance flocks of Canada geese is promptness and persistence. Methods of controlling damage will work only as well as their implementation. Once nuisance geese are gone from an area, the area must be made unattractive to waterfowl so that they will not return.