Canada geese prefer to walk or swim. They do not like to fly. If the geese are accessing your site by walking or swimming, use exclusion fencing. This is especially effective during molt when they cannot fly. Erect fencing, approximately 30 inches high, at the water's edge to block their access. Be sure it is tight to the ground.
The most certain way to exclude geese is by installing a 3-dimensional fence or wire grid system over the area you wish to protect. Since this is often impractical, the alternative would be to change the habitat. Small changes can significantly reduce the attractiveness of the land to geese.
Discourage geese from using a pond by making it and the surrounding area unattractive to them. Allowing grass to grow a little taller discourages geese. Reduce or eliminate fertilizer applications to the surrounding grass area to make the grass less nutritionally attractive to grazing waterfowl. Reduce the amount of grass by mulching areas and planting groundcovers such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae cv. K—31), common periwinkle (Vinca minor), Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), or English ivy (Hedera helix). Add shrub islands and other plantings to block their sightlines. Feeding of waterfowl around the pond site should always be prohibited. In cold climates, shut off pond aerators in the winter and allow the pond to freeze.
Giant Canada geese generally will not establish nesting territories in areas where they cannot easily walk in and out of the local pond. Construct new ponds so there is an 18- to 24-inch (45- to 60-cm) vertical bank at the water's edge. Discourage Canada geese from using existing ponds by vertically straightening the banks. Use large boulder rip-rap, which geese cannot easily climb over, in locations such as levees or banks around airport runways. Caution: Large boulder rip-rap may provide nesting or loafing habitat for some species of gulls.
Installing suspended cables over the water (just a couple of inches) in a grid pattern of every few yards can become a significant annoyance to geese who wish to swim in the water.
Resources: (online)
