They can be more annoying than that eccentric relative or grating in-law who drops in unexpectedly and soon overstays their welcome.

And if you live near a lake, pond or even a lush golf course, these visitors could be coming to your house or cottage- in record numbers.

According to experts, Canada geese populations all over the U.S. are booming. Protected under the Federal Migratory Bird treaty, these birds are thriving in urban and suburban areas- especially ones near water.

"It's been building over the years," said Nicholas Throckmorton, public affairs spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. "Resident Canada geese do very well in urban areas because there is no predation or hunting."

Resident Canada geese are kind of a hybrid to the 11 subspecies of the bird mostly found in the wild. Before 1930, these geese were bred and used as live decoys for hunters until the government outlawed the practice, Throckmorton said. Then the geese were forced to survive in the wild. In many areas of the country, especially in warmer climates, these birds never learned to migrate, and took up residence where they could.

Now, these geese, as well as many of the migratory species, are finding lakefront property as desirable as their human counterparts.

And once they establish their territory, they can be extremely difficult to uproot. When they establish a successful site, geese will try to nest in the same spot each year, according to the Coalition to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese, based in New York.

"You need to be proactive early if you don't want geese to be in a place," said Steve Wilds, regional migratory bird chief for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Great Lakes- Big River Region based in Minnesota. "You need to recognize the potential problems early on and take action before eggs and young are present."

Wilds, a bird biologist, said Canada geese protecting their goslings can become territorial and sometimes aggressive towards people who wander into their space.

"They just harass the people who try to move past them," Wilds said. "They frighten a lot of people."

The birds, which can grow up to 48 inches long and weigh as much as 24 pounds, are also voracious eaters of grass and plants, causing many landscape headaches for homeowners. And the fecal matter they leave behind can be a potential health problem.

So what can be done to manage geese populations?

First, Wilds said, people should check with their appropriate state officials to see what options are available. Many states, especially in the Midwest, have been granted permits by the Fish and Wildlife Service to manage geese populations.

FWS Spokesperson Rachel Levins said her department has made it easier for states to get permits to manage Canada geese. Calling them "blanket permits," Levins said states that participate have the latitude to grant permits to homeowners and citizens to manage geese numbers.     

Throckmorton said one of the most common ways wildlife officials use to limit numbers of Canada geese is to "addle" eggs. Once geese lay their eggs, officials come in and dip them in oil, suffocating the embryo. The mother continues to sit on the addled eggs, instead of laying new ones.

"[The mother goose] has to be tricked into thinking she's sitting on viable eggs," Throckmorton said of the addling process.

Wilds said the most effective way of keeping geese away is to take away their home base. He said homeowners can destroy and remove nests at any time- as long as there are no eggs in them- without a permit.

"Do whatever you can to discourage them from nesting where you don't want them nesting," he said.

Once the eggs are laid, however, remedies become more problematic, Wilds said. Homeowners must then request authorization to destroy nest eggs in the form of a permit.

For those homeowners looking to keep geese off their property, Wilds offers a few recommendations.

Using dogs, especially herders such as border collies, can be an effective method of control, Wilds said. But make sure the dog does not harm the birds, and many communities have laws that prohibit dogs from running loose.

Other methods include noisemaking devices, fireworks, scarecrows, repellents- even a water hose- as long as the geese are not killed or injured. Wilds said harming or killing a goose is a violation of federal law punishable by fine or even jail time.

And for goodness sake, do not feed the geese- ever.

"That should be just a given," Wilds said.

Geese also dislike visual barriers between ponds and feeding areas, and planting trees, hedges or bushes to separate grassy areas from a water source could also act as a deterrent, Wilds said.

"That doesn't really solve the problem," Throckmorton said of the harassment techniques. "It kind of moves the problem somewhere else."

Wilds said a more effective method of control is having a regular hunting season. Many states such as Michigan have been pretty successful in reducing the number of Canada geese, and Wilds said people must recognize that as a tool. 

In the past, state and federal wildlife officials have conducted "roundups" of these geese to reduce numbers. A roundup means capturing and relocating geese to different parts of the country. However, Wilds said because the birds are so widespread, relocation is no longer an option, and often the birds are killed.

"There's no place to just take the geese anymore because these geese are everywhere," he said.

He said communication between local and state officials is also crucial in dealing with Canada geese populations.

"Your community really needs to come to an agreement as to what is an appropriate number of geese and how to manage them," Wilds said. "It solves a whole bunch of bad feelings between neighbors and potential legal problems."

Despite their potential for problems, Wilds said Canada geese are often very sociable around humans in manageable numbers. And the two can often coexist in harmony.

"These birds are really neat critters relative to the environment," he said. "They shouldn't be thought of as flying rats, but adaptable to people. Nobody likes to step in goose poop. I can appreciate that. Get that balance. They are pretty cool, but recognize you need to do some work to keep them in line."

By Doug Goodnough

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