Those aren't leaves.
At first, the only thing that would scare the geese away was if I ran toward them at full tilt (through the poop gauntlet), making "quackquackquack" sounds and waving my arms. I'm hardly fit enough to maintain that kind of security system, and Szuka was no help, so I took to the internet to find a solution for keeping the geese off the lawn. I stumbled across a fabulous, family-owned business (Away with Geese) that developed and sells humane, noiseless goose deterrents with a 97% success rate.
Over the fall I tried out two Away with Geese units: a water unit and a dock unit. Unfortunately, the boat left with the house was a little less sea-worthy than we thought so for now we re-purposed the water unit as a second land unit and both worked perfectly. I waited until now to share my review because I also wanted to know how well they would hold up if left installed through insanely cold temps. They are still out there, softly blinking, ready for the first goose come spring. When the bay thaws we'll move the water unit out to the lake and I'm certain that the geese won't be coming anywhere near our land or our piece of Lake Superior (I'd prefer our water poop-free too). The water unit is good for a 75 yard radius.
It took a few weeks (it could take a bit longer), but eventually the geese moved on to greener pastures and we reclaimed the lawn. The grass started to grow again! This is how they work: an amber 360-degree solar powered light flashes every two seconds during the night. Humans barely see it, but it disrupts the sleep of geese so the area no longer feels like a secure location. A few restless nights later, the geese move on to a more comfortable environment. The light is dim and not troublesome to humans (I actually find it comforting when it is pitch black outside), and needs no maintenance. It irritates the geese (mwahahahaha!), but harms them in no way. You can read more about it here, plus Handy Hubby made a little video:
The units are small and cute, so they don't interfere with the view - or playtime!
After contacting Away With Geese to review their product, I was provided with two units. I approached them because their product seemed like an ideal solution: low maintenance and humane, with a proven success rate. By mapping out our location, the team at Away with Geese even figured out a customized pairing of units to work best on our property. I am genuinely impressed and have recommended Away with Geese to all of my neighbours. I really love that it is an American-based, family-run business. As the daughter of a small business owner I can appreciate the importance of supporting family-run businesses. Should one of our neighbours ever decide to punk one of these fabulous devices, I will happily part with my own cash to replace it. It works that well.
