Keeping Geese and Ducks off your Dock
Many lake shore and water front property owners have to deal with the local waterfowl using your dock as their hang out! In the process they dirty your dock with excrement and the like and of course then we all fall in to the weekly or sometimes daily, & always consistently, are on the end of a sweep broom to wash the debris off the dock. I have tried many determents ideas and products, with one easy homemade contraption having excellent success.
Some of the suggested ideas and products have worked to some degree, but the key has been staying power. Do the Geese and Ducks get used to the determent, lose their fear and start making your dock their personal outdoor lavatory? The goal for all of us lakeshore owners being one that last all summer after being installed.
These ideas are not bad, however fail at the longterm effectiveness. Having a flag pole installed on the dock and having the flag (or long tailed wing sock) blowing here and there does deter for a while, but like the rest of these ideas listed, not a good long term tool. Sound determents, objects like floating ski tubes, or lily pads, a decoy such as owls or birds of prey, and fishing line or string all have their usefulness and show some signs of working. None of them are as successful as the cork and wire flag tape holder.
The most successful tool I have found, was a little gadget my neighbor made out of wine bottle corks, 1 ft. wire, and neon colored flag tape (see picture). It can also be very inexpensive to make. Running the flag holders down both sides of the dock at 8 to 10 foot increments and then connecting them all by running continuous neon flag tape (found at most hardware stores) down one side and up the other side as pictured, roughly 1 foot off the top of the dock. Running on both edges deters the Ducks and Geese from jumping up on the dock as it will trip their feet, and the neon color makes it easy for them to see and discern, reminding them it’s not easy to get on the dock. This will frustrate them and keeping them looking for less frustration from your neighbors dock, or other easier dock & roost targets.
I hope this has been helpful and if you should have any suggestions for other useful tools to deter Ducks and Geese from your dock, please share.
About the Author: With 40 years of mastery and over $5 billion in managed closed sales, Tony Sampair doesn't just navigate the market—he defines it. A veteran executive leader with a legacy of #1 national rankings, Tony has spent four decades scaling brokerages and architecting elite agent productivity for lakeshore properties across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Tony and The Luxury Lake Team at Lakeplace.com are the #1 locally and regionally dominant experts for the most coveted waterfront markets. From the historic shores of White Bear Lake to Bald Eagle Lake & the premier properties of Forest Lake and the Chisago Lakes area, Tony Sampair has sold over 500 properties in this specific area, in his 40 year career. No other agent has more sales volume or experience in this area than Tony Sampair. Tony is truly the #1 Real Estate Agent in White Bear Lake to Chisago Lakes area.
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