Keeping Geese off the Jump Surface... Tips and Tricks?

[coledimich]

First post since doing away with the classic forum groups so not sure which topic this should be in but here goes...

Just for background I'm in South Eastern Michigan. Earlier in the spring and summer we didn't have as much of an issue with the geese population but as the summer went on they got more used to the ramp being there and decided to adopt it as their new public restroom 🫠

We have an owl and a flashing light that blinks at night on our gate system that raises up to the top of the jump, I think the light helps more than the owl but still we have geese droppings on the ramp everyday. I'm considering trying to mix in Irish Soap or FlockFree bird repellent into the wax next time I put it on and see if that has any effect.

Just curious if any seasoned jump owners have tricks that actually work to keep the geese away? Thanks!

This is how bad it gets for reference:

[BlueSki]

We have two plastic owls that sit on the bottom corners of the ramp with a strand of fishing line connecting the two of them like police do not cross tape. The owls are supported with rope from the top of the jump. Birds don’t like the fishing line and it keeps them from walking up the jump. That seems to be working well. 
 

If you have a golf course nearby, start throwing corn on the greens. That will also help keep them off the jump. 

[MISkier]

The geese probably aren’t landing directly on the jump.  They like to swim up to rafts, docks, etc. and then step/hop up onto the object with a minimum of wing flapping to lift them.  Anything higher than a foot or two off the water can be an obstacle to them.  As @BlueSki said, string some line across any portion of the ramp that is an easy hop up for them.  It may only need to be at the base of the ramp.

[Broussard]

We have a PVC support (like the supports for the net on a ping pong table with two bungees that string across the bottom of the jump to keep geese from walking up the ramp. It just clips onto the holes in the side curtain. 

[Mastercrafter]

Have you simply tried asking the geese not to poop on the ramp?

 

[GK]

Our ramp used to look like this every day.  The last few years we've had a plastic owl mounted to a wide plastic base (attached to a string) that we slide down to the center of the ramp when we're not using it.  It works fantastic.  No more cleaning off goose $hit.

[skier2788]

Not a ramp but we had a large swim dock that we had issues keeping the geese off of. Tried owls and coyote silhouette but as soon as the figured out they were fake they no longer worked. Google goose away light. Basically an orange strobe light like you see on a construction barrel. Been working for years. Can buy cheaper versions off Amazon. I think dock mooring lights. Solar powered with a photo eye.

[MDB1056]

motion activated Halloween monsters work great........... 

[RAWSki]

This thing has worked great on our swim raft I image you would need two for the ramp.  can be mounted to a board or they make flat sandbags with mounting spots--- just put under the ramp when jumping?   

[ReallyGottaSki]

[jgills88]

I've seen a jump with a little barrier created by pvc pipes and this plastic mesh: https://www.amazon.com/OLDMACDONALD-Guardian-Warning-Barrier-100-Feet/dp/B07MMY52RJ/ref=asc_df_B07MMY52RJ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416949847877&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2124697657511094650&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012393&hvtargid=pla-871390734641&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=94694114075&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=416949847877&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2124697657511094650&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012393&hvtargid=pla-871390734641

 

They welded two small pipes to the bottom of the jump, and let the poles sit in there when not in use. When you go to turn on the ramp, roll up the mesh and pipes and toss it in the boat until you're done. Works really well, never seen a Goose on the ramp in the years since they added it

[ghutch]

I would suggest something more along the lines of a 12 ga with steel shot.

[LeonL]

10 hours ago, ghutch said:

I would suggest something more along the lines of a 12 ga with steel shot.

Might take a lot shells, if you've got a lot of geese!

[101driver]

Great topic I hadn't even thought of stopping the geese, I was just resigned to dealing with the mess. Definitely going to try the suggestions above. Starting with the fence and then moving through the others as the necessary. Hope that I get a solution that works before I need to load my 12G!

[coledimich]

@RAWSki I think I’m going to pick one of those up for deck on the back side of the jump thanks! @jgills88 This was my last resort because I’ve already built an automated gate/watering system for the top (since we’re on a public lake) and I didn’t want to have to go through the complicated engineering to tie in a gate at the bottom of the ramp to the system but oh well here I go with another winter engineering project haha.

[Jody_Seal]

[DW]

@coledimich - look on the bright side, they should all be leaving now 🤣

Can anybody provide any insight as to some redeeming value to these hideous creatures?  And could we send them back to their namesake country (yep, Canada, LOL).

[101driver]

The Canada Geese are normally the biggest problem, but for the past few years the swans have kept them off, great until now.................11 swans on the ski lake Thursday when I was putting the jump to bed for winter. Now I do like to see the swans but this year their battles to keep or steal others mates has gone from entertaining to a right pain when you encounter 3 birds in a lovers tiff in the middle of a slalom run........and it's always your best run when you would have run your best pass!!!!! Their favourite rest room? the jump of course, I recon it's 5 Canada geese to 1 swan in sh*t ratio.

[Taynton]

We would use a motion activated sprinkler for our docks and beaches, also used them to keep deer away but some deer just don't give a f%$#@. the geese dont like getting wet lol maybe someone could put together a battery powered version for a jump. would work great to make sure the whole ramp gets wet as well! It would only need to run for 20 seconds at a time!

 

[Jody_Seal]

make an example out of one of them, the rest will get the picture.

[EricKelley]

This was my solution I called a “goose gate”.  It works well the only pain is taking it off and placing it back on.  I just use our peddle boat for the task.  Beats cleaning the mess off and getting your beautiful wax ruined.

[101driver]

GREAT IDEAS ALL WHO POSTED SOLUTIONS

For our ramp I am going with the main consensus which lots of ballers have explained as a good solution for them and @EricKelley posts a great picture of above. The gate. One of those "why didn't I think of that" solutions which is why I guess we share on here our good ideas.

That said I have not given up on @Jody_Seal yellow racket solution which I do like and have been contemplating for many years, however problems with this for me are:

• If I kill and eat that many geese I will look like a christmas pudding and not be able to ski
• The swans who also like our jump are protected by the crown in the UK a local man killed one and ate it a few years back and he went to jail for longer than some more heinous crimes.
• I only have 12 gauge and thats going to blow a big hole in our jump with a goose load
• I am not convinced the others will learn from the example set, they only have bird brains