Predator Prevention

Overnight masked marauders in the form of vandalizing raccoons shred your lilies and eat your fish. Maybe a 3 foot tall blue heron stops by during the day when your at work to decimate your cherished koi and goldfish collection.

And if you want to talk about more predators, this would be the time more remote ponders in the untamed wilderness can contest to kingfishers and fish eating hawks making a easy meal ticket of their ponds.

Whatever your predator, bottom line is last thing you want for your wet pets is to end up in the belly of a unwanted pond visitor.

So how do you protect against these pest? What techniques work? What methods don't work? Will one deterrent work for multiple predators?

To answer these questions we need to look into the habits and methods these creatures take in coming to your pond for a tasty treat.

BLUE HERON: Quite possibly the most popular of the POND OFFENDERS, this creature is built for the kill. Mature birds stand 3 feet tall. Long legs allow this creature to perch on the waters edge or wade into the shallows with ease. Slow, stalking movements gets the bird within range of it’s prey. Once the target is seen, a long and powerful neck acts like a spring coil to launch the birds spear shaped bill down into the water to spear and catch unsuspecting fish. Once speared, the blue heron flips the fish a couple times within it’s beak to align the fish head first for a single gulp down it’s throat!

Signs of a attack from a BLUE HERON can include: fish completely gone or fish speared and left on the banks of the pond or left injured in the water. These birds often spear fish too big to eat and discard them with indifference. As with all predator attacks, the remaining fish will often be in hiding and scared to surface. Even when you come to the pond to expect your wet pets to recognize you and come up, often they stay wary and to the depths of the pond.

Fishing line strung over the pond: This seems to be one of the best deterrents. Ponders take normal fishing line and string a crisscrossing pattern 4-5 feet above their pond and down to the edges. This almost invisible trip line acts as a confusing invisible barrier that perplexes the bird as it attempts to fly in low to land near pond. The act of hitting the lines startles the bird so badly the bird abandons all attempts to fly into the pond and leaves.

Fishing line strung around the perimeter of the pond: Often these birds will land in nearby trees or another vantage point to carefully check the area for danger before making a approach to the pond. As they fly down from their vantage point, a slow and methodical path is made to the pond. (in this case no fishing line above pond would help.) However, by stringing fishing line 1 foot off the ground and along the perimeter about 1 foot back from the water edge will serve the same startling effect as the fishing line in the air. This invisible trip line is all it takes to baffle these birds and negate attempts to spear your fish.

Netting the pond completely: Some ponders go the ALL OUT approach and install netting across the entire pond. Quite the eyesore, but for some the only peace of mind that in no way can a blue heron find a opening to take valuable fish. However, depending on the netting size (ex. 1” square gap or larger) and if the netting is laid over the pond by just inches, the blue herons will often still manage to spear fish through the netting gaps, only to leave the fish injured as they can’t pull the fish back though the netting mesh. To deal with this, position the net several feet above the water's surface to increase the distance the bird must deal with. Don’t think you can cover most of the pond and leave a small area open. These birds are smart, and will walk the perimeter looking for the weak spot to exploit.  (see one way to build your own net here)

Water scarecrow devices: These are nothing more than a sprinkler head with built in motion and heat sensor detectors. You simple connect this to a water hose and turn on the water. On the back of the water scarecrow is a knob you can adjust for sensitivity of what moves in it’s range of detection. You can also adjust for arc of spray and left to right coverage of area of spray. When a animal moves within the selected range of detection, the water scarecrow picks up the heat difference between that object and the background. Along with the motion, the sprinkler automatically fires off a controlled burst of about 1.5 cups of water. The water scarecrow then resets itself. It runs off a 9 volt battery. You can go to their site here or go to EBAY for this product. Visit this link: FZEmporium Ebay Store to review and/or purchase this product. The action, water and noise the device creates is often enough to deter unwanted pests. The only downside I can think when using this device on my pond, is remembering to turn it off when walking up to my pond. Let’s just say I know it’s HOT here in TEXAS, but when it comes to getting soaked, that’s what the pool is for!

Devices that seem not to work as well: Some ponders have bought into the idea that by placing a fake heron decoy, this would solve the matter of it’s real life counterpart making a visit since these creatures are solitary hunters and respect one another’s space. I have to call BS on that idea, as often I have seen multiple herons feeding in the same large pools after huge downpours in low lying areas along the road side. Many a ponder will get a decoy only to suffer the fate of the real heron paying a visit and leaving with a full stomach! Other ponders have placed fake alligator heads that float on the surface. The idea here is the birds will not put themselves in harms way with one of their natural predators. This is often another half hearted idea as many of these birds especially in the southern states are accustomed to the large reptiles in the water and do maintain a respect for these toothy beasts, but also a tolerance, hunting and coexisting with them.

These smart little creatures are adapted to a semi aquatic lifestyle taking full advantage of their intelligence and dexterity to bypass deterrents laid out by ponders. Raccoon raids often happen in the evening to night hours of the day, being mostly nocturnal in nature they come out to forage for plant and animal material. With little fear of water and getting into the pond for a swim for the purpose of snatching fish, these nimble fingered pests also will shred Lily pads and vandalize the pond, turning over rocks and pots to discover tasty aquatic treats.

Evidence of an attack by raccoons can include completely missing fish, scales and fish parts scattered around the pond. Half eaten fish left around the pond. Often finding the pond in a state of disarray is a good sign of a raccoon attack.

Most common deterrents are:

Water scarecrow. This device seems to only work for a matter of time. The noise and spray of water initially may keep a coon or two away for a while, but these furry buggers soon learn there is no danger in the spray of water and don’t mind getting sprayed if it means an easy meal.

An electric fence is the most effective method I have researched. By installing a small FIDO dog type electric wire around the perimeter of the pond, this shockingly direct approach soon zaps to the point that this pond is not up for any night time visits. Raccoons need to get in reach of their prey and trying to get under or over an electric wire soon proves futile. However, the pond owner must endure the unsightly look of this wire and the occasional accidental shock, but for many it’s the only way to stay raccoon proof.

Even though many new ponders feel it necessary to declare war on any cat in their area, most cats pose no threat.  Maybe it’s the memory of all those old cartoons with alley cats feasting on fish that makes us think that ALL cats are fish eaters. The truth of the matter is that most of these outdoor cats don’t have the fishing skills, nor the desire to get their paws wet.  Most don't even care to expend the energy when they know their owner puts food out for them. I have seen cats come around my pond, sit quietly on the edge, and gaze into the waters as if they are enjoying the motion and movement of the fish. They treat the pond more as a huge water bowl ... could it be the delicious, fishy tasting water?

SNAKES:

Last thing any pond owner wants to encounter is one of these leg-less serpents springing out at them as they prune the lilies or adjust rocks on the waterfall. These creatures in their eerie appearance strike fear into many just by the looks of them much less the fact that they will feast on smaller fishes if given the opportunity. Species of snakes that can and will feed on fish range from garter snakes to ringnecks to even the poisonous varieties like aquatic water moccasins and copperheads.

Unfortunately I have not encountered any truly efficient method of deterrent short of catching or killing the snake perpetrator. We all have heard the home remedies from putting down a horses tail hair or moth balls, believing the snakes won’t cross. However, it’s up to the ponder and how experimental they want to get. Who knows—maybe dancing a jig in the night time moon and showering yourself with mothballs could appease the SNAKE GODS?

That's right! Those big, croaking bull frogs can also be the culprits when smaller goldfish go missing. These larger species of frog have a voracious appetite and a even bigger attitude. When it comes to lord of the lily pads, these guys are it.

It's been witnessed that these frogs have attacked small birds as well as cannibalize other smaller frogs! Not to declare war on all bullfrogs, but just keep that eye out on those larger mature bullfrogs. You never know, you might have to regress to those days of yesterday, roll up the pant legs and do some FROG HUNTIN!