heron deterrent?

[Unregistered2013]

so, i noticed 3 heron stalking my pond this morning before work --

:|

has anyone ever used these motion-sensing sprinklers?

to me, they have a pretty narrow "eye" -- like 45' wide x 35' long --

yes, the birds are pretty, but no, i don't want them fishing out my pond -- :|

 

[drssg]

In my experience, they don't even put a dent in the fish population. Within a year after we put in our pond, it was teeming with fish. The herons couldn't even fish out what mother nature was stocking.

 

[Unregistered2013]

wow -- this is good infos --

how did you stock it?

 

[DavidA]

They are death on a Koi pond. We have had three instances of those things getting in my wife's Koi pond which is about 15 to 18 feet in diameter and around 2 to 3 feet deep. Lost three or four really pretty fish each time. My wife is madder than a wet hen and wants me to shoot them but I do not like the idea of going to jail. We have put a net over the pond and it seems to work but is a pain when feeding the fish and cleaning the pump filters etc. I do not believe any water shooters would work on our pond. Any other ideas would be welcome and will be tried.

 

[drssg]

OK, I can see how they would clean out a small and shallow pond. I guess I was living in my own little world, and I envisioned a farm pond.

Ours is about 1/2 acre and water fowl brought fish eggs from neighboring ponds. Even though this seems like a low probability event, it happens quite regularly. I learned about this process after I had already ordered fish from a fishery, so I went ahead and had it stocked anyway.

I can see how it would be completely different on a smaller scale.

 

[MossRoad]

Our city park department has a pond that is about 60' in diameter. We watched a heron clean out all the gold fish in about 2 days.

I once read of someone putting an electric fence around their koi pond and it killed a lot of herons. However, I think the risk of electricity near the pond is too much, and intentionally killing them is illegal.

Could you make the pond 4' deep at its minimum? I've never seen herons go deeper than the bottom of their bodies. You would have to have very steep sides.

Got a dog?

 

[Unregistered2013]

Our city park department has a pond that is about 60' in diameter. We watched a heron clean out all the gold fish in about 2 days.

I once read of someone putting an electric fence around their koi pond and it killed a lot of herons. However, I think the risk of electricity near the pond is too much, and intentionally killing them is illegal.

Could you make the pond 4' deep at its minimum? I've never seen herons go deeper than the bottom of their bodies. You would have to have very steep sides.

Got a dog?

when i dug the pond, i horse-shoed it 8' around the sides -- and it's about 130 x 200 --

-- will the steep sides help? i mean, they're very steep --

eric

 

[PhilNH5]

Supposedly a heron decoy will make other herons less likely to stop by. They think another heron is hunting that spot.
Also floating alligator decoys may act as a deterent. You can get both at Goose, Duck, Heron & Owl Decoys, Gator Guard Alligator Head, PondUSA.com, Pond, Fountain & Water Garden Supplies

I have never used either so I cannot report on the success rate.

Phil

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Eric,
Heron will decimate a pond in no time flat !!! Im not advocating this deterrent but Im sure this works ! Ruger Model 77 22/250, reach out and touch someone !

http://san1.atlanta.gbhinc.com/GB/074883000/74883406/pix1168485562.jpg

 

[EddieWalker]

I like herons. They add to the enjoyment of the ponds and make for some great pictures. I've had goldfish ponds and know how quiclky they can wipe one out, but in a larger pond, I don't think they can do any harm at all. The question is how large is enough? Eric's pond has steep sides, so the heron can only get out so far, the rest of the pond is safe. Minnows reproduce extremly fast, so there is no chance of a heron getting enough to make a diffenerence. Bluegill are the same. Bass could be affected in the early stages, but once established, there's no chance of a heron affecting the population.

I think more fish are lost to a pond overflowing then anything else. My 3/4 acre pond has several thousand fish in it when you consider the bluegill and minnows. I have no idea how many are eaten by my catfish, but between the catfish, herons and overflowing water, my fish numbers are still rising.

It's illegal to shoot them. Never tell anybody that you've done something illegal. Even in joking, you can be investigated, and if something else comes up, then that's just the excuse they needed to start looking into your life.

Eddie