Posted by ChouDawg on January 24, 2003 at 00:02:52:
In Reply to: Re: How do I keep Herons and birds away? posted by Lynn_D on January 22, 2003 at 20:31:08:
Dont think its a king fisher, lol cause my pond is about 3 feet deep and 10 feet wide not much room to dive or wade, if I netted over the pond would the heron still be able to PECK the fish?
:It could be that you are on a migratory route for the birds, in which case it is just a seasonal concern; or it could be because now with the plants put down for the winter that the birds have just spotted the fish. But either case means that now the birds know the fish are there and they will continue to return until they have cleaned out the pond, or most likely will do so. You need to get netting up in an attempt to heron proof the pond. Herons wade into the pond, if you have a kingfisher then you have a whole new problem, they dive from the air. Our koi pond is under roof, but I still net the pond. The netting is up pretty much year round, coming down only when company is here. Even now, when the pond is completely enclosed and the heater is running.
::ya me and my dad have decided on the netting but the thing is during the summer we had no net, a lush patch of lily pads and cat tails, and all the fish were healthy and now on the dawn of winter the fish start getting eaten? is it a seasonal thing?
:::netting is a good way to go, put it over the pond making sure that it is not on the surface of the water. Some folks have had good luck with scarecrow water cannons, I have used one with great success for several years. Keep the pond covered with the netting for several weeks, eventually the heron will decide the pond is not longer a free lunch and find easier hunting grounds. I would do this and then rely on the scarecrow after this heron moves on.
::::So far I had 8 fish in the summer, one large koi and 7 medium (FAT) pond comets, as winter came the lilies and cat tails began to die and by the next morning 3 fish were left, 2 of the comets left were badly wounded, now I have decided to consdtruct a netting over the pond any ideas?
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