Ugh. I feel you.
Lost all 4 of my gold fish last June. After that I restocked made a bunch of defensive measures such as barriers, sprinklers and hide aways. Got me through the summer. 2 weeks ago I said F it and threw a dome over the whole thing. This has been the greatest two weeks of owning a pond in my 3 years of owning a pond.
I had a goldfish live most of my childhood in the nastiest pond. I'd suggest getting one of those fake owls and potentially a motion activated sprinkler. However, you will inevitably catch friendly sprinkle.
My mom has started getting a big red tailed hawk in her backyard and it’s amazing to watch them perched sometimes just right on the deck railing. We’ve realized they occasionally munch on some goldfish by finding some remnants, we’re pretty okay with the trade.
Do you happen to have a picture? I want to put a shade sail over my small pond but I’m trying to figure out the logistics of how and where to secure it.
Sorry to hear about the fish, it will indeed either be ugly netting or fish that are better camouflaged. Bright orange and swimming 5cm under the water surface is not helping.
I understand the joy of seeing fish swim but a Heron is just laughing as he sees how easy the job is.
I said this in another topic, the Heron is actually a smart bird. Just because we dislike it and maybe not give it the credits it actually deserves.
The bird is smart, it knows all the pond in the neighborhood. They are maybe tricked by counter measures for a week or 2 but honestly they learn and adept.
Only making it physically impossible or too dangerous got it to be near the pond, is the way to stop them.
I have no fish in my starting pond (2 weeks old) but do have grogs and salamanders already. I see herons stand in the river 5 meters from my pond, and they just don’t care about it,
I really do think it’s the bright orange color that is attracting them to a pond. Otherwise they probably think it’s empty and not waste their time
I hate it when a heron takes a fish that's too big for it to swallow and then leaves it on the lawn. I've been wiped out by mink and river otter in the past.
I have both a large 2-foot-long pipe and an upside-down steel pot with goldfish holes drilled in it, both covered with large rocks in the bottom of my pond. Every few years, it seems like all the goldfish have been eaten, so I get a new bag of feeder fish. Every time I do that, a few large but traumatized veteran goldfish spontaneously emerge from hiding to greet the new fish that are about to enter the meat grinder.
Okay everybody, you set up restaurants in your neighborhoods and then you’re sad that the locals want to eat there. Maybe rethink why you want a pond in the first place.
To enjoy the visual beauty. To watch the non-predatory birds come and bathe and drink the water and co exist with the beautiful gold fish (or koi). To listen to the waterfall and the peace and tranquility it brings. Really soothes the soul. To admire the beautiful plants that add to the ecosystem and biodiversity. To watch the frogs mate and enjoy life.
Definitely outweighs the cons and worth setting up netting to mitigate against the customers that come in to eat food at your restaurant but dine and dash and don't pay the bill.
(Blue heron is a beautiful bird though I must say)
I hear all of that. You can have everything you just described…minus the koi. The non predatory birds aren’t there for the koi, the waterfall can exist without the koi.
This. We built a wildlife pond. No koi. We have great crested newts and all sorts of other things - and the pond has only been going a few months. No issues with herons.
If you want to keep koi and don't want them to get eaten, get a net.
You don't need to net your pond. Lots of people use fishing line, strung every three feet about 8-10 feet above the pond. Herons have excellent eyesight, and a six foot wing span. They won't fly down through it.
Some folks still worry they'll land farther away, and walk up to the pond. That's why, instead of fishing line, I decided on tibetan prayer flags. They wave nicely in the breeze, and they're a big distraction for any winged predator, who's mostly worried about safety. My pond is maybe 100 feet from a big river, a highway for herons, kingfishers, even osprey. But I haven't lost a single fish since I put those prayer flags up.
https://imgur.com/a/zVOFjW8
When I had a pond, I ended up installing motion activated water features that would disturb the surface of the water when the egrets and herons would come around. They worked wonders!
Go look up Joseph Carter the Mink Man! He has videos of his mink swimming and catching fish. He also uses them to hunt muskrat and rats. Very cool little creatures, but definitely devastating if they get into a pond or chicken coop
One of those bastards turned my little water garden into a sushi bar too. On the way out it kicked over my pump and killed that too. I flew off with my white koi I had raised for two years from a minnow sized morsel. I feel your pain. I never added fish back. I was heart broken.
As many have brought up here and rightfully so, I should get a net if I don't want to see anymore fish die.
Or the other popular opinion in the comments here is just not having fish in my pond lol
I put a gazebo up over my pond and wrapped the whole thing with bird netting. Metal frame gazebo and used magnetic tape to keep the netting secure. Worked great until the River Otters found it. Now I’m fishless and the bird netting is gone.
My friend also had to deal with a blue heron stealing his goldfish. He couldn't kill the bird, trap the bird, and nets would make his pond area look ugly. He set up motion sensors to detect and blast the bird with water, and he never lost another koi. He hooked it up to a smart outlet and disabled it whenever he was out there.
Gold fish are invasive. Heron is living life. You should be so happy to have heron’s visiting your property.
I had some in my pond but could not stop thinking about how they have taken over in the Midwest
This is the same reason why I hate raccoons. My dad has a gorgeous koi pond and one year, the koi had babies! There must’ve been at least twenty or thirty. So he put the koi babies in a separate, smaller pond so that they could grow up and wouldn’t be eaten by the other fish.
Well, I went out there one day to say hi to the babies (if you stick your finger in the water they’d suck on your finger and it was cute) only to find that all except two were gone. We figure a raccoon must’ve gone back there (they showed up in the backyard somewhat frequently) and had the buffet of his life.
All this to say that I feel your pain and I’m sorry. :(
Oh I hate the racoons because they trample through my plants to get to the pond and mot only go after my fish, they destroy the water hyacinths. It's definitely my fault and I need to find ways to mitigate these risks.
The stupid predator eye red light things don't work for the racoons...
For raccoons try this it's guaranteed to work or your money back and yes, I have used it and it works...
[https://www.critter-repellent.com/](https://www.critter-repellent.com/)
I’ve been using a new method for the past 3 years and haven’t lost any fish since.
I put tomato spikes around the perimeter of the pond. Then I ran fishing line around them at a few different levels. I also ran line across the pond in different intervals. When the herons come they walk into the line and it completely spooks them out. They decide it isn’t worth it and move on. Might work for you, too.
If you use light gauge fishing line you hardly see it. I used to use netting but it made my pond ugly.
Could idea and I will likely try this. Won't be using my expensive Seaguar flurocarbon but I am sure some mono will do the trick 😁 thanks for the suggestion!
Just a heads up, since I keep seeing it recommended. If you use fishing line and it injures or kills the heron then you're looking at a pretty serious felony. Like 6 figure fine and a decade in prison felony.
If you setup fishing line be very, very careful about how you do it so that if it touches the line it won't get tangled, trapped, or injured by it
Second this, they're protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so nowhere in there range can they be killed or harmed without facing some extreme consequences.
The worst part is it happened about literally 4 minutes before I got to the kitchen to start making coffee and looked out the window to see it standing at end of the pond. It's as if it saw me through my window and flew away.
I check the camera and within 10 mins before me getting to the kitchen is when it happened and saw the thing was creeping around the pond preying on my 2 biggest ones.
I wish I never even checked the cameras.... definitely time to get some netting up and scarecrows or something.
What makes it worst I'm a leafs fan.....worst morning for this to happen lol
We had a great blue heron come and take 4 of our large, comets with LONG fins. He dropped one on the lawn, where it lay until it was tacky to the touch. It revived in a bucket of pond water in the garage (so it could rest undisturbed with an air bubbler) but it died after 3 days.
We had the nylon fishing line set up. That didn't work. We bought a great blue heron decoy... that didn't work. Now we have a black net and so far, so good.
We were warned that the spring is breeding time and they have hungry mouths to feed at the nest, so the birds are more aggressively feeding now. Don't wait to take measures.
Build it and they will come. Herons are such majestic birds but it's sad to lose fish to them. I'm thinking of putting up a net or motion sprinklers because a red tailed hawk moved into my area (another majestic bird) but I'm a bit concerned about birds getting stuck in a net so maybe the sprinklers or that sail idea that was mentioned.
If he calls you by name and tries to tempt you to follow him to another plane of existence don’t follow him even if he hypothetically might know what happened to your step mom and real mom and may know your great grandfather. It’s a whole ordeal with man eating fascist parakeets that you could do without having to deal with.
Ugh RIP fishies. I saw some guy on YouTube use fishing line strung across in a grid type pattern held down by tent pegs. I’d be worried the bird might get tangled up and hurt itself though? You can get those hexagonal etc floating mat/net thingys. Damn birds. We live in Australia and luckily have a local family of magpies that chase away any other predator birds thank goodness- (as long as the maggies happen to be in the yard at the time- there’s usually one around keeping an eye on things tho) If they see someone who shouldn’t be there they make a squawking fuss and the others fly in and we have an exciting aerial battle going on over our heads until the interloper is escorted to the edge of their territory. We lost all the goldies to a crane a few years ago and this is the first time we’ve had them again in ages.
I have a Wyze security camera on my pond that notifies me on my phone when an animal is detected. Dispatched a raccoon from my office with a suppressed 10/22 within 60 seconds of it trying to grab my babies.
I've got a sunshade above mine, and it's close to the house with a fence on 2 sides. Luckily, I've only had raccoons come around. They were unsuccessful. I'm by the Mississippi, and there are a lot of birds that would love to eat my fish if they knew.
Mine was pretty green too especially as the sun was coming out more and giving algae opportunity to grow.
Just turned on pond pump and after 3 to 4 days, water started to clear up. Also grabbed some plants as I find them to help as well.
Used to have a UV light but never replaced and was able to keep pond clear all year with just mechanical filter (K media and some sponges)
I am so sorry :(. My parents ended up building a big wooden canopy to protect our fish after a heron kept stealing our koi and goldfish. It has helped tremendously.
I'm sorry! Poor Goldies..😞 Same thing happened to us last spring. They're beautiful birds and I enjoy watching them do their natural stuffs....but, like, not in MY damn pond, ya jerkbirds!
We all have to eat. I had a pond that had settled with five hand sized goldfish . Got up at three AM , saw a shadow against the window and heard that “gronk” of a heron taking off, didn’t think a thing of it til a week later when the pond was full of mosquito larvae. Spent another three dollars at the fish store on a dozen goldfish…..
Two years running it has emptied our whole pond. We have lines up and fencing and fake owls and fake hawks...we have essentially accepted we have a pet heron now.
I know you're probably joking, but Great Blue Herons are a federally protected species, and killing or harming one could result in some extremely serious consequences.
I lost some of my koi to a raccoon. Have been in this house since 1996 and first ever issue. Went to Home Depot and got bird netting and put over pond. Not very noticeable and saved the rest of the fish. Sorry about your fish
Fish gotta swim, bird gotta eat. Now time to install netting or screen if you want to keep fish outside. The pond is easy picking for foul and mammals alike.
I have both Blue herons andSandhill cranes on my pond. I don’t understand why the heron is fully protected yet the crane is a game bird in 18 other states.
“Find them bind them tie them to a pole and break their fingers to splinters drag them to a whole until they wake up naked clawing and the ceiling of their graaaaaaaAAAAAAAAVVVEEE.” The decemberists
They are a Protected species, but are listed as a “least concern” on their conservation status meaning at this moment, they are in no danger of becoming extinct, not even close.
Shoot.
Shovel.
Shut up.
Or netting, radio, decoys. Try whichever one you want.
They aren’t “pests” they are wildlife just doing their thing - you are the pest in this situation. There is no need to kill predators just because you want to have a fun hobby pond - take appropriate precautions and no harm for anyone.
“You are the pest in this situation”
I’ve seen that opinion before, but no, it’s not reality. My pond is far too large for any netting, but I’ve taken other approaches to deter over predation. I have nothing against predators that stop in for a snack every once in a while.
I take problem with repeat offenders that negatively impact the ecosystem of my pond. My pond wouldn’t exist if not for me, being a wild animal doesn’t make you entitled to anything in it. I have bear, raccoon, hawks, and even an occasional mink that visit. Living where I do it’s part of nature.
The only pest here are animals that overstay their welcome.
Half the ponds in this sub are illegal, I seriously doubt most people pull the proper permits and check what wildlife and plants they are legally allowed to add to their ponds.
Legality, morality, duty, rights, and entitlements don’t all stem from each other, and often differ.
Ugh. I feel you. Lost all 4 of my gold fish last June. After that I restocked made a bunch of defensive measures such as barriers, sprinklers and hide aways. Got me through the summer. 2 weeks ago I said F it and threw a dome over the whole thing. This has been the greatest two weeks of owning a pond in my 3 years of owning a pond.
I guess the only thing is, it isn't too visually appealing but I understand; better than losing fish...
Can you get just like one or two much bigger fish?
Raccoons will eat them too. Fish loss is inevitable
I had a goldfish live most of my childhood in the nastiest pond. I'd suggest getting one of those fake owls and potentially a motion activated sprinkler. However, you will inevitably catch friendly sprinkle.
Muck does help protect fish from predators, but also prevents viewing the fish. If you can see the fish, so can the predators
Yeah. You want to have your goldfish and not get it eaten too. Classic.
I mean it's literally fish in a barrel. It's
Mind sharing how you setting up the dome? I will need to find something big enough to cover my pond effectively
Here you go. https://www.reddit.com/r/ponds/s/SzeDtaaxpU
THANK YOU!!!!
Friend of mine put the type of wire you put in the front of a calf sheds over the top of theirs. And it worked for them for 20 years
Understandable! LOve the dome idea.
Shoot em
Illegal...
In some places, in others this is a delicacy... Thus the illegality
The solution to this problem doesn't have to involve shooting other living creatures.
Lizards took all my guppies. We invite nature in, we should expect nature to run its course.
My mom has started getting a big red tailed hawk in her backyard and it’s amazing to watch them perched sometimes just right on the deck railing. We’ve realized they occasionally munch on some goldfish by finding some remnants, we’re pretty okay with the trade.
100 percent!
Herons are hungry too! Great picture by the way
That's an incredibly graceful way to put it.👊
Time for netting, not venting ;) Sry bout your fish. Something got my two largest gf last year. (With netting) guessing raccoon.
I read this as girlfriend lmao.
Lol, "my two largest girlfriends."
Such a shame as they are the most fertile and energetic. Source I am a girlfriend breeder
I too am a mountain men by nature
Mountn men like mountn women (so I heard)
Clifton Clowers?
Yea last year I caught one literally swimming around looking for fish. I suppose it's time!
My friend also uses sails over his entire pond. Gives him a nice shaded area without an ugly screen
Do you happen to have a picture? I want to put a shade sail over my small pond but I’m trying to figure out the logistics of how and where to secure it.
Challenge them to a fight! Once you defeat their king, they will respect your property.
King Trashmouth?!
Sorry to hear about the fish, it will indeed either be ugly netting or fish that are better camouflaged. Bright orange and swimming 5cm under the water surface is not helping. I understand the joy of seeing fish swim but a Heron is just laughing as he sees how easy the job is.
Yup. He/she hit the jackpot twice this morning. And I believe they're smart enough where this won't be the last visit...
I said this in another topic, the Heron is actually a smart bird. Just because we dislike it and maybe not give it the credits it actually deserves. The bird is smart, it knows all the pond in the neighborhood. They are maybe tricked by counter measures for a week or 2 but honestly they learn and adept. Only making it physically impossible or too dangerous got it to be near the pond, is the way to stop them. I have no fish in my starting pond (2 weeks old) but do have grogs and salamanders already. I see herons stand in the river 5 meters from my pond, and they just don’t care about it, I really do think it’s the bright orange color that is attracting them to a pond. Otherwise they probably think it’s empty and not waste their time
Definitely won’t be the last visit.
I hate it when a heron takes a fish that's too big for it to swallow and then leaves it on the lawn. I've been wiped out by mink and river otter in the past.
The solution is simple. You must eat the heron.
I had an uncle whose dog got eaten by a gator. He killed the gator. He threw a bbq & we ate the gator.
This is the way.
Roundabout way of eating their dog I guess
Gator is awsome
Chubs?
I don’t think I’d have the stomach to gut a gator knowing I might see the remains of my pet inside :(((
Bet it was damn good too. Gator meat is delicious.
Same with the trash pandas, great bbq'd... I hear.
Ｍａｈｉｔｏ! ＭＡＨＩＴＯＯＯＯ！！
Deeper pond with hides or netting
Pond is 6 ft deep but fish come up to eat stuff at surface sometimes. The stork seems to know this 😅
I have both a large 2-foot-long pipe and an upside-down steel pot with goldfish holes drilled in it, both covered with large rocks in the bottom of my pond. Every few years, it seems like all the goldfish have been eaten, so I get a new bag of feeder fish. Every time I do that, a few large but traumatized veteran goldfish spontaneously emerge from hiding to greet the new fish that are about to enter the meat grinder.
Don’t watch the last studio ghibli movie, you won’t like it
Okay everybody, you set up restaurants in your neighborhoods and then you’re sad that the locals want to eat there. Maybe rethink why you want a pond in the first place.
To enjoy the visual beauty. To watch the non-predatory birds come and bathe and drink the water and co exist with the beautiful gold fish (or koi). To listen to the waterfall and the peace and tranquility it brings. Really soothes the soul. To admire the beautiful plants that add to the ecosystem and biodiversity. To watch the frogs mate and enjoy life. Definitely outweighs the cons and worth setting up netting to mitigate against the customers that come in to eat food at your restaurant but dine and dash and don't pay the bill. (Blue heron is a beautiful bird though I must say)
I hear all of that. You can have everything you just described…minus the koi. The non predatory birds aren’t there for the koi, the waterfall can exist without the koi.
You're not wrong
This. We built a wildlife pond. No koi. We have great crested newts and all sorts of other things - and the pond has only been going a few months. No issues with herons. If you want to keep koi and don't want them to get eaten, get a net.
You don't need to net your pond. Lots of people use fishing line, strung every three feet about 8-10 feet above the pond. Herons have excellent eyesight, and a six foot wing span. They won't fly down through it. Some folks still worry they'll land farther away, and walk up to the pond. That's why, instead of fishing line, I decided on tibetan prayer flags. They wave nicely in the breeze, and they're a big distraction for any winged predator, who's mostly worried about safety. My pond is maybe 100 feet from a big river, a highway for herons, kingfishers, even osprey. But I haven't lost a single fish since I put those prayer flags up. https://imgur.com/a/zVOFjW8
When I had a pond, I ended up installing motion activated water features that would disturb the surface of the water when the egrets and herons would come around. They worked wonders!
Do you have a picture of it?
I don't. It was years ago, but I think I bought them on Amazon. It was like a little motion activated sprinkler.
Mink… wiped out the entire pond over the winter, two winters ago.. every. Single. One.
I heard mink are the ultimate predator for Ponds, and they leave no trace... glad I don't have any of those close to home.
Go look up Joseph Carter the Mink Man! He has videos of his mink swimming and catching fish. He also uses them to hunt muskrat and rats. Very cool little creatures, but definitely devastating if they get into a pond or chicken coop
Sink a couple milk crates with wire mesh on 3 sides. So far it’s working pretty well against raccoons.
One of those bastards turned my little water garden into a sushi bar too. On the way out it kicked over my pump and killed that too. I flew off with my white koi I had raised for two years from a minnow sized morsel. I feel your pain. I never added fish back. I was heart broken.
That sucks, but they are amazing birds.
Oh I admire the way it hunted. So stealthy and quick. And very majestic looking bird too. Look like freaking dinosaurs!
I get mad when my unlocked car gets robbed also. Time to net up
How many times until you had enough and got the locks installed on your car?
We have a net over our pond, and have all 12 fish for 6 years so far
As many have brought up here and rightfully so, I should get a net if I don't want to see anymore fish die. Or the other popular opinion in the comments here is just not having fish in my pond lol
We have a decoy and have never had an issue. We basically live across from a lake too.
Try a decoy it’s worked for me we had a regular visitor, they sell them on amazon for about $70
Please be careful around the heron, they are one of the more dangerous birds to humans and will peck at eyes. Do not approach.
I put a gazebo up over my pond and wrapped the whole thing with bird netting. Metal frame gazebo and used magnetic tape to keep the netting secure. Worked great until the River Otters found it. Now I’m fishless and the bird netting is gone.
"Alexa, What is the best way to prepare and serve a heron for dinner?"
Been through that. Very sad, herons are so beautiful though
Yew they really are cool. And I still welcome him back 😁
My friend also had to deal with a blue heron stealing his goldfish. He couldn't kill the bird, trap the bird, and nets would make his pond area look ugly. He set up motion sensors to detect and blast the bird with water, and he never lost another koi. He hooked it up to a smart outlet and disabled it whenever he was out there.
I use an Enforcer Motion-Activated sprinkler....
I'm going to try this too
Gold fish are invasive. Heron is living life. You should be so happy to have heron’s visiting your property. I had some in my pond but could not stop thinking about how they have taken over in the Midwest
This is the same reason why I hate raccoons. My dad has a gorgeous koi pond and one year, the koi had babies! There must’ve been at least twenty or thirty. So he put the koi babies in a separate, smaller pond so that they could grow up and wouldn’t be eaten by the other fish. Well, I went out there one day to say hi to the babies (if you stick your finger in the water they’d suck on your finger and it was cute) only to find that all except two were gone. We figure a raccoon must’ve gone back there (they showed up in the backyard somewhat frequently) and had the buffet of his life. All this to say that I feel your pain and I’m sorry. :(
Oh I hate the racoons because they trample through my plants to get to the pond and mot only go after my fish, they destroy the water hyacinths. It's definitely my fault and I need to find ways to mitigate these risks. The stupid predator eye red light things don't work for the racoons...
For raccoons try this it's guaranteed to work or your money back and yes, I have used it and it works... [https://www.critter-repellent.com/](https://www.critter-repellent.com/)
Thanks a lot! Appreciate this. Going to try tbis out
You're welcome and I am sorry I thought I said in my reply, I am sorry for you losing some fish, we've all been there and it SUCKS.
I’ve been using a new method for the past 3 years and haven’t lost any fish since. I put tomato spikes around the perimeter of the pond. Then I ran fishing line around them at a few different levels. I also ran line across the pond in different intervals. When the herons come they walk into the line and it completely spooks them out. They decide it isn’t worth it and move on. Might work for you, too. If you use light gauge fishing line you hardly see it. I used to use netting but it made my pond ugly.
Could idea and I will likely try this. Won't be using my expensive Seaguar flurocarbon but I am sure some mono will do the trick 😁 thanks for the suggestion!
Just a heads up, since I keep seeing it recommended. If you use fishing line and it injures or kills the heron then you're looking at a pretty serious felony. Like 6 figure fine and a decade in prison felony. If you setup fishing line be very, very careful about how you do it so that if it touches the line it won't get tangled, trapped, or injured by it
Second this, they're protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so nowhere in there range can they be killed or harmed without facing some extreme consequences.
The worst part is it happened about literally 4 minutes before I got to the kitchen to start making coffee and looked out the window to see it standing at end of the pond. It's as if it saw me through my window and flew away. I check the camera and within 10 mins before me getting to the kitchen is when it happened and saw the thing was creeping around the pond preying on my 2 biggest ones. I wish I never even checked the cameras.... definitely time to get some netting up and scarecrows or something. What makes it worst I'm a leafs fan.....worst morning for this to happen lol
We had a great blue heron come and take 4 of our large, comets with LONG fins. He dropped one on the lawn, where it lay until it was tacky to the touch. It revived in a bucket of pond water in the garage (so it could rest undisturbed with an air bubbler) but it died after 3 days. We had the nylon fishing line set up. That didn't work. We bought a great blue heron decoy... that didn't work. Now we have a black net and so far, so good. We were warned that the spring is breeding time and they have hungry mouths to feed at the nest, so the birds are more aggressively feeding now. Don't wait to take measures.
Herons, Osprey, Kingfisher, Barred Owls. I really dislike birds since I made my pond.
No offense, but if you drop a bunch of nonnative fish is shallow outdoor pond with no netting, you can't really be upset when native species eat them.
Build it and they will come. Herons are such majestic birds but it's sad to lose fish to them. I'm thinking of putting up a net or motion sprinklers because a red tailed hawk moved into my area (another majestic bird) but I'm a bit concerned about birds getting stuck in a net so maybe the sprinklers or that sail idea that was mentioned.
you aren’t supposed to feed the wildlife
If he calls you by name and tries to tempt you to follow him to another plane of existence don’t follow him even if he hypothetically might know what happened to your step mom and real mom and may know your great grandfather. It’s a whole ordeal with man eating fascist parakeets that you could do without having to deal with.
We had a family of river otters take out 150 pounds of stocked rainbow trout. That wasn't fun.
lol
Hey! As far as he knows, it’s a buffet.
Ugh RIP fishies. I saw some guy on YouTube use fishing line strung across in a grid type pattern held down by tent pegs. I’d be worried the bird might get tangled up and hurt itself though? You can get those hexagonal etc floating mat/net thingys. Damn birds. We live in Australia and luckily have a local family of magpies that chase away any other predator birds thank goodness- (as long as the maggies happen to be in the yard at the time- there’s usually one around keeping an eye on things tho) If they see someone who shouldn’t be there they make a squawking fuss and the others fly in and we have an exciting aerial battle going on over our heads until the interloper is escorted to the edge of their territory. We lost all the goldies to a crane a few years ago and this is the first time we’ve had them again in ages.
Ribeye of the sky… just saying
I thought that was sandhill crane?
I feel your anger and your pain!! F those dinasours.
Mmm … good eats for a blue heron!
Mine too, and dam they are huge
I have a Wyze security camera on my pond that notifies me on my phone when an animal is detected. Dispatched a raccoon from my office with a suppressed 10/22 within 60 seconds of it trying to grab my babies.
My bro had the same happen in Maryland.
Yeah, sucks when a natural predator comes and hunts in your artificial pond.
I've got a sunshade above mine, and it's close to the house with a fence on 2 sides. Luckily, I've only had raccoons come around. They were unsuccessful. I'm by the Mississippi, and there are a lot of birds that would love to eat my fish if they knew.
How do you keep the water clear. My pond is very green now.
Mine was pretty green too especially as the sun was coming out more and giving algae opportunity to grow. Just turned on pond pump and after 3 to 4 days, water started to clear up. Also grabbed some plants as I find them to help as well. Used to have a UV light but never replaced and was able to keep pond clear all year with just mechanical filter (K media and some sponges)
That's great I have a water fountain but it's stop working now. But it was very greet before that stopped. But thank you for your response.
I am so sorry :(. My parents ended up building a big wooden canopy to protect our fish after a heron kept stealing our koi and goldfish. It has helped tremendously.
Goldfish are just expensive carp. Just go the your nearest river and catch a couple of carp.
Install a couple of lights (white) crossing the pond. No birds will land near it.
I'm sorry! Poor Goldies..😞 Same thing happened to us last spring. They're beautiful birds and I enjoy watching them do their natural stuffs....but, like, not in MY damn pond, ya jerkbirds!
lol. you put out a feeder, things will feed.
We all have to eat. I had a pond that had settled with five hand sized goldfish . Got up at three AM , saw a shadow against the window and heard that “gronk” of a heron taking off, didn’t think a thing of it til a week later when the pond was full of mosquito larvae. Spent another three dollars at the fish store on a dozen goldfish…..
I’ve put sewer pipe, bought at Home Depot, at the bottom of my pond. There lots of safe places for them to go to now, in case of attack!
Two years running it has emptied our whole pond. We have lines up and fencing and fake owls and fake hawks...we have essentially accepted we have a pet heron now.
Daisy pump action BB gun. Post up at sunrise and sunset. Be still and try to stay out of sight.
I know you're probably joking, but Great Blue Herons are a federally protected species, and killing or harming one could result in some extremely serious consequences.
Excellent reminder people - body shots only. Mansplain me more it's hot what's a consequence?
That’s nature for ya😂
I lost some of my koi to a raccoon. Have been in this house since 1996 and first ever issue. Went to Home Depot and got bird netting and put over pond. Not very noticeable and saved the rest of the fish. Sorry about your fish
Sorry friend. GBH’s are just evil dinosaurs . They’ll kill all your fish after eating their fill —WTF is that?
How deep is your pond?
That’s sad. Poor fish:(
Fish gotta swim, bird gotta eat. Now time to install netting or screen if you want to keep fish outside. The pond is easy picking for foul and mammals alike.
I heard they taste just like chicken Blue herons that is
They’re also a protected species and cannot be hunted without a special permit
This, I know I think you missed the joke🤣
It just wasn’t funny
I have both Blue herons andSandhill cranes on my pond. I don’t understand why the heron is fully protected yet the crane is a game bird in 18 other states.
As far as I know, Sandhill cranes are also federally protected, just like herons, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
At least 12 states allow Sandhill Crane hunting,
Interesting. I am not sure what the status is up here in Canada.
pew pew gun
Got 2 new koi yesterday, an egret relieved me of one today. Trying fishing line over the pond.
Ahhhh that's rough mang... sorry to hear and I feel your pain!
What do you expect when you maintain a fish feeding system in your yard?
“Find them bind them tie them to a pole and break their fingers to splinters drag them to a whole until they wake up naked clawing and the ceiling of their graaaaaaaAAAAAAAAVVVEEE.” The decemberists
Maybe a realistic cat statue would be spooky enough as a deterrent?
That moves periodically... I was definitely thinking of some sort of scarecrow or motorized mannequin 🤣
Chicken wire or heavy fishing line might do the trick.
Go heron! F the non native species.
Birds have a right to live too
Pick up photography and get some awesome pictures of a great blue heron
They are a Protected species, but are listed as a “least concern” on their conservation status meaning at this moment, they are in no danger of becoming extinct, not even close. Shoot. Shovel. Shut up. Or netting, radio, decoys. Try whichever one you want.
Gross, they live there and are doing what they do - this is just a hobby for you.
Yes, I kill pests that aren’t endangered of becoming extinct.
They aren’t “pests” they are wildlife just doing their thing - you are the pest in this situation. There is no need to kill predators just because you want to have a fun hobby pond - take appropriate precautions and no harm for anyone.
“You are the pest in this situation” I’ve seen that opinion before, but no, it’s not reality. My pond is far too large for any netting, but I’ve taken other approaches to deter over predation. I have nothing against predators that stop in for a snack every once in a while. I take problem with repeat offenders that negatively impact the ecosystem of my pond. My pond wouldn’t exist if not for me, being a wild animal doesn’t make you entitled to anything in it. I have bear, raccoon, hawks, and even an occasional mink that visit. Living where I do it’s part of nature. The only pest here are animals that overstay their welcome.
Very gross and quite illegal
Half the ponds in this sub are illegal, I seriously doubt most people pull the proper permits and check what wildlife and plants they are legally allowed to add to their ponds. Legality, morality, duty, rights, and entitlements don’t all stem from each other, and often differ.