Hungry Herons

[pt1190]

the idea, right, not the bird:-)

We'll see what happens.

[onefishtwofish]

lol.......you r a hoot brenda/shane

[African_Fever]

Best deterrent for herons is to have the sides vertical and deep enough, at least 2'. If you must have plants, have them on raised planters (ie. cinder blocks only as large as the pot itself). Having a shelf for plants around the edge is only asking for trouble with predators and giving them a place to fish from.

I'd think if you tried an enclosed gazebo and still lost fish that you're dealing with something else other than a heron; I have a hard time believing that any bird would willingly enter an enclosure of any kind. Have you tried leaving your dog in the yard at all?

[k2damax]

Ppl in my neighborhood use netting & something that looks like a cage on top with a pad locks.

that sounds like my pond all blocked up so nothing can get to the fish.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I picked up one of these RoboRaptors & also a RoboReptile. The RoboRaptor was used with great success by the original owner for keeping his cat away from his plants since the "toy" has a motion sensor. When it sensed something move nearby, its head moves, it roars and shakes back & forth. Great fun. Scares Felicia though

http://www.robotsandcomputers.com/ro...Roboraptor.pdf

Dang, we never had these when I was a kid.

[BigFatLyre]

The gazebo and line-of-sight interference should have worked. It's possible that the same heron, once he had access, knew what was there. A Steveston friend has a 5,000 gallon loaded with easily seen goldfish and hasn't lost any of them in years.
Their backyard is a little tight for access anyway, though. I'd go with the screaming eagle idea.

[Shell Dweller]

I put black netting over my pond. I put wooden stakes about 2ft high around the pond and then stretched the netting tight over the stakes, then anchored the netting to the ground with stakes or granite boulders. I just move some boulders to get access to the filters when needed. It isnt the prettiest sight for an outdoor pond but it does deter predators, and I would rather have my koi safe than lose them again. Last year I lost a few $100 dollars worth. To dam expensive to replace them every year. BTW The plants do grow through the netting and still flower so it isnt all bad.

[The Koi Collection]

From our past experience in koi keeping it is a must for ponds to have a net over them with a few exceptions. The grid of the net must be small enough to prevent the birds mouth from fitting through if you are intenting or keeping smaller fish. Our fish are totally exposed and very vulnerable to all sorts of predators if not protected. Sadly it doesn't take very long for those hungry herons to completely depleting your pond population.

[beaux]

Make ya some tall polls over your head about six incges apart like a gazebo kund of and string fishimg line, monofilament an hard to see. Once he flys into this a time or two he will go away. I live on the ross barnette redervour in jackson mississippi and the lake is in my backyard. Didnt take the local fish crane but one summer to figure out i had a pond under that tree lol. I put up two 4x4 poles , made two t's strung fishin line back n forth and now i have alot of old fish lol. Good luck!
Beaux