Keeping Predators Away From A Pond?

[aquariagirl1976]

Hi! My mother is getting some fish for her pond (either koi or goldfish, not sure yet) and our concern is predators, particularly raccoons or cats. She lives in a remote area on a farm, so there are cats and raccoons aplenty. Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping these predators at bay? We live in Southeastern Ontario, and we will winter them inside but once it comes time to move them outside, we are concerned that our little guys will be tasty snacks

Thanks in advance.

Jennifer.

 

[*Fishkies*]

My one friend who has a pond, has what we call chicken wire over top his pond, so that no animal larger then the holes can get in and eat his fish.

 

[Waterbox]

Yeah the chicken wire is a good idea.

We have Christmas lights around our pond to turn on at night, and since we put them up no raccoons have been around. Not only does it scare them away, it looks pretty cool at night.

 

[StaniFish]

try buying a dog (not a cat!) or get one of them fake heron thingys to put up at the side of your pond although the lights idea sounds better than chicken wire because it deters them rather than actually stopping them, i live in england though so i don't have raccoons over here! but i have never had any problems! hope this helps

 

[TwoTankAmin]

In the states it is possible to get a device that hooks up to a lawn sprinkler. I think it is sensitive to motion and you position it by the pond. When it is set off it turns on the sprinkler whicj shoots a jet of water intended to scare off the predator. however, racoons are not only smart and persistent, but their paws are almost like hands. They can climp about anything and can also dig under it.

Good luck as it sound to me like you and them coons are about to go to war.

 

[kribensis12]

I would go w/ chicken wire

 

[CrashingWaves]

Have you ever heard of one of those "Scarecrow" sprinklers? They're motion activated and will go off and spray water any time they're set off. It worked like a charm for me personally in keeping racoons and such away from my pond. Here's a link too...

Click Here

God Bless,
Joshua

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The best ways to offer protection to fish in my opinion are;

a. Make the pond deep enough- not only so the fish can hibernate without problems during the winter, but also because deeper ponds keep fish safer from predators. Over here in England, because of our cold winters, it is advised that you have a pond that is at least 3ft deep for goldfish, or 4ft deep for koi- but i expect canada gets a lot colder than over here in england, so the may may need to be deeper (the deeper the pond, the more insulated it is from the cold). When confronted by a predator, fish will instinctively head for the deepest area's in the pond where they are harder to be caught.

b. Have pond plants in the pond like lillies which help offer the fish cover/protection, also having a bridge or some planks of wood going over the pond can help a great deal too, since the fish will instinctively head for area's in the pond that have cover when the fish notice predators.

c. Make sure the pond doesn't have any really shallow parts- although shallow ponds are great for wildlife (because shallow waters warm up quicker, they are great for bugs and insects and creatures like frogs and newts etc), predators like herons can't access ponds whose sides are very steep or very well planted.

d. Put some netting over the pond- this will protect it from predators like cats if you are worried about them.