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Ponds and herons

Elaine174Elaine174 Posts: 28
in Wildlife gardening
Hello. I'm trying to find the best method of protecting my fish from herons. I've tried netting the pond but have found a frog trapped in the netting on 2 occasions so would prefer not to net the pond in future. Has anyone found a successful method of protecting fish without endangering wildlife?
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Posts

  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    Catapult! I have yet to hit anything, including the heron, but it gives it enough of a start to make it fly off. Lanky big git!
  • Elaine174Elaine174 Posts: 28
    Great idea but what to do when I'm not there. The pesky things always arrive when my backs turned@
  • Kia-MenaKia-Mena Posts: 16
    We have cotton thread strung across the pond in a random fashion and that seems to have worked so far ...
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    Awwww just sitting there asking to missed by my catapult PF. I could miss him by several feet if I was there!!! 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I used a battery powered heron water scarer years ago. It's connected to your hose and when it senses movement it squirts out a jet of water in quite an impressive arc and worked very well. Also great fun surprising visitors walking up the garden :)
    When I made the 12x8 pond 20+yrs ago I planted juniperus squamata around the front, this is a prickly conifer and the herons wont walk on it. There are benches at both ends of the pond, so they can't get in there, and the back of the pond is a wide slate (ivy covered) waterfall and a big clump of Japanese anemones, so now there's no where that the heron can get close enough to the pond anymore. :) at last I seem to have won!



    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    HeHe sounds like me with a bow and arrow, stick, ball, stones.... Wren pretends she doesn't know me.  :/ I nearly broke my own window with a stone. I was standing with my back to it at the time.
  • Elaine174Elaine174 Posts: 28
    edited May 2018
    Great replies guys, thanks. I can't even hit a ball with a bat so I think I would be a danger to the public with a catapult! I will check out the mesh squares though, so thanks for the link pansyface😊



  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I was so pleased when a heron visited my wildlife pond. o:)
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I saw two flying over my garden tonight and shouted a hello. They sometimes chill on my kitchen roof.
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    So was I until I watched him for over an hour eating newt after newt after newt until they got too small for him to bother...or he was too stuffed....
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