Any ideas on keeping heron from nicking my goldfish without putting a ugly net over the pond.

Question

a heron can clear a pond in 30mins as I have found to my cost but nets spoil the look of the ponds.

Answer 1

my nan used to have a statue of a heron next to her pond and apparently other herons won't come if another one is there. She didnt have any problems with herons.

I don't know where you'd find a statue though, maybe a garden centre?

Answer 2

My sister has a pond in her garden, and brought a large very good looking plastic heron, it did the trick.

Answer 3

I'm thinking a Mossberg Streetsweeper 12 gauge shotgun. It has a duckbilled barrel  for a wide shot pattern.  Fire it from knee level so the shot pellets don't kill your goldfish.  

Answer 4

We tried a plastic replica Heron and it didnt work.  In the end we were going to put a net over, we put metal rods in each corner of the pool and attached rope from one to another, around the pool like a fence, the rope was originally to secure the net to but hubby never got around to fitting the net and that was 2 years ago!!

Strangely the heron has never been back. We've seen it land nearby look longingly at what used to be its local take-away and then fly away. It wont go near our pool now theres rope around it. Problem sorted and no need for and ugly net.  Also the rope has now weathered and looks quite nice.

Answer 5

I cant see how you can do it without a net.

Answer 6

No there's nothing, we have tried everything you can think off, we have had to net ours in the end as we are so fed up of buying fish to restock the pond.

Answer 7

I believe you can get fine nets that are dark in colour and float. You have got a job to see them in the water. Other than sit there all day with a crossbow I can't think of an alternative.

Answer 8

The plastic replica is the answer.  I have used one for the pond in our townhouse complex (I'm buildings and grounds chairman) and it works to protect our small population of Koi in the pond on the property.

Here's a link to a source:

http://www.comforthouseannex.com/blueher...

Bug Doc

Answer 9

You can try putting reflective, movable objects near the pond, such as metallic spinning wind decorations or flags. Often birds are afraid of these and will steer clear. It is worth a try.

I have a very lightweight, black nylon net for catching fall leaves and debris. If I floated it on the pond rather than slightly over the pond, I think I would barely see it. If you end up having to resort to a net, perhaps this would be worth trying before using one that will marr the beauty of your water feature.

I feel for you. Ponds are a lot of work and take many years to establish well. It must be really frustrating watching your years of hard work disappear in half an hour. Good luck to you.

Answer 10

The net doesn't have to be ugly. I visited a friend's house last week and they hired a carpenter to make a lovely cover over the pond, which just lifts off when they want to feed the fish. It is a decorative object in itself and it does the job exceptionally well. It also keeps the dogs out!

It is difficult to describe, but imagine four or five A shapes, joined at the apex, infilled with wire over a circular pond.

I personally do not use a net, but I do cover a large section of the pond with water lillies and the rest has a lot of duckweed and some oxygenating plants (not too many). I've seen herons fly over, but because the pond is green thanks to the vegetation, they do not seem to realise there are fish underneath.