Fish pond owners

tonyb

Ok Guy's,help me with a bit of a problem.My neighbor and I both have fish ponds.He has 25 koi in his,I only have 4 comets in mine.Now the crux of the matter is.......This F#@%$ Blue Heron is eating the fish.My neighbor is down to 2 koi and I lost one of my comets yesterday.The frickin' Fox river is 2 blocks away,he can have all the damn fish he wants,but nooo,even the wildlife around here is too lazy to work for it.Damn democratic bird.How do you get rid of a protected bird?Any suggestions??

tonyb

I got it.......I'll play tapes of Micheal Savage's show,that scare that
LAZY **** democratic bird.

wingnut4772

Maybe if you put rubber snakes or plastic owls? It worked for my dad with the raccoons in the pool.

george daniel

twelve guage, # 6 shot :eek:

tonyb

Hmmm....do you put the rubber snakes in the water??

wingnut4772

tonyb wrote: »

Hmmm....do you put the rubber snakes in the water??

He put them in nearby trees, on the ground..etc.

I don't know which one will scare it off. The owl may be more effective for a bird..?

wingnut4772

....or maybe if you built a large wooden badger......?

tonyb

george daniel wrote: »

twelve guage, # 6 shot :eek:

Yeah...thats the easiest solution,except going to jail over a bird???
Not up my alley.

tonyb

wingnut4772 wrote: »

....or maybe if you built a large wooden badger......?

If I built anything out of wood,I promise you,It won't look like a Badger.:)

tonyb

See,part of the problem is,we have alot of wildlife around that we like to keep and not scare them off in the process.I guess the fact that I back up to woods doesn't help.Maybe a bb gun??

wingnut4772

Well then...little Kevlar jackets for the fishies...?

tonyb

Yep,gotta call in a hit on this damn bird.:)

strider

I don't know if a snake would work. I think a heron would eat a snake, depending on it's size.

tonyb

He's a biggie,3 ft tall,beek is about 6 in. long.So where do I find a 10 ft rubber
Boa??

Early B.

That's a smart bird. He has learned to take the easy road by raiding your pond.

Call your local or county department that handles this kind of thing and ask them what to do.

Nisqually Dave

pickup a 22 pellet gun get a better quality one that can generate between 900 and 1100 fps. Not loud chances are the herron will fly away and die if not will not return. Much quieter than a gun and almost as powerful and acurate as a 22.

I have had same problem in the past. ( but would never do this )

wingnut4772

I really hope that killing the`bird is not an option.

Nisqually Dave

I understand what you are saying, but sometimes it does take drastic measures to solve this problem. The blue herrons up here have completely emptied ponds up here of fish. This is a problem because the ponds also are a source for food for many other wildlife.

The herons at one time were almost gone from this area but have made a great comback over the years.

There are also legal ways to do this through the department of Fish and Wildlife.

tonyb

Don't know what the local authorities can do since I live in the birds natural habitat.Killing it is not the answer.Local shops around here sella infrared sprinkler for this.When it comes by your pond it gets sprayed with water and the Herons don't like that.Neither do I since that means leaving your hose on all the time.Maybe I should be raising Piranha in the pond.When I was a kid,I had a pet alligator and believe it or not......he got away.Not without putting 2 puncture wounds in the next door neighbors dogs nose.Well,I'll figure this one out.Thanks for your help guys.

Grimster74

It's wasn't really all that attractive, but my wife's grandfather made like a dome shapped net to place over the pond with some sort of chicken wire around it to keep the Heron from getting his, which he lives right next to the lake and he never had a problem again. Just a thought.

Nisqually Dave

What they use at the fish hatcheries around here is fish netting, these nets cover very large areas and the heron and and other raptors can't get through it.

TKOTED

I have seen two different methods that act as good deterrents to the hungry, hungry heron. The first is a motion activated water sprinkler. The second is a solar powered alligator, that floats in the water and opens its jaws to scare off the bird.

edbert

wingnut4772 wrote: »

....or maybe if you built a large wooden badger......?

Nah, he needs the Knights who say "Ni!" That will get your herons gone in no time.

Sorry to hear about the fish getting eaten. I have seen those nets that some of the other guys have talked about and they seem to work well. They were using them to keep ducks out of their pool, because otherwise they would have about 10 ducks or so living in their pool at various times during the year.

Toxis

wingnut4772 wrote: »

....or maybe if you built a large wooden badger......?

GENIUS! haahahahhaahahhaa

Shannon W.

10-22 Ruger with a nice scope and a few extras. "'It won't be silent but it wont sound like a gun going off." Heck I live in town and I've picked off squirrels off the top of my chimney and the neighbors have not said a word about gun shots... LoL



Shannon

dylan

TKOTED wrote: »

I have seen two different methods that act as good deterrents to the hungry, hungry heron. The first is a motion activated water sprinkler. The second is a solar powered alligator, that floats in the water and opens its jaws to scare off the bird.

That's a good idea, I use a sprinkler like that to keep deer/ birds/ etc out of the new wood chipped play area in our yard. It works great, as it has good range, different settings for sensitivity, and does random patterns to keep them guessing.

Systems

Use a paint ball gun.That will just scare him and keep you outa jail.

jdhdiggs

Haven't read the whole thread but you might try this tip from my uncle:

Buy a fake Heron and plant it by your pond.

He did this and it worked wonders for him and he stopped losing fish. Now he just has a fake bird in the yard.

tonyb

A fake Heron??
What...they don't like each other?.....not a bad idea........

Systems

tonyb wrote: »

A fake Heron??
What...they don't like each other?.....

Apparently only during mating season.:)
http://www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/Predators/GreatBlue.html

BaggedLancer

GV#27 wrote: »

Apparently only during mating season.:)
http://www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/Predators/GreatBlue.html

That second sprinkler thing is AMAZING!

I want one for the mailman! I can't stand that old man, he won't take my mail I put in the box, I always have to drive it down to the post office!!:mad: