Are prairie dogs a danger to ponds?

[GBBUDD]

I don't believe they go deeper then a couple feet I could be wrong as I am not prairie dog expert but I do know in watching them and other such varmints is they often have a boulder over there opening. So rocking the entire yard may promote as much as deter. If I had to deal with them I'd do the concrete cloth for 3 feet and then chicken wire if I went deeper.

 

[Hop-frog]

I can find huge pieces of chicken wire big enough to cover my area, won't chicken wire break the liner? Maybe I can put a layer of chicken wire down, then a tarp on top to protect the liner. Never heard of concrete cloth, Home Depot doesn't show that, it is a piece of concrete that is flexible?

 

[JamieB]

The concrete cloth isn’t flexible once it sets up, but is literally a cloth embed with concrete. Depending on what your weather is like, you might be in an area with very little rain. I’ve got family near Roswell, I keep hearing about the lack of rain. I’ve got a thought for you if that’s the kind of weather you are dealing with. Since they like soft soil, make the soil under and around your pond hard. Till the soil in the pond hole till it is very fine, mix in cement powder, till it well till it’s an even mix, then mist it all down, a nice steady light misting until you’ve made the ground into cement. It will be hard on the ground hogs to get through that. If you get winter freezes, it may shift and crack, so add a good layer of sand and good underlying. Bonus points if you work hardware cloth or chicken wire into the concrete mix prior to it setting up, you’d have many years before they bother the underside of your pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

I can find huge pieces of chicken wire big enough to cover my area, won't chicken wire break the liner? Maybe I can put a layer of chicken wire down, then a tarp on top to protect the liner. Never heard of concrete cloth, Home Depot doesn't show that, it is a piece of concrete that is flexible?

You won't find concrete cloth at the depot it's strictly specialty stuff. You may want to pause on the build of your pond untill your positive what steps to do and when. Regardless of prairie dogs. Pond building 101 is to put down a layer of Non Woven needle punch fabric. This is to protect the liner from rocks, roots, trash you name it will it stop everything no . Some people use old carpeting. Some blankets I'm not that daring I used the best bang for my buck with the needle punch. In your case chicken wire then I'd put two layers of needle punch over the wire because it will rot eventualy so id a ll so get galvanized.to go all the way id put the wire protection board then a layer of fabric and then your liner . If rubber never sees the sun or scorching heat it can last for decades You have one chance at your foundation / start, if it fails your in for a ton of rework.

 

[RobAmy]

I have woodchucks in my yard with no issues at all to the pond. They eat some of my plants and walk in the stream but that is all. As always they are welcome and I will never trap them.

 

[GBBUDD]

We have a wood chuck as well , never seen him at the pond hes always in the back yard munching grass and clover. I've seen his tracks in the upper pond but never him/her

 

[addy1]

We have a lot of wood chucks, only one was in the pond, it fell in and swam across to get out. Between them and the deer my day lilies don't do well.

 

[Ducdoc]

Tempted to attach a hose from car exhaust to mole/prairie holes. There's a lot in you tube on how to do it. Some also use road flares.

 

[GBBUDD]

Flow fill , soupy mortar mix fill it in entomb the little bugger

 

[gimpy]

Tempted to attach a hose from car exhaust to mole/prairie holes. There's a lot in you tube on how to do it. Some also use road flares.

Google and you can find a reasonably inexpensive setup for doing that (costs about $30 or so. What I did not like about it is that it connects to a small garden hose (so I made my own similar setup using a shop vac hose).

My property had in the neighborhood of 50+ (I would estimate) large prairie dog holes everywhere. They were under trees (I would be watering a tree and all of a sudden a hole would appear and suck all the water down the hole), the holes appeared next to my house and garage foundation, etc.

I lost some expensive trees because of them (I think). I fought them for years, and finally, last year, I used that process. I think I finally have them under control.

 

[Ducdoc]

Hmmmm. Will definitely do that.

 

[GBBUDD]

Google and you can find a reasonably inexpensive setup for doing that (costs about $30 or so. What I did not like about it is that it connects to a small garden hose (so I made my own similar setup using a shop vac hose).

My property had in the neighborhood of 50+ (I would estimate) large prairie dog holes everywhere. They were under trees (I would be watering a tree and all of a sudden a hole would appear and suck all the water down the hole), the holes appeared next to my house and garage foundation, etc.

I lost some expensive trees because of them (I think). I fought them for years, and finally, last year, I used that process. I think I finally have them under control. View attachment 137296

Where are you located

 

[Ducdoc]

Where are you located

Northern suburb of Chicago