Deterring kids from ponds

[dinm]

Trying to deter kids but I am not sure what the best way is to communicate that there is no throwing rocks in the pond, that its not a lake, it is an artificial ornamental pond. Honestly I am just gonna get roses or blackberries and let them run wild, make it even better for wildlife and at the same time prevent kids from doing whatever it is that they do. And I get they are kids, but they are not my kids, so for me I can only tell them, but thorns might be more appealing.

I've been suggested to build a moat or traps around the pond where they fall in, appealing but might get me in trouble with law.

 

[JMJ]

This guy should do it!

I‘m going through a similar situation with my 4 year old son who’s always putting his hands and feet in the pond or trying to push the waterfall over. It’s been a journey figuring out what gets through to a kid with adhd/odd. So far the fear of finger amputation by map turtle and his sister telling him we have piranha goldfish is working.

 

[j.w]

Trying to deter kids but I am not sure what the best way is to communicate that there is no throwing rocks in the pond, that its not a lake, it is an artificial ornamental pond. Honestly I am just gonna get roses or blackberries and let them run wild, make it even better for wildlife and at the same time prevent kids from doing whatever it is that they do. And I get they are kids, but they are not my kids, so for me I can only tell them, but thorns might be more appealing.

I've been suggested to build a moat or traps around the pond where they fall in, appealing but might get me in trouble with law.

Camera's and talk w/pariental's

 

[dinm]

This guy should do it!
View attachment 162653

I‘m going through a similar situation with my 4 year old son who’s always putting his hands and feet in the pond or trying to push the waterfall over. It’s been a journey figuring out what gets through to a kid with adhd/odd. So far the fear of finger amputation by map turtle and his sister telling him we have piranha goldfish is working.

Too bad he'd rip the bare bottom to shreds. My main issue is with throwing gravel in the pond, it is one thing I thought about a lot when rebuilding the pond, but not enough apparently. I've added some driftwood on the edges which prevents them but still not enough. And we've had this issue for a while, it seems kids can evade the great eye that sits on the wall, but nothing evades a camera, it's interesting I can see them think "let me take this smaller rock maybe no one will notice".

Adding a blackberry or some thorny shrub will help plenty I think but it'll be an experiment, though I've been told blackberries can be invasive. I've just redone the edges on the pond due to low edges contributing to water loss, someone did tell me geotextile sucks up water a long way, and it did in many places, I think I did them good this time so I don't think ill need it redo it hopefully. Speaking about landscaping I've been looking for ways to make the pond more bird friendly, I had two doves coming every day, every 5-6 hrs or so to drink water, doing that I think I just need to add more cover where cats cant get to, that is my apex predator.

 

[JMJ]

I think once I build my bog it’ll block where I don’t want my boy going, so fingers crossed.

We‘re considering gravel or slightly larger river stone as a substrate, part of me feels that would be better than bare concrete as a more natural bottom for the turtle.

 

[Mmathis]

How are the kiddos getting access to your pond? Your kids or neighborhood kids?

 

[Lisak1]

We have grandkids who visit regularly and they are all taught from an early age that the pond is super fun, but it's home to some special fish. Throwing rocks can hurt the fish so we don't do it.

We caught the kids who live behind us (fence separates the yard) tossing stones into the pond - the same conversation with them stopped the unwanted behavior. They weren't trying o hurt anything - it's just kind of a natural thing to see water - throw rocks. We've all done it I'm sure in natural bodies of water.