heron attack hopefully stopped in time?

[koiguy1969]

it will be 2 weeks friday since the gbh set foot in my yard, after a dozen bbs in various parts of the anatomy, i can honestly say.. i think hes decided my pond is not a risk worth taking. oh, i see him fly over every day. one day he sat 2 houses down on the roof, moved to the first house, sat and stared for a few minutres, turned around and left. i know he didnt see me i was watching him thru a slit in the blinds.. ms. daisy ready to go. now my fish have been spawning, so there is just way too much surface activity to pass up.. unless you know landing there is goona hurt!!

 

[Stouty109]

i like ur style koiguy

 

[PHYLAL]

i am contemplating that route too... less noticable than the netting...im also thinking about making my net frame and putting some legs on it that will slide down over some rebar staked into the ground. so its elevated about a foot above ground.

I lost a few fish to a heron this spring. My fish have numerous places to hide, but it does not seem to stop the heron, patient bas#!*&;”. After a few visits my fish were so scared that they did not come out of hiding for about five days. My wife and I both decided that the heron had gotten them all. Finally, one by one they started appearing again, but they were so scared I could not even feed them. They have finally calmed down and are pretty much back to normal.

I did not want ugly appearance of stakes and nets and fishing line around the pond. I only have a 1,000 gallon pond so a removable frame was possible. I built one out of ½ inch PVC; put a few legs on it to hold it above the water. I drilled holes in the PVC about 10 inches apart the entire distance around the frame. I drove ½ inch aluminum nails into the holes. I strung fishing line from nail head to nail head in both directions creating a grid that covers my pond. When my wife and I entertain guests on the patio, we remove the frame. It can easily be removed by two people, and although awkward, I can manage it myself with the aid of a few pieces of rope to several of the corners (it only weighs maybe twenty pounds). With a little green and brown spray paint it is considerably less noticeable than the original white.

It is too early to definitively claim victory, but the heron has not bothered the fish since.

 

[w00005414]

I had a heron problem and I put up a Scarecrow, it is a motion detector connected to your garden hose and it worked! But it doesn't keep the snakes out (I hate snakes!)

I really want an indoor raised wall pond inside some sort of sun room or 3 season room so I won't have to worry about the myriad of animals that try and get a free meal.

 

[koiguy1969]

16 days no heron, see it everyday in the general area, but he doesnt come here!!! i guess you can negotiate with preditors, or atleast train by pain to stay away.

 

[koiguy1969]

every single day i watch the dreaded heron fish in the creek a couple hundred yards from my house and leave and not even fly over my property any more. he actually avoids it. what a nice feeling to know my fish are safe and sound.. no nets..no strings.. no anything!! granted ms. daisy is ready and waiting for him, but he actually flys around my yard.. i beleive i have successfully trained thru pain. it will be 3 weeks friday!!IM VERY HAPPY!!

 

[DrDave]

Just when you think it is safe, he will be back. It is in his nature to fish. Once they know where they are, they never forget.

 

[koiguy1969]

i know its his nature to fish but every time he comes here he leaves in pain, i can see him down at the creek doing his thing. he doesnt see me,im looking out thru the blinds in a dark house.. he actually flies around my property now,at least a couple houses away. but like i said ms daisy is always in the corner in case. 3 weeks every single day i watch fly around close by never landing. oh 2 weeks ago he got hurt while still in flight..he wont even fly over my property now!!

 

[Airic]

I had my first blue heron visit yesterday. By the time I opened my door he was off. I think I need to put my hamock back up. I had it sitting next to the pond and it twirls in the wind which I think was keeping them away. Two days after taking down to clean it I get a blue heron. I work from home and my office looks out to the pond so, the more I work the safer my fish will be. I have Ms. Remington sitting next to me if I start getting more visits.

 

[DrDave]

Since I added a scope to mine, I never miss. You only get one shot before they take flight.

 

[winyfrog]

I had a heron problem and I put up a Scarecrow, it is a motion detector connected to your garden hose and it worked! But it doesn't keep the snakes out (I hate snakes!)

I really want an indoor raised wall pond inside some sort of sun room or 3 season room so I won't have to worry about the myriad of animals that try and get a free meal.

I did this as well, the scarecrow works wonders. I had a male and female hunting my pond and probably ended up losing 10 or more of my koi. I wasn't able to keep up with them because the male will hunt in the day and the female hunts at night.

 

[koiguy1969]

i put my fake heron out today... now i cant help but wonder if my old pain in the a$$ will see it and think "hey, that ones hanging out there all the time, it must be safe!"

 

[koiguy1969]

CRAP!!! I was just half heartedly thinking that ...but went out this morning 6:05, and the son of a b@#$% was on my heighbors roof... i didnt see him til i opened the door...as he was taking off.

 

[pboucher]

Herons.....sheeeeeesh...

Just thought I would share what I've done to provide a shelter for my koi. I have a 2000 gallon pond which is about 2 feet deep at the deepest area. I found a peice of 24 inch culvert (plastic) about 3.5 feet long. I cut in half and submerged it at one end.. works fantastic as a cave for the fish if they need to hide. I've not lost another fish since.. I also use what they call a scarecrow. blasts water if a predator comes near the pond.. Including me a few times...lol Beats them banging around the pond when they're spooked trying to find hiding..
anyway..my 2cents worth..

 

[koiguy1969]

its been 5 weeks since the heron has visited my pond or yard for that matter. he was 50 yards or so away on a neighbors roof about 2 weeks ago.maybe thinking about it, but i had just put out the decoy, maybe he was just eyeballing it...