Ways to Keep Predators Away From Your Koi

[arkay]

That they are &, as you can see, highly focussed. They'll even sit in the waterfall to try to get a better vantage point.

 

[DrDave]

Good advice Chris, excluding the scarecrow. Herons & Ergrets in California ignore it and go for the fish. This gimmick made someone a lot of money.

 

[John O]

We have a family of raccoons in the neighborhood again. Generally, they get in and raise havoc with my plants. The pond has steep sides with no shallow areas to wade in. It is 3 feet deep. The three koi and several goldfish have eluded capture for several years - including by a raid by a pesky heron. Nutria and opposeums have also visited the yard. As long as the raccoons leave the fish alone and they don't attack our cats I am content to not get too aggressive with them. One summer, the raccoon ate all my grapes - just the concord grapes, not the ones I don't like.

 

[bunnymp]

Last year I had a family of raccoons that were wrecking my pond on a regular basis, never got the koi, as they hid in the cave. They kept knocking over my plants and making the water dirty though. I looked into the scarecrow and the electric fence. I figured they would be too smart for the scarecrow, but I like the fence idea. Anyone know if it works?

 

[Ph1ngering]

My aunt had a Blue H visiting almost weekly.. She got a simple solution from the local pond shop and hasn't seen it again..

Its a floating piece of Styrofoam shape like a triangle. Each side has a mirror on it. The owner said he's been using them for years and it keeps 90% of the birds away..

As for cat, coons and other land guys, you might consider a air soft gun. It shoots soft foam pellets. They wont kill anything, but they sure sting a bit. We use one at our cottage to keep the giant swan away, nasty things..

--Craig

 

[Ph1ngering]

http://www.aquaticsite.co.uk/Decoy_Birds_and_Heron_Deterrent/

Some other ideas, but the last one is what my aunt bought and works well...

 

[DrDave]

Don't waste your money on the IR one that starts a water jet, they don't work and are the most expensive. I like the idea of the mirrors. I have a bunch of scrap mirror here, maybr I'll piece together something similar. Thanks for the tip.

 

[butterflycld]

Something I have a problem with that no one has mentioned above is snakes. I live in Texas and I do not know of anything that will keep them out. We recently had a yellow banded water snake in our pond. Because it is green with algae (which I can't get rid of either) we could not locate him. He ate about 4 of my fish if not more. The snake was only about 18 inches long (not that big), but he managed to eat my biggest fish. My dog is the one who finally caught him and killed him (I found him floating one day). Does anyone have any experience with this? Any ideas?
We still have two ribbon snakes in the pond that have made it their home. I am not worried about these because they are too small to even eat the smallest fish.

 

[pondlady]

I had to redo the liner after a dear jumped the fence right into the pond. Big hole in the side, So while I was in there I decided that those shelves were just a perch for the coons and things to get at the fish. Coons cant catch the fish if they are treading water. The shelves are now gone and the coons are looking elsewhere for dinning.

 

[ElijahTurtle]

Something I have a problem with that no one has mentioned above is snakes. I live in Texas and I do not know of anything that will keep them out. We recently had a yellow banded water snake in our pond. Because it is green with algae (which I can't get rid of either) we could not locate him. He ate about 4 of my fish if not more. The snake was only about 18 inches long (not that big), but he managed to eat my biggest fish. My dog is the one who finally caught him and killed him (I found him floating one day). Does anyone have any experience with this? Any ideas?
We still have two ribbon snakes in the pond that have made it their home. I am not worried about these because they are too small to even eat the smallest fish.

You can build a snake trap by burring a large jug or plastic juice bottle with a small mouth. Snakes, scorpions, bugs etc will enter it. Put the cap back on it dig it up & dispatch the critter.
There are also glue traps for snakes that are less time consuming.

 

[bunnymp]

If I ever expand my pond, I will remove the first ledge. It is only about 8" deep and is very inviting for the coons.
I recently installed a battery operated fence around the pond perimeter and across the falls. I turn it on at night and off again each morning. If the coon touches the fence, it gets zapped. I think it is working.

 

[arkay]

That's a great idea. Where did you get the fence? I'd love to try that.
rkd

 

[bunnymp]

I bought it online from from FiShock - the manufacturer.

 

[arkay]

Thanks. I'll take a look.
rkd

 

[elroyjetsn]

Here's my problem as an attachment:

Spray sticky stuff on the rocks. Some Karo Syrup mixed in water in a spray bottle maybe.