Topic: Bad Bad Heron

[Mimi]

Youngest dog was behaving very oddly this morning.  She kept coming in and out and whinging all the time.  I thought that she was trying to tell me something, (don't think she is related to Lassie) Soooo I followed her outside to the garden, only to scare away the biggest heron I have ever seen.  B*"#@*$  thing had been in my pond.  Don't know if it has got all my babies or if the poor things are too scared to surface.  :'(  :'(  Poor things.  So nothing for it now ... will have to resort to the awful plastic replica of a heron to try and keep the b*****y thing away.  Unless you have any better ideas (other than a minefield)

[Anthony]

A bigger/braver dog?

[Marianne]

A shotgun seems to be the answer but I believe they are a protected species and therefore, untouchable.  A net over the pond is probably the best idea.  Good luck Mimi!  ;) :)

[dibberxxx]

Mimi i have this problem have a very large pond and heron love to visit it , plastic heron no good have one of them too , does not work , what we have done and works very well is to put canes around the pond only about 2 foot high every 3 to 4 foot and then tie fishing line around the first cane going onto the next till you have fishing line all around the pond , cant see the fishing line if you get a clear one and it works , herons cant land on water they have to wade in so they land at the edge of the pond and walk in , they cant get over the fishing line works a treat .

[undercarriage plan]

My lil ol' man does the same Dibs, seems to work really well, hasn't had any problems so far. Good luck Mimi! Lottie

[Heldi]

A bloke I know swears the best defence of a pond against a Heron is to attract Crows,Jackdaws and the like.  They take great exception to a Heron and will chase it off.

[Mimi]

Dont have much faith in that Heldi.  We have a family of buzzards living in the woods at the back of the house and that hasnt frightened them off.  So any ideas for protecting me babies.?  Here is an update on my pond (taken after hubby had built the new japanese bridge)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/mimi4555/bridgeoverriverqai006.jpg

[Carol]

Like your pond and bridge Mimi.  As you know, I have the same problem with the Heron.  I find its only the winter months they are interested and I spotted one taking off from my Pond last Sunday morning.  So, once the net is finished on our cabbages and once my lazy OH gets his backside of his chair then we will be netting the pond again.
Good luck.  A net or something similar deters them a bit.

 :( :( :( :( :(

[dibberxxx]

mini you pond looks fantastic  :) :) :), love he bridge , did oh make that his self

[Mimi]

Thank you very much Dibber.  Yep he sure did.  I am very lucky he is a very talented amatuer carpenter/woodworker/electrician/plumber and general DIY er.He has built (as well as the bridge) a lovely pergola and an arbour for the garden.  As well as that we had a team effort/family built garage too   ;D I am blessed.  ;)

[fluffygrue]

I wouldn't recommend the plastic heron thing - I regularly see groups of four/five of the beasties standing around together..

I think a better bet would be one of those movement-sensitive scarecrows that squirt jets of water at herons/cats. I've heard good things about them.

Good luck :)

[dibberxxx]

mimi you are very lucky, have you ever thought about renting him out  ;D ;D ;D only joking you tell mr mimi from me very weldone done  and what a lovely job he has made on that bridge  :) :) :)

[Anthony]

Fantastic Job Mimi - Looks great.

As for the heron then I think the only truly foolproof way is netting.  I use removeable nets which I take off when we're out in the garden.  Basically built using a plastic frame with the netting stretched accross it.  I've had to adapt it slightly as the plants have grown to above pond level but in total I've probably spent little more than a tenner and a couple of hours in time in making them.

[beejay]

Mimi, your pond looks really lovely. We deal with the heron problem with the wire method which is partially hidden by plants, as are the fish we hope. Although nets are no doubt the safest, I don't see the point of having a lovely feature with netting over it no matter how neat. And I couldn't face the bother of putting them on & taking them off.

[Anthony]

....it's good exercise for the kids ;)

[Emm P]

We had a 2,000 gallon pond. My husband built a low (ish) wall round it. The heron never got any of our fish.
 ;D

[EmmaLou]

I sympathise! My dad has a lovely pond in his garden, full of iris and other plants. Only problem is the fish! Every time we put any fish in, the heron eats them! With only 2 fish remaining (one of them being a goldfish that is at least as old as I am!), my dad has resorted to drastic measures. He has put full length bamboo canes around it forming a teepee and has criss-crossed string all over it. Yes it does the trick and yes it is very ugly! I hate it. I decided to take it down one day and got a right telling off! He keeps it like that all year round. I can't quite see the point as it ruins the look of the pond. Would be much better to forget about the fish and just have it as a wildlife pond. There are plenty of newts and frogs and beautiful dragonflies, also the fish that are left have survived many years so I'm sure they will be ok.

Oh well not my garden so don't have much say over the matter!

Anthony's idea seems good.

Good luck with your fight!

[ipt8]

Herons are supposed to settle on the land then walk into the water. To stop them you have a 12" high strand of plain wire on short stakes. They cant duck under and have a job to hop over - honest.
Its worth a try but dont trip over the wire yourself and fall in the pond  ;D

Ideally the wire is electrified !

Maybe something hanging off a nearby tall post would detract them - scare-crow like.

[compo clive]

You could try turtles.. we have 3 and we ain't  ever seen a heron.. and they provide super liquid plant food! Our crops have never been better! ;)