Herons and Koi Ponds

Predators will be coming by your pond, are you ready? It's not a question of "IF" they're coming. It's a question of when!

 There are a lot of things on the market which are sold to repel or stop Herons from coming to your pond for a meal.

 I've encountered Herons that will readily eat fish from ponds with:

1) Heron decoys

2) Inflatable snakes -

3) Inflatable or other "Owl Eyes"

4) Synthetic owls

 It's interesting about the Heron decoy. The U.S.F.W.S did a study on Herons and they found them to be solitary birds, preferring to travel and fish alone. Recently, marketing weasels have figured out that if they put a decoy near a pond, perhaps that would repel the Heron, since he wants to be alone...Right? WRONG.

 The Heron *prefers* to be alone, however, according to the USFWS the appearance of another bird or Heron at water's edge is interpreted by another Heron that it's safe to land!!! You'll see Herons landing on the opposite side of the pond, eat their fill and take off without a care.

 The most effective method of Heron control is a pyrotechnic Heron scare - which is a unit which fires a pyrotechnical charge (a little firecracker) every three to fifteen minutes, often at random. They can be heard for miles and the sound repels the Herons. These are the ones they use at Fisheries in the middle of nowhere. They are very effective but they are VERY loud. Wouldn't your neighbors love that?

 Probably he very best (and still practical) residential Heron control is the water sprinkler. It is a proprietary branded thing, looks like some kind of a Toucan, and it shoots water when it detects motion. So, the Heron flies in, and all of a sudden the sprinkler comes on. Not that the Heron minds being wet, but it startles them, and they take off.

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