Sorry Ben
But even a net won't stop my coons, I gave up to the idea that if my big fish get eaten I will just have small fish.
My two oldest koy are black with alittle orange and they are over 20" long but can be well hid. I also install 3 clay flue liners for tunnels to hid in.
Is it REAL? or Just 1:29 scale?
Long live Outdoor Model Railroading.
Ben:
I too have had such a visitor. He has gotten several of our Koi over the years. I now have a framework made of PVC and tree netting to cover the pond. It must be removed to run the trains, but it keeps the fish we have left.
Tom Trigg
[quote user="ToadFrog&WhiteLightn" I have too lost some fish by this master fisher. But, how I look at it, he/she needs to eat to. /quote]
TF, That's how I sorta feel about the squirrels that eat the bird seed. Then too, if needs be I can eat the squirrel. Them sparrows 'n grackles are sorta spare in the ribs, dept.
Les W.
ttrigg
that is something i'm looking into ,tomorrow i'm going to check out plastic pipe at lowe's, my pond is about 7ft. wide and 10ft. long, i'll get something built. BEN
hoofe116 wrote: [quote user="ToadFrog&WhiteLightn" I have too lost some fish by this master fisher. But, how I look at it, he/she needs to eat to. /quote]TF, That's how I sorta feel about the squirrels that eat the bird seed. Then too, if needs be I can eat the squirrel. Them sparrows 'n grackles are sorta spare in the ribs, dept.Les W.
Les, I just let every one eat to tell you the truth.
Toad in da Swamp
I too have learned!
We installed . Netting and milk crates and some black storage containers upside down with holes cut out for hiding! (great for putting plants on /hide under plants)
Think of it as a chance to get some new bloodline .
Goodluck Sean
Dern hungry birds have gotten to me too! I'm no longer feeding them "Prime Koi", I go to pet store and get goldfish feeders @ $10 per hundred. Throw a couple hundred in pond in spring and don't worry bout him. I do have a scale whale in my pond (he's too big for the heron); I figure a two foot long catfish is about a 1/29 whale --- kinda looks like one too!
At 22' wide by 40' long that pond's too big to net. I do like Marty, I have about 8 lengths of flue tile in there I use to set plants on and they provide cover for the fish! Get too many lillies and plants in there and you can't see the fish!
Nets-Schmets!
Have fun with your trains
Capt Bob Johnson wrote:Vic, Yours is indeed the best solution if you lived out in the sticks where there aren't any tree huggers to report you for illegally shooting a bird that is eating hundreds of dollars worth of your fish! This spring I lost two 10", and 4 6-8" Koi and several small 4-6" catfish to the d--n blue heron; had a perfect shot at him, but the nibby nosed neighbor was out getting her paper and would have seen and reported it! She even calls the fuzz when i shoot groundhogs!
The Urbanite solution, from personal experience...
They call the police when I sight a rifle out! And I live in the sticks!!!!
Toad
you could just order a heron statue and place it next to the pond, preferably one that moves in the wind, herons a territorial and won't fish together
Probably the very best (and still practical) residential Heron control is the water sprinkler ( <http://www.scatmat.com/scarecro2.htm> ). 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. Killing a Heron (which is a migratory bird) is very easy because they have a sizeable body and they think that by staying "stock-still" you cannot see them. However, it's important that you know if you kill a Heron, and your neighbor sees you, they can have you JAILED with the carcass unless you give him your large-screen TV. Don't confer that kind of power on anyone. Repel the Heron before you try anything like killing it. Best regards Doc Johnson
Re Herons.. yup me too I currently have my rescued survivors (The Compton 3) under serious house arrest where they are virtually invisible whilst building work is going on nearby. Not much point in having them. HOWEVER.... there is a solution that doesn't involve guns (a total no-no in Britain). Take nylon fishing line and run lengths of it to crisscross the surroundings of the pond at different heights. The large model village in Bekanscot England has a lake that is teeming with good fish and their only protection is a few strung lengths of fishing line strategically placed. This is a lot less obtrusive that netting. There have been mixed reviews about heron statues here.. most of it unimpressed.
An alternative is to use stiff plastic green netting and put it on a wood frame... and secure it about an inch below the surface of the water. That way your pond looks a lot better anyway
Hope this helps
Bestest
Peter
I finished building a pond and waterfall earlier this fall. I wasn't looking to get it started up until next spring. I will certainly have something to get me out early next year to get the pond going. I am in eastern MA. I heard a story from a friend of mine at work who lost thousands of dollars worth of koi fish over a weekend to hungry raccoons. I plan on stocking my pond with cheapo "comet" fish. I know I have raccoons around but they seem to enjoy the trash barrels, fishing would be to much work for them. We do have egrets and heron around here, being so close to the marshes and ocean. Hopefully, they are sustaining on there natural habitat. I think the decoy would work, maybe a motion activated sound maker to scare off the birds and raccoons. The raccoons, who would usually come out at night might be detered with a motion activated light that comes on. Anything that might ensnare or harm the bird might land you in hot water with the authorities. Gotta go.
Pete
spookytown rr wrote: Probably the very best (and still practical) residential Heron control is the water sprinkler ( <http://www.scatmat.com/scarecro2.htm> ). 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........ Best regards Doc Johnson
Probably the very best (and still practical) residential Heron control is the water sprinkler ( <http://www.scatmat.com/scarecro2.htm> ). 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........ Best regards Doc Johnson
Scarecrow worked for me. We had a freeze last winter and BH got hungary. Put out the "crow" and he chased the BH. Until I left the "crow" out and his plastic parts did not hold up to the freeze. Googled the "crow" to learn the racoons love the water and are not bothered by the noise.
Geb
vsmith wrote: Nets-Schmets!
Well.....yes.....if Mr Racoon is about a 1/2 mile away, but if he's right outside the door, I think I'll stick with my first recommendation.
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