Tag Archives: fish

An Animal-Free Pond is Cleaner

If your pond seems to be missing fish, then there is a good chance that something wild is feeding at it’s edges.  This is not only hazardous to your animals, the feces, feathers and other things that stray animals leave behind can be odorous, toxic and turn your pond into a slimy mess.  Furthermore it is not fun to be retrieving the dead body of smaller furry animal from the bottom of a pond where it might have slipped and fell.

 

One of the most common predators of our fish is the heron. The most common sight, especially in the southern United States is the Great Blue Heron that stands about four feet tall and has a six-foot wingspan. These birds primarily feed on fish and frogs. ). There are different species of herons scattered around the country, but the most seen around the pond is the Great Blue Heron.

 

One way to discourage herons from visiting your pond is to use a decoy of a fake heron.  As herons don’t like to feed on another heron’s turf, they will respect the fake heron’s feeding territory and stay away.

 

Leaf netting, a scarecrow, artificial and electric fencing (not really recommended but apparently effective) also can keep these clever bird away and also discourage as smaller furry animals like raccoons and foxes from feasting at your waters.

 

Leaf netting should be placed over the pond over the fall and winter to keep hungry birds from feeding and eliminating near the pond.

 

You can use a sprinkler alarm like the Scarecrow.  This is a sprinkler with a motion sensor that only activates when animals are near. When a heron, or anything else, crosses its path, it emits a burst of water, frightening away the birds.  However, the Scarecrow may not deter birds that swoop down to feed such as owls, seagulls and kingfishers.

 

The electric fence can be installed around the perimeter of the pond, giving a small jolt to any creature that decides to venture to the pond as well.

 

Raccoons are the most common visitors to residential ponds. As raccoons are nocturnal creatures, they tend to creep into your yard and swipe your fish at night. One way of dealing with this is to call your local animal control that can deal with the raccoons in a humane fashion by releasing them into the wild.

Do not be afraid to get professional help if the problem is out of control.

Taking Care of Your Pond Through the Fall and Winter

There is a tendency to think that there is nothing much to do to your outdoor pond in the winter and that you cannot spruce it up or make it look better.  Your pond does not have to have a dormant, unattractive phase until the sun shines. There are things you can do to maintain it and enhance it so that it is nice to visit all year round.

 

Leaf netting is a pond owner’s best friend.  Before the leaves fall in the autumn cover the entire pond with leaf netting. It is much easier to keep the leaves out than to remove them after they fall into the pond.  Do this early and you will also save your pond from looking like a disaster area in the Spring.

 

Remove tropical or annual plants from the pond as they will decay and pollute the water.  This will leav you looking at a mucky mess all winter and it is just not necessary. It is also not good to leave leaves in the pond with any wintering fish and if there is a lot of plant matter settling to the bottom of the pond then it can actually raise pond levels and flood your yard.

 

This is a good time to divide some types of aquatic plants (waterlilies and iris) and place them back in the pond.  It is not necessary to wait until Spring.  You can also cut back the foliage on hardy perennial plants and lower the pots they grow in to the bottom of the pond.

 

Your cue to start winterizing the pond is when the temperature drops to forty degress Fahrenheit. This means it is time to turn off the pump for the winter. If you have fish turn down the water flow on the pump. Keeping the water flowing through your biological filter allows the bacteria to live therefore ensuring good water quality when you increase the pump’s water flow early in the spring.

 

You can add a floating de-icer to keep an area free of ice. This opening is necessary during periods of ice cover to allow an exchange of gases throughout the pond that it does not become stagnant.

 

If you like, plant Water Hawthorns, which are a mainstay in Japanese ponds. This gorgeous plant blooms through the ice. They are an opposite growing cycle to most plants and grow and bloom fall through spring and go dormant in the summer.  They help keep the water oxygenated throughout the cold winter months.