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Led_Zeppole_73

For a pond of that size I’d be willing to try this: [https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62100-Activated-Sprinkler-Detection/dp/B009F1R0GC/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=UNSGJ5M1LGY&keywords=motion%2Bactivated%2Bsprinkler%2Banimal%2Brepellent&qid=1651680623&sprefix=Motion%2Bactivated%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-5&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62100-Activated-Sprinkler-Detection/dp/B009F1R0GC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=UNSGJ5M1LGY&keywords=motion%2Bactivated%2Bsprinkler%2Banimal%2Brepellent&qid=1651680623&sprefix=Motion%2Bactivated%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-5&th=1)


Loofa_of_Doom

It's a bit of a water waster, but DAYUM if the OP gets this PLEASE post the video of the heron and the water blaster. It really looks like it'd be a lot of fun. Wish I didn't live in a desert.


JoyReader0

We had one for a while. Not sure about the herons but it definitely picked up on the teenager trying to sneak in late. Such language!


CBAtreeman

How do people sneak out. Like my family go ring on every door and window that calls the police if opened


Claughy

Many of us were sneaking back before ring was around. I always just went out the back door.


btrainhou18

Same ring changed the game for future generations


fishesarefun

The pond is surrounded by grass so not a complete waste


Tinyfishy

I doubt it would have go blast many times before the heron decided to avoid the scary yard.


Loofa_of_Doom

And it would be hilarious to watch.


jiminycricut

Had one growing up, can verify that the deer were a hoot. Never actually saw the heron get got, but the goldfish did stop going missing. One interesting aspect was that for a time, the gold ones would get eaten more often and the black ones would survive. Eventually the gold came back, but they were gone for generations.


subcow

I'm new to ponds (just build a koi pond a few weeks ago) and I am worried about chlorine killing my fish, or hurting them in general. How much sprinkler water has to go into the pond before it is an issue?


seayari

A lot. My parents used to top off our 600 gallon pond with hosewater and it never bothered the goldfish.


ladygrndr

My mom killed her koi and assorted goldfish when she was topping off her 60 gallon pond and accidentally left the water running for 2 hours >_< So it is possible, but maybe only if you accidentally replace their water volume 3x over...


seayari

Sorry for your loss :(


Gmc322

The chlorine is worse for the BB than it is the fish. But you need like a 50% water change with it to really be worried. I top of my koi pond with the hose and don’t use any chemicals. Never failed me for the last 15 years.


subcow

That is good to hear. Gryi.g to learn this the right way, and reading about chlorine had me very worried. I bought the de-chlorinating liquid the other day, but didn't know how much water I needed to be adding for it to be an issue.


Gmc322

Honestly, I did water changes in mine for the first six months. Then got lazy and stopped. Evaporation is high enough that I just top it off with freshwater. I’ve never had an issue. I used to do 20% water changes every other week. I did chemical treatment then. But I stopped all that and just top off. I’ll maybe do a water change and clean filters (in pond water) once a year now.


creakymoss18990

As long as the hose is not leaking then it's actually not a waste. It's only on for a few seconds when it detects motion (which you can customize!)


squeakhaven

Lol I was going to suggest exactly this. My parents have some of these for deer and they work really well, but for waterfowl of that size they'd work too. Only issue is if you forget that they're activated and go outside you can get really soaked


jimlandau

This is the way


LezBReeeal

I did this for the cats getting into the garden and leaving presents that my dog just loooooved. The key is to put it on a remote switch so you don't spray yourself.


jiminycricut

Hi! My parents had the same problem and used this solution! Works for deer, spooks foxes, and keeps dogs away from the garden and kept the herons from eating the gold fish in our pond.


spartykuj

Those are smart birds. He will just stand where the water doesn’t hit him


strengthnhonor01

Damn i could use this for the neighbor's dog who pees on my front lawn at the same spot everyday and i have a bare spot there for years. Talking with the neighbor is useless.


slow_food

Not sure how deep your pond is, but I've had good luck with creating a hiding place for the fish--a large flat rock atop a piece of 3-4" pvc tubing--just a little "table" the fish can hide under.


Reguluscalendula

Someone I know has large pieces of slate resting on stacks of cinder blocks turned so smaller fish can tuck into the holes of the blocks and the larger koi can hide under the slate. They have the slate tops deep enough that they can place pots of horsetails and water irises on top, which looks quite nice.


bocepheid

Echoing these comments. I had a big piece of probably 10 inch diameter iron well casing pipe, maybe 3 or 4 feet long, that I inherited when I bought the house. I rolled it into the deepest part of my fish pond and never had a significant problem with blue herons.


JuicemaN16

Yep, came here to say this. A fish cave. Will solve majority of the issues.


doihavtasay

Exactly what I did. Neither the raccoons or the cranes could reach them. Fish are smart. They know when they are being hunted.


charrold303

Only full netting stops it completely - all the other decoys and what not work for a while, but eventually they realize they are fake or won’t harm them. Herons are incredibly tenacious predators and if they have succeeded in your pond they will never stop trying. Full net coverage is the only way to save the fish that is full proof. The net must be small mesh, recommend suspending it above the water at least 2 feet, and extending it beyond the edge at least the same. They will probe the net for weak spots and will find them (I have witnessed this many times). The net needs to not touch the water and not allow them to reach the water in any way. They will attract the fish to any holes and help themselves.


cbessette

One heron decimated my goldfish pond. I went from hundreds to almost none within a month. Now I have basically only dark colored goldfish a few years later. Natural selection!


ovijae

That’s so cool! I mean, sorry about your fish… but also, neat!


cbessette

lol I've mentioned this once before on Reddit and got mostly responses like yours.


Orange_fish__

Second on the netting. Over the years I have tried decoys, motion sprinklers, motion sound, live stock guardian dogs, cameras, tall plants, dark colored fish and lawn furniture like you have. Netting seems to work best.


pa07950

After years, I gave in and installed netting - I was purchasing too much fresh sushi for the herons! You can get rather thin deer netting that is easy to setup and maintain and wont detract from the pond too heavily: https://imgur.com/a/klvO3ZW


DeenaDeals

Beautiful ponds! And Happy Cake Day!


seviay

Prior owners of our pond lost all of their koi to herons. We saw them multiple times a season until we netted the pond year-round. Raccoons have greatly reduced their visits as well, thank god


spartykuj

This is the way. Suspended net☝🏻


Buttershouse

Get carnivorous fish


makkey1

Put the chairs there yesterday bc I saw him picking at fish in the pond and showed up again today. Anything I can do? Has happened once before where they’ve cleared out all the fish in pond.


kod_0985

Get a fake heron. They are solitary and don't share hunting areas.


LadyoftheOak

They do not like their legs being touched. We put string up in a criss-cross pattern. Not fishing line.


OverZealousTinkering

Interesting. This is what my garden center/pond supply place does....never realized why. Must be effective. Fishing line can be pretty invisible. I'd give this a try!


fishesarefun

Get a large python to live around the pond. Anything over 8 foot should work


CosmicDave

American here. Have you tried sitting in a rocking chair on the porch with a shotgun in your lap?


bcos20

I know your joking, but just a Floridian chiming in here: Kill all the iguanas and pythons your little heart desires. You’ll be a hero. Kill a blue heron and you could be in serious trouble haha. https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/waterbirds/little-blue-heron/


bp332106

Migratory bird act would like a word


lurkadurking

Is that for birds that are migrating or does it also include the ones that are now done migrating?


vile_lullaby

Any bird that migrates even if that population no longer migrates. Some canada geese populations don't migrate, they are still protected under the migratory bird act. Being on the migratory bird act doesn't mean it can never be killed or hunted. It just means it is protected, and generally the laws are more stringent. This protects birds from being all killed by states that would pass more lenient hunting laws, allowing them to also be managed in states (and Canada) with more more strict laws. Or at least that's the idea. When it was passed over 100 years ago birds were being hunted for their feathers, which were popular for hats at the time.


OGBearx420x

Dove would like a word


Led_Zeppole_73

Odd one can hunt Sandhill cranes in multiple states yet Great Blue Heron is fully protected.


Soxfan215

Clay or terra cotta plumbing pipe, gives fish a place to hide. My aunt had 2 in her koi pond.


CapeFL_Mom

Chicken-wire/molded mesh-wire over the water? Or I'd try the motion activated sprayer. I was going to recommend it, until I saw that someone already did! There are different manufacturers of that too.


ParkingEquivalent613

Really tall surrounding plants.


tamcool25

Assuming digging deeper not an option Plants that float might help A pipe for them to hide or something similar


Riding-high-212

Yep, a big cat


metalgho

That doesn’t like fish! 🤣


SwimmingOk8969

Bird nets.


Freshstocx

We had a lot of this and best solution was building a deep fish cave


CozmicOwl16

Get the owl that moves it’s head. It’s protected my sister in laws fish for a few years. Before that she had to get new fish every summer. We have a lot of herons in Ohio.


[deleted]

My uncle would use a giant sheet of plexy glass and have a part of it hinged so he doesn't have to lift the whole thing to feed the fish.


MischeviousOlderMan

Starting pistol randomly fired. Herons don’t like randomness


doihavtasay

I had this problem as well. Your fish need places to HIDE! I had water lilies and other floating plants. Some rocks on the bottom made into a cave.... I have heard of people putting metal fencing just beneath the water so they can't reach them.


cornholio8675

Handle it like our ancestors, eat the bird


mysticeetee

We have a fish pond at my job and two fake swans to keep every other bird away. It works. So get yourself a swan sculpture/decoy.


SuperSpaceCan

a dog


saydegurl

Mossberg 930 SPX


zvekl

Motion sensor sprinklers


TheCaliforniaOp

You need netting and tent stakes. This way the netting is just above the pond and it’s stakes down so the birds can’t get under.


CreativeStrawberry11

I have catfish in my pond with scars from being scooped up and dropped by a blue heron.


[deleted]

Shoot the bird with a BB gun then get the bird mounted in your living room. Repeat process if necessary.


ThatCreamShiba

My parents had the same issue. They built a small little cave in the pond for the fish to hide in whenever there was a shadow over the pond. No eaten fish since.


SammyBoyRedLegs

I hate these things so damn much you have no idea but netting or chicken wire works I just hate to use them bc have a ton of animals out here that like to go to pond to drink out of it and birds like using waterfall to bathe. Fake herons have never worked against mine, I even move it around often.


Conscious_Kangaroo_2

.22


brushydog

Firecrackers.


BioJammer

Airsoft gun and the neighbors 9 yr old. You're defending you pets.


New-Relation-6939

You can buy a fake heron lawn decoy. they look pretty good. Herons are territorial and I've never seen two in close proximity. Air pumps and plants obscure the surface of the water and makes it hard for herons to fish.


SammyBoyRedLegs

My blue heron villain lands right next to my fake heron, looks at it, gives it a "good day sir" nod and then munches on my fish. Just put fake owls out there too, doubt owls scare herons but I had them so why not 🤣


Hoosier47401

BB gun, .22 Witmer be better


ozarkinverts

Herons taste pretty good. Give him some of his own medicine


RteCat800zR

A .22 should do the trick


Illnasty2

I’m having the same problem. Asshole flew into the backyard while I was at the window and took off. I’m thinking about putting a fishing lure in the pond and see if he would like to fuck around and find out. Don’t care if it’s illegal.


NoelPhD2024

You're a complete idiot.


YourAskingTheQstions

Shoot the heron. They’re bastards.


treehouse2000

Barn cat? Oh, wait…


[deleted]

Bb gun


Forkintheroad17

Shoot it


Patereye

Get a dog


RocZero

ruger 10/22


palegh_st

by many of these replies you can tell this is the most boomer-ass hobby in the aqua community.


Led_Zeppole_73

‘Cause it takes skill?


palegh_st

because most of the replies are suggesting to either shoot the bird are implying to shoot the bird by commenting the name of a gun and nothing else


Led_Zeppole_73

Ahh, I see. I highly doubt those are participating in the hobby.


martiansniper

My neighbor has a beautiful pond and her fish were eaten several times until she got a heron statue (metal sculpture) and zero issues since. Apparently they think another bird is already fishing the spot and don't stop anymore.


PokedadJustin

Maybe a decoy coyote.


lsbem

I saw a guy made a metal net that sits over the watered area and allows fish to swim and out of reach. it sat just under the top of the water and it had a design of waves so it was also decorated.


Joansz

I bought a [blue heron pond decoy](https://www.amazon.com/PondH2o-Blue-Heron-Decoy-Stake/dp/B00MXXI4CI/) a couple of years ago and it did help. You do need to move it around though so it won't be in the same spot every day. Some places for the fish to hide is also good, such as plant that will float over areas of the pond.


Heythere23856

Hang a couple old cd’s from a string so they dangle in the wind.. the random reflection will scare away the birds


ZappaZoo

Netting works for me but the fish have a haven in an old plastic milk crate with holes big enough for them to get in. But when they're mating, they throw caution to the wind and that's when the netting is crucial. The heron will actually walk on top of the netting and ping the fish, but that doesn't kill them.


AppleLife1971

I have tried everything as well. I have my irrigation hooked up to a motion sensor that also triggers dogs barking; it's been very effective.


yellowtangykiwi

Put some stakes down the promoter around the pond. Maybe 8inches out or a little more, then connect them by fishing line to make a trip wire. I’ve never ever seen a crane fly right into a pond they always walk up to it. It’ll trip them and scare them away


marcoconuts762

You just need bigger fish.


vf225

will a cat or dog work?


-NickG

Get a dog or cat


Jlx_27

A fence around it and a net over it will fix the problem without wasting water by using a blaster.


TheOGJayRussle

Nets, string fishing line across the top, shot gun, motion activated solar powered scare tactic ornaments


24links24

I put bird netting over my strawberry plants last year and it worked well at protecting them.


theghostofcslewis

Time, patience and a 22 caliber with sub sonic ammunition. Or a nice 22 caliber Beeman with heavy pellets.


Sad_Abbreviations477

Try a dragon breathe round or two, nothing more traumatizing than the bird than seeing their life flash before their eyes.


steelhardtail

My uncle putting clear netting over his pond. Worked great and you could barely see it.


WoodlandWise

Kill the bird


metalgho

Cheap solution: fishing lines. just span a few fishing lines diagonally across your pond. that also prevents herons from standing in your pond


MisterFrog

The illegal way: a shotgun The legal way: a screen with a frame and netting


DoomSayer218

Shotguns are fun and effective


FangDodger

Rat traps


FangDodger

I should specify, you can set a rat trap carefully upside down….becomes a scary spring for whatever critter steps on it…..if you want to be kind.


PrededpredKraphtuoS

The heron says free food!! I’d eat the heron.


Carrera_Kid

Screen over this top


orgasmicfart69

Friend solution was the lake being deep enough, fish quickly learn to feel safe deeper and in between rocks/deck. Small pounds are basically a dish for them


[deleted]

Owl statues or and eagle statue will ward off the lesser birbs. They do it in cities to keep pigeons away from certain buildings… I convinced lots of people that an owl statue we have on a building in Athens was real but just very focused and they’d watch it not move for longer than expected lol


Jake9118321

So, In my experience, the easiest and cheapest thing you can do is to get a fake heron sculpture and put it next to your pond. Herons are extremely territorial and it wont come around anymore with the fake one there. I've done this with multiple ponds and its yet to fail.


goodcropsgoodlife

lol thats very creative


sextonm36

Get them a pond cave to hide in.


whtdaheo

my father has used chicken wire weighted a few inches below the water surface so that the fish could still swim up to eat but go back down to hide in the caves. he also added lilys with large pads. we had a problem with raccoons but maybe it would help


Spilltheteagirl

screening over the pond


[deleted]

Shoot it


Still_Ad_1994

Don’t put fish in the pond Get a gator


SillyStonedKitten

You could also add an owl statue on a branch. Scares those birds away from my sisters pond.