Those Darn Herons! … How To Protect Your Koi

Colorful and healthy koi fishes will certainly attract the attention of your neighbors and guests.

Unfortunately, healthy koi fishes swimming in your pond will likely attract the attention of predators, too!

One such predator which will no doubt make a go for your koi fishes are herons.

These quick and sly fish hunters can easily catch your precious koi off-guard and eat them!

But there’s no need to worry, my friend.

Here’s how to protect your koi pond from herons.

You can thank me later.

How to protect your koi pond from herons?

There are several answers to the question “how to protect your koi pond from herons” – from heron-friendly measures to more drastic ones.

Today, I will give you tips on how to protect your koi pond from herons without causing any harm to both your fishes and the birds.

Read on.

• Give your dog access to your pond area. If you have a well-behaved dog who knows not to mess with your pond, then it’s a good idea to give it access to the pond, especially at night. You’re probably wondering, “why not just get a scarecrow?” Well, here’s why: herons who are used to residential areas are often used to decoys and are no longer deterred by unmoving objects. Unless you have plans of changing the position of your decoy several times a day, placing a decoy near your pond will not successfully drive the herons away. Meanwhile, a dog can actively chase after the herons and its barking alone can scare the birds off.

• Make your koi less visible from passing herons. Installing an aerator in your pond will not only improve oxygen circulation in your pond, it will also create ripples in the surface of the pond which will make the koi fishes less visible. Floating plants also work under the same principle. Plants on the surface of your pond will give your koi fishes shade during summer days, as well as shield your koi fishes from the view of flying herons.

• Install motion-activated sprinklers near your pond. This is another effective and humane way of driving herons away. If you don’t have a dog and floating plants haven’t kept herons from hunting your fishes, then a little water is your friend. The sudden sprinkle of water will surprise the herons and drive them away. Even better, you don’t have to keep watch of your pond all the time for this to work.

• Make your pond deeper. This will entail more work on your part, but unlike installing netting over your pond, this will not distract from your pond’s beauty. Herons use their long beaks to get fishes out of the water, so if your pond is deep enough, it will be hard for the herons to get your koi fishes.

And that’s how to protect your koi pond from herons!

See?

There’s no need to install drastic measures like electric fences which can hurt herons and other animals. You drove herons away without hurting them – that’s a win!