Well, can it be done? I have heard that ammonia soaked rags placed nearby will keep mammals at bay and that several products will discourage pond visits by making the water and plants taste awful, but are there any other ways that would not harm the cosmetics of the pond?
Keeping furry animals out of container ponds
Started by
Guest_Joshaeus_*
, May 22 2014 10:06 AM
13 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Skipjack_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 11:07 AM
Coons? Good luck, it is in their nature. There are things that can be done, but they aren't right for everyone.
#3
Guest_swampfish_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 12:13 PM
Keeping raccoons and other mammals out of container ponds is probably not practical. I kept raccoons out of two 55 gallon aquariums that I had outdoors for the summer by covering the top with hardware cloth bent down around the edges. Apparently, the raccoons never figured out that they couldn't remove something that they were standing on. There were so many muddy raccoon smudges on the glass that I couldn't see into the tank, so I know that they tried..
They are kept out of in-ground ponds by avoiding shallow water. Supposedly, they will not enter ponds if they can't touch the bottom. My in-ground ponds all drop to a foot deep shelf at the edge, and I've never had a problem with them. They will stand at the edge and splash the surface. If fish come to investigate, they will catch them My wife lost a dozen goldfish this way. House cats will do this also.
I primarily use polyethylene stock tanks for fish during the summer.They are good at drowning squirrels unless they have a way out. We hang ladders made of hardware cloth (wire mesh screening) over the edge so the toads can get out which also works for squirrels. Last spring, three squirrels drowned before I got them installed.
Phil Nixon
They are kept out of in-ground ponds by avoiding shallow water. Supposedly, they will not enter ponds if they can't touch the bottom. My in-ground ponds all drop to a foot deep shelf at the edge, and I've never had a problem with them. They will stand at the edge and splash the surface. If fish come to investigate, they will catch them My wife lost a dozen goldfish this way. House cats will do this also.
I primarily use polyethylene stock tanks for fish during the summer.They are good at drowning squirrels unless they have a way out. We hang ladders made of hardware cloth (wire mesh screening) over the edge so the toads can get out which also works for squirrels. Last spring, three squirrels drowned before I got them installed.
Phil Nixon
#4
Guest_Subrosa_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 12:48 PM
It's quite easy. You simply need a bigger, scarier furry animal in the same area that you can trust to not eat your fish. A real dog works well.
#5
Guest_centrarchid_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 01:13 PM
I do it. Electrified fencing. Poultry netting easiest to setup but most expensive material wise. If you really want to get aggressive, then back fencing up with dog that kills coons which I do. I have a broader range of significant predators so actually employ multiple perimeters.
Live-traps place along probable access routes also help.
Live-traps place along probable access routes also help.
#6
Guest_Subrosa_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 02:29 PM
You just need a bigger and/or multiple dogs. My security system is an Anatolian Shepherd Dog, which are now very common in South Africa to protect stock from Lions. Bears are stupid and easily frightened, it's feline and most particularly canine predators that are the tough ones to deal with. Thankfully the biggest thing I need to deal with are Coyotes.I do it. Electrified fencing. Poultry netting easiest to setup but most expensive material wise. If you really want to get aggressive, then back fencing up with dog that kills coons which I do. I have a broader range of significant predators so actually employ multiple perimeters.
Live-traps place along probable access routes also help.
#7
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 02:44 PM
Lions (bobcats and pumas here) not likely to waste time going after fish in ponds. The fencing I use would like keep even big cats out. It is affective against domestic dogs (except mine) and wild cannids.
#8
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 03:52 PM
Wild canines are the worst in NA because they hunt in packs. In many circumstances a half dozen Coyotes can overwhelm a single guard dog, getting their meal even if they can't take down the dog. African Lions are the only other serious predator that also hunts in groups. To be honest when fish are the prey I'd be more worried about our fine feathered friends than the furry ones. Or the scaly ones if the fish are small enough.
#9
Guest_centrarchid_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 04:02 PM
Cosmetics. Single strand wire around perimeter but that would still be visible. You could set it up with timer so hot only at night. For me raccoons are most easily managed with traps as they can be made more attractive than pond.
#10
Guest_dsuperman_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 04:09 PM
All i have to worry about here are racoons and cats, these work for me.
#11
Guest_Skipjack_*
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 05:46 PM
There is a rumor, though it is not substantiated or likely legal, I don't know. If you go to your local farm supply store, and buy Bluestreak fly poison, and mix it with Coke like you would cereal in a bowl, that only coons will eat it, and they will die right by it. Sounds like an illegal use of the product, but you will see it all around the internet as coon control. It is probably not a good thing to try, but you will likely see it. Certainly could hurt domestic animals and other wildlife.
Poultry netting, electrified is very good, as long as you have a good energizer, and make sure weeds do not grow up too tall, and ground it out.
Rifle. Many states are pretty lax about shooting coons. If yours is one, kill them. I promise you won't hurt their numbers. Cars do more damage.
Poultry netting, electrified is very good, as long as you have a good energizer, and make sure weeds do not grow up too tall, and ground it out.
Rifle. Many states are pretty lax about shooting coons. If yours is one, kill them. I promise you won't hurt their numbers. Cars do more damage.
#12
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 09:29 PM
My personal stock of greatest concern when it comes to depredation are free-chickens. The area they range includes a couple ponds. Mammalian predators of concern include foxes, coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, oppossums, mink, weasels and skunks. I exclude those with dogs but the poultry netting works on all but weasel. My dogs are also very hard on snapping turtles and snakes. My 70-lb male has little trouble killing a 20-lb snapper.
#13
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 09:42 PM
We are big fans of electric poultry netting as well. We raise 100+ broilers per year. Never have problems unless we get an airborne predator. It will surely work for ponds, as long as you are attentive and keep your voltage up.
#14
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Posted 22 May 2014 - 10:42 PM
I get very good raptor suppression using roosters and refuges. Raptors tough enough to test that have to deal with my dogs that can get inside poultry netting in an instant. Raptor that comes closest to be an issue is the Great Horned Owl. One of these nights I will film what owl does and how dogs thwart them.
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