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Denbighshire, United Kingdom Gb

How high should netting be to deter herons?
We're about to fix netting over our pond to protect our fish from a heron. Please could anyone tell me if there is an optimum height for the netting above the water?
We want it to be high enough for the birds to go in for a wash and the frogs to get in and out, but not so high as to allow the heron to poke his beak underneath.




Answers

 

Its a real problem, my fish jump quite high, and friends who net find the heron just pokes a hole with that sharp beak. :0(

I,ll watch these answers with interest

16 May, 2013

 

a minimum of a foot. put the netting over the egde into the surronding 'garden' as they wont get tangled. They cant stand on the edge to stab at the fish.

16 May, 2013

 

I,ve read that Seaburn but our koi pond had a low wall around.....about 4 bricks high.....and the pond itself is very deep, five feet or so, and we lost young koi (no bodies)
either the heron ( who we see)
or the ghost koi are cannibals which has been suggested
What do you think?

I use childrens big windmills as a deterrent which works, but only when its windy.

16 May, 2013

 

I once read to make the netting into a fence around the pond rather than spreading it over it which is supposed to deter them from landing. Probably needs to be higher than four bricksworth though.

16 May, 2013

 

Electric fences too have been suggested but a bit unsightly, they are wading birds....
They spit on tbe pond to attract the fish, then snap. :0(

16 May, 2013

 

Having thougt about both the bird and the garden owner,
wouldn't chicken wire spread over the pond be safer for the birds as they wouldnt get caught up in this and you can buy it in green to blend in.

16 May, 2013

 

Like steragram, I was advised to make a kind of tripwire about a foot high all around the pond, the theory being that heron wade into the pond to feed. It did work in my case.

16 May, 2013

 

Heron certainly land and wade. they suffle their toes in the mud to startle the fish then spear. Never seen or heard of a heron spitting. the dummy heron decoy works well.

17 May, 2013

 

The best method I have found (I accept there may be others), is to string black cotton at about a foot to eighteen inches at intervals on the approach to the pond. That prevents the heron from walking to the pond (they tend to land close and wade in). Aesthetically, too, the cotton blends into the background. Of course, if there's an island on which the heron can land, then cotton won't work!

17 May, 2013

 

Thank you all so much for the comments and suggestions. We've settled for netting stretched across the pond and held up by short stakes about 10" high.
We might go for the fence idea, using netting around the sides of the pond at an angle of say 60 degrees or so.

17 May, 2013

 

No need for an angle - the fence is normally vertical.

17 May, 2013

How do I say thanks?

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