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Pond Pests
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Birds
Obviously, you need to stop attracting herons and other "fishing" birds to your yard. Some people actually feed these birds and then wonder why fish are disappearing from their pond. Dumb! When birds catch on that you have breakfast just swimming around in your pond, they will come daily until there is nothing left. Always shoo away fishing birds. If you follow my guidelines for plant tables and the proper plants in your pond, they will give your fish natural protection from birds.
None the less, birds can be very persistent and a huge pain. I have used hot wires, and even built the Japanese bamboo deer chaser devices to scare off birds. Unfortunately, some birds are very clever and will defeat the hot wire by stepping over it or ducking under it, and I have actually seen a heron courting one of my deer chasers!!!!!
I have seen people using netting over their ponds to keep unwanted pests out. But how natural is a pond covered with a net??
The bottom line is that birds can be a real problem and you need to be particularly vigilant at dawn and dusk, their favorite time to dine.
Frogs
At seminars, I am always asked the question. "Where can I get some frogs for my pond?" And my answer is always the same, "Build your pond and they will come!"
Frogs are neat to watch but they can become a nuisance. Ground toads are the worst. On a rainy night they will jar you right out of your sleeping cap with a mating call that would deafen a bull moose. And if you do not go out right away and catch them, all their buddies will come running. See Frog Hunting story.
The next morning you will have miles of egg sacks that you must clean out with a stick right away or they will turn into tadpoles. The egg sacks are generally poisonous so fish will not eat them as some say. Tadpoles, in large quantities, will deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water and can cause breathing problems for your fish.
Domestic Animals
I have seen dogs do the silliest things when confronted with a pond. Some just bark until their masters give them a tonsil-rectomy! Others paw at the water and even stick their heads underwater trying to bite at the fish. Then, of course, some just jump right in.
Dogs for the most part are not a real menace to the ecological system of your pond. Even if they dive in, they really don't present much of a problem. Most lose interest quickly. If you do have a "swimmer" you will just have to tolerate the occasional overturned plant. Some are concerned about their nails puncturing the pond liner, but I have never known that to happen. If you construct your pond as I have described, there is little if any chance any animal nails will ever damage your liner. Unless you have swimming bears!
Cats are pretty much a non problem. I have heard of cats that have caught fish. But that is usually when the pond is built improperly allowing the cat to corner a fish in shallow water. Using my design, you have no such place and cats will try mightily but will rarely be successful. So let your cat linger pond side, it will build his appetite for later when you give him his goldfish in a can!
Raccoons
Now this is a crafty animal. First they use their front paws like hands and they have amazing dexterity. They are at home in the water and will jump right in to get what they want. They are not very successful at catching fish in a Pond Builtbyu, but they will definitely tear up all the plant beds searching for something to eat.
The only solution that I have seen work on Raccoons is a "hot wire". Hot wires are outlawed in some parts of the country, but for the life of me I don't know why. This nearly invisible wire is stretched out on little ground spikes around your pond usually camouflaged in your pond side plants. When an animal touches it, they get a mild electrical shock (you too). The shock won't hurt them but it will definitely make them think twice before coming near your pond again.
Final note on Raccoons. These are smart animals and they will figure out just about any defense. And just like birds, if you are feeding the little darlings, you're gonna be sorrrrrrrry!
*Frog Hunting Story
There are several things to learn in this story. Some you don't even want to know!
Before I turned my pond building into a commercial venture, I helped each of my neighbors build a pond in their yard. One night, it was raining softly. And that means ground toads climbing out of their dirt holes and heading for the nearest pond for a little extra curricular activity. The first one to find a pond sets up shop by making a tremendous racket intended to bring all his girlfriends over to the party. Since all the other guys know what this racket means, they figure, "Heh, why not join in."
The lesson you must learn is that no matter how uncomfortable it is, you must get out of your warm, dry bed and go out into the dark, rainy night and grab the first guy that shows up - and shut him up!
Now, I know you are an animal lover like me, so you would never really want to harm darling little McFrog. So here is my solution. I found that if you put these toads in a bucket of water, they stop making all that noise. In short, they can't swim and make noise at the same time.
So on this night, I had my trusty bucket of water waiting on the porch. When I heard the first call, I jumped out of bed, put on my trusty frog glove, grabbed my flashlight and made it out into the rainy night. I was going about my duty of tracking the rowdy intruder when I saw a flashlight on the other side of my 6' high fence. It was my neighbor.
I called out, "Hey, what's going on over there?". My neighbor Bart, answered me with some derogatory comments about frogs that I won't repeat. When he came around the end of the fence into my yard, I walked over to chat about what we were up too. We broke into uncontrollable laughter as we speculated on a policeman coming by and catching the two of us standing there in the rain, with a flashlight in one hand, a glove on the other hand - with not another stitch on! :)
OK, OK, I know that is not a pretty picture, but the lesson is that you must get out there and get those toads into the bucket. They can swim all night and be just fine, but don't forget them in the morning because they will drown if left too long. Then what? I would take them down the street and dump them into a drainage area.
Note: This technique doesn't work with tree frogs because they have feet that cling to the bucket walls and they just climb right out. Plus they are next to impossible to catch! You will just have to live with their high pitched whir!
"Ribet"
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