Koi Care: Helpful Tips In Preventing Heron Theft

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Koi Care: Helpful Tips In Preventing Heron Theft

Friday, May 22nd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Herons are beautiful and majestic birds, yet they have one flaw: they are predators that would lack to make a snack out of your Koi. That's why as you take care of your Koi, be on guard all the time and never leave your pond unattended.

These are cunning and deceitful birds: they might seem harmless when you first notice them lurking around your Koi garden. Standing at a height of 2 to 3 feet, they have very large wingspan, with a graceful appearance. But don't get fooled by those looks, for what you're looking at are predators on the prowl, ready to snatch and eat your Koi!

When you look at your pond and you've noticed that you're lacking some fish, big chance is that the heron is the culprit. When you notice some large gaping holes in the sides of your fish, this means that a heron has attempted to snatch up your fish, but just didn't have the necessary grip to get it successfully. There are also times when you will find your fish lying on the lawn a few feet away from the pond, which is a result of them being dropped by the heron after being scooped up from the pond.

So, given these facts, there are some necessary precautions/measures that you can do to avoid these unwanted incidents. However, these kind of "detours" will work only for a minimal time.

1) Plastic herons - You can place a fake, plastic heron in your garden. The purpose of this is to detour another heron from landing on the spot. This may work for parts of the season, but may prove ineffective when the mating season begins, because they will land near your plastic heron mistaking it for a mate.

2) Making noise - If you catch a heron about to go for your fish, make as much noise as you can and physically frighten it the best you can. You can shout, throw things at it, or whatever it is that can scare it. Keep in mind that the more frightened it is, ther lesser would it return any time soon in your pond.

3) Alter your routine - You can change your routine always. These birds are smart enough to know and detect your presence. Make frequent visits to your pond so as to increase your chance of catching the herons in the act. If you are not able to do so, you can always enlist somebody to visit your pond. Another thing that you can do is to give permission to older and trustworthy children to visit your pond, which can add presence to your Koi pond.

4) Creating a hiding place in the pond for your fish - Another great idea is by creating a hiding place for your fish in the pond. You may notice that after a heron attacks a pond, it would seem that the bird has gotten all of its prey, but you'll see that your fish will start to appear from strange hiding places once the scare stops.

By providing a hiding place for your fish to protect them from attacks, you will greatly reduce the number of fish caught by herons (and don't worry if your fish is hiding from you, as they'll know and trust you that you will not do them any kind of harm)!).

5) Never restock your pond immediately - In taking care of your pond, never restock your pond right away in an event of a heron attack. The bird will be forced to search for another feeding ground instead if you would take a little bit of time before you restock your pond.

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