with a ledge, there is probably no good way to protect the lilies. I prefer a pond with no ledge. then I can set the plants wherever I want, raised up on blocks or milk crates. the raccoons cant get to them that way. Try stringing an electric fence around the pond, about 6" high to keep the 'coons out. Or try a live-trap to eliminate the problem all together.

lucky1_gardener, you might want to try some of the large cattails and bullrushes. They will do fine in containers a couple of feet down in the pond.

I have a ledge in my pond,but after cleaning up from the raccoons numerous times I put my plants on red clay bricks and placed them in the middle of my pond. It kepted them from getting knocked over.To keep the raccoons out of the pond completely we finally had to string an electric fence around the perimeter..it works great!We plugged it into a christmas light remote so we can easliy turn it off whenever we want, even from inside the house.

Bar-B-Q'd Raccoon

~ 4 - 6 lb. raccoon, cut into serving pieces
~ 1 cup red wine
~ 2 onions, sliced
~ 3 bay leaves
~ 1 tbsp salt
~ 1 tsp pepper
~ 3 cloves garlic, sliced
~ 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce
~ 1 tbsp paprika

Place the raccoon pieces in a large pan. Add the wine, onions, bay leaves, salt, pepper and garlic. Add enough water to cover the meat.

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove the meat and drain. Place the raccoon in a greased baking dish. Mix the barbecue sauce and paprika together and pour over the meat.

Cook at 325 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Pond the way it was before the freeze.

LOL

I noticed a couple of bricks missing from my edge (Some fell off edge and some must of fallen in; I'll retrieve the sinkers this weekend. I haven't attached them yet to my pond edge - that's one of my summer pond activities)

Then I noticed that the styroform float that is attached to my supplemental air supply was chewed a little. It seems the local raccoon is taking his frustrations out on the float (straight sides on my pond - no raccoon wading area).

Score one for the pond dude!

LP

Nice recipe for raccoon..mmmm!

Maybe you could get a fish that eats raccoons, sort of like Jaws....

I've suddenly lost my appetite lol! Raccoons and foxes and deer are neighbors of mine. There's a family of coons living under my neighbors garden shed. They like to raid the trash bins when the kiddies leave the garage door up. And I've seen the fox a few times, darting through the yard and I found his home yesterday just on the other side of the creek that's at the back of my yard. No built in ledges for me, thankfully, I like the bricks or milk crate idea the best. Currently I only have a water lily planted but I plan on adding some irises and some other smallish grassy plant. So I'm enjoying these tips as well!

I'm wishing we didn't put ledges in now, at the time it seemed like a good idea! I may try doing the brick and milk crate trick when it's warm enough to reach in and get the plants out. Those raccoons have never caught one fish in all the times they've torn up my pond. I'd love the electric fence, but we have kids and a dog. Can irises be planted deep?
Thanks.
PS Thanks for the recipe :) My husband is the chef in the family I'll pass it on to him...YIKES!

I had a raccoon raid the first year I set up my pond shortly after I set it up. What a mess! There was no way I was going to put up with that.
Raccoons are mostly nocturnal meaning they generally like to do their thing under the cover of darkness. The way that I stopped them cold in their tracks was to put up motion detector lights, and the brighter the better. They still wander by once in a while, attracted by the sound of the water, but as soon as they get blasted by those bright spot lights they are gone.
The other advantage of the motion detector lights is that if the pond is close enough to your bedroom window, as mine is, when the lights come on I often notice it and get a chance to have a look and see what sort of creature is lurking around.
Here is a video of an owl I caught by my pond looking for an easy snack.
Video

bugsb, my brother used to have a pack of hounds and he hunted coons a lot. The farmers were happy to have him hunting on their land since the coons caused damage to their crops.

When he got one, he would Bar-B-Q that coon. I thought they were really good eating, very tasty!

So maybe that is the solution to the coon problem? Just invite them for dinner.

{{gwi:186167}}

How funny, bar-b-q'd coon. But, they are soo cute. We have problems with coons opening our dirt cut-outs in our ditches when we're irrigating. I shut them off, then next morning open again. Since I am in the process of putting in my pond I can only imagine the fun in store for us with coons. I like the motion light idea. Is there any way to add sound with that motion light? That would be the best. I have put up electric fences around my flower beds at times. Just hate messing with it. My 4 kids know to stay clear of it, but, boy you should of been here the day the insurance adjuster got tangled in the wire. He was screaming, jumping, and kicking every which way. I was laughing at him so hard, he was sure a rattlesnake had gotten him. Even seeing the wire all ripped out and around his legs, he still thought it was a rattlesnake! I still laugh about that, and I was the only one laughing. He hasn't come back since. Poor guy.

try an animal away. runs on a 9volt battery & puts out sounds only animals can hear & is motion sensitive. cost is about $35 but minimal when you consider cost of your fish!

Lucky1 - you mentioned the raccoon has not eaten one fish. It is not fish they are after when they knock down potted plants. They are looking for snails or worms that are often in the potted plant medium. If they were after your fish you would have missing fish and most likely parts of fish left behind around the pond.

There have been lots of threads about raccoons over the years and from what I've read it seems the electric fence is the only way to really keep them out. Mention has been made to shop for one at a farm supply business (not a pond store).

Ever just give up? Yep! I did last summer. We had two smallish ponds connected by a short stream with Koi and Goldfish in one and Guppies and Bettas in the other. Water lilies, cattails and other planty things abounded in and around the ponds.

I cannot count how many times the ponds needed to be emptied, the plants rinsed off, repotted and otherwise resuscitated after our dog Daisy would finish her rescue attempts of those poor drowning plants and baskets. Many plants were shredded beyond hope. Water lilies really should not sun themselves on the lawn but Daisy did not understand this concept.

The final straw was after a raccoon tipped everything over while fishing for the fish. There were only about 6 guppies left from all the fish. I did not only cry. I sobbed! I took out the surviving fish, emptied the pools of death and filled the site with soil and planted some lovely sun loving perennials and a flowering crabtree.

We still have the little 3000 gal. wildlife pond that has always had frogs, toads and salamanders in and around the area.

I gave up on the fishy pond. I gave up 113% ! My DH has not given up since over the winter magically there appeared 4 beautiful koi and 3 or 4 goldfish in a stocktank in the basement along with a filter, plants.... Hmmmmmmm.

I am afraid to put these guys outside. Something will make a meal out of them or Daisy will try to make friends with them or rescue them from drowning like she did the plants. Mike can be in charge of what ever he has planned. I'm never going in the backyard. Simple solution! LOL! :-)

C3D ... Still gave up!

The electric fence I have is called a "Pet Fence" it is acually made to keep dogs in or out of an area.Raccoons are nocturnal animals so you could put the fence on a timer to only be on late at night until early am. I have cats..they only touched the fence once and have never gone near it since!It doesn't really harm them just gives them a kick.

yeah coons are cute an neighborly... until you come across them in a bad way and they kick your A** or become rabid... or both... lol boy have i heard some coons n camping stories. love the recipe and C3D your Daisy sounds so adorably sweet. lol i feel your trauma too. this is a cute thread. i'm looking forward to moving to a more urban environment soon and "battling" nature. GRRRR pond wariors! lolol

When we first put our preform in 3 years ago, we couldn't keep our german shepherd out of it, so we put up an electric fence. Didn't take but a couple times of touching it with her nose and she would never go near it again, even if I was out there sitting and called her over..no way...that thing hurts! We finally took it down at the end of the season and did not need it the next two years. Sadly, she followed another dog up to the highway and was run over last fall. I was devastated. I won't have another dog that lives outside and my husband won't let me have one that lives inside. She was my baby and her name was Baby.

Nanahanna

Sorry for your loss nanahanna. I know how you feel.

Here is a link that might be useful: My pond the way it was before the freeze.

Oh Nanahanna......so sorry for your loss!
We live far off a country road, but I still keep my cat and dog inside, as "prisoners of love"! No way would I ever let them outside. We have a big fenced-in back yard, and Suzi, our dog, has to be happy with that.
Could you put up a fence in your yard? Dogs are such good companions. I'd hate to think you could never have another one!
Sometimes I feel bad for the dog.....but I just know she would somehow get hurt if we let her loose.

Chickadeedeedee......I'm sorry for your troubles, but I did have to chuckle a bit when you said you were never going in the backyard again! Sometimes the only way we can deal with things is giving up and avoiding them! At least now you have flowers and a tree! The first time I ever had a little pond (half-whiskey barrel), I bought 2 little goldfish and something killed them. That was the last time I ever had fish. I just can't stand to lose things!
But it sounds like your DH might be trying to make your life difficult again. Just don't look!!

Oh Nanahanna ..... I'm so sorry! We lost our GSD to recurring cancer last September. :-(

Catherinet ... OK. I confess. I did go out in the backyard after I posted my little story of giving up. What did I find out there? Hmmmmmm. One very dead frog by the wildlife pond. The head of a female Cardinal. No body. Just the head. The pelt of a bunny. A squirrel tail. A rabbit's foot.

That is too much Nature for me!

Nope. NEVER going out in the backyard again! Mike can get new fish I have never met and play pond with them! LOL!

3DChick

Sounds like you need an underground fence CD3 (and others). 1 loop keeps my dogs INSIDE 3 acres, and the 2nd loop keeps them OUTSIDE the ponds. Then they have their own pond (aka kiddie pool) with the occasional minnow for Emma's fishing 'habit'. And the collars are waterproof :) Won't keep out the raccoons or the neighbors dogs, but being able to let the dogs out whenever they want keeps the critters away, and roaming dogs aren't much a problem here in the sticks.

(My brand is Pet Safe, and I Love it! FAR better positive training than the other brand I had tried. Best money I ever spent!)