Please go to the top of the forum type in Blue Heron Problems in the search box. Click on search and there are 35 posts with as much discussion on each. I have a net stretched over mine and since it doesn't droop down into the pond stays very clean. Hardly noticable at all. Just agravating when I need to get in the pond to clean or get out spent lily pads and blooms. Glenda

Hi Pikecoe-can you tell me what type of netting you purchased, and where you found it? The netting we are using is black and is think-thus it is falling into the water. Maybe a thin netting that virtually "disappears" would do the trick- and not be so heavy and eventually droop into the water. Thank you, in advance!

You can buy bird netting for fruit trees which is black and lightweight at any garden center.

I use an owl decoy and haven't had anymore problems since.

I have never had to use it (thank God) but I have heard that fishing line criss-crossed back and forth over the pond works as a deterrent. Plus it's almost invisible. Worth a try if nothing else is working.

Derrick

I have a floating alligator decoy and it has worked VERY well for me.

None of the above worked for me but the net. I've tried them all. Including electric fence that the Heron ducked under the top strand while stepping over the bottom strand never missing a step. I bought my net online from azponds.com There are others that have them also. I like the black ones. I got one once that was green and it didn't look as good. Glenda

I have heard that the trick is to put fishing wire high above the garden so the heron cant escape well, this will put them off. I havnt actually tried it but i am going to. They will learn to over come most things we do so i guess the best way is a mixture of netting and fishing wire. They are a right pain and i dont envy you!

I haven't had a problem with herons since I put a set of two herons by the pond. I move them once in a while just in case the fly over remembers their positions. I also have a black bird net over the pond which is supported by the framework of a gazebo top but I will be removing that for the summer. I have a scarecrow water cannon that works very well especially for critters. It is a matter of getting it set up correctly for the maximum effect. Sandy

I use the kind of netting that you use to cover fruit trees. It seems to "disappear" better than other netting. I've had people come back to look at the pond and never realize that the thing is netted! Most garden centers carry them.

The lady at the garden pond center at home said she came home an found a Heron trying to mate with her decoy. So if you're going that route, be sure to put 2 decoys, so they will think it is a pair. I have read that the decoys will work until the Heron gets desparate for food for their babies and sees other Herons and feels that this might a good feeding place. Glenda

I went to walmart and bought cheap veil material in the fabric department. I think it's about 50 cents a yard or less. I stretch it across the pond at night but it's easily taken off during the day...I use it in the fall to keep the leaves out too.

Great Blue discovered our koi pond last February and took one fish. I went right out and bought a heron decoy and some netting at our pond supply store. Since it was freezing cold and pitch dark, I decided to just put out the decoy and put up the netting the next day. My daughter awakened me with the news that the heron was back and she saw it take off with a little orange tail flapping in its beak. (sigh)

I fired the decoy ... took it back to the store and got my money back. Installed the netting and haven't had a problem since. True, it detracts from the natural beauty of the pond, but I'm slowly getting used to it and it sure beats providing herons with a $300 a plate buffet! The material I have is very stretchy and is pulled quite tight, so it doesn't dip into the irregular 11 x 14 pond. We remove it if we're going to be out there enjoying the pond for any length of time or if we're going to be entertaining out there. But I wouldn't leave my pond unprotected for two minutes at this point.

I've read and heard that the herons, just like deer, will eventually become used to the motion-activated sprinklers ... if the sprinklers even pick up the heron's slow, stealthy movement.

When building the pond, we made the plant shelves nice and deep (so raccoons couldn't use them as a fishing platform), and covered them with river rock, as I'd heard the herons didn't like that surface. Well, the quirky little koi have pushed just about all the rocks off the shelves, leaving themselves open to these feathered hunters.

I admire those Great Blues every day as I cross the bridge over the salt marsh near my home ... just don't want them in my pond (NIMBY syndrome, lol).

Good luck with your pond and fish. I wouldn't trust anything less than the netting ... you'll get used to it.

Diane

I'm a bit testy right now since I have been reading political blogs but I will try to keep my thoughts civil for this forum. Glenda's garden center lady hit the problem right on the nose. It takes 2 decoys to keep a heron away. I would love to have seen it. Lol! It seems that herons are territorial and mate for life. There is no such thing as interfering with the territory of a mated pair until the breeding season is over. By that time the whole gang is chatty with everyone again and getting ready to head to warmer climes.
If you must use a net, try to make its deployment as attractive as possible. Ponds are for pretty.
The scarecrow is not cheap. It is also triggered by body heat as well as movement. It is not set off by waterfalls but can be set off by birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossum, cats, dogs and the stray landscaper or teenage trespasser. Every summer we have birds set it off deliberately so they can enjoy a refreshing shower just as they have learned to control the doors at Lowes, Home Depot and many other places that sell bird seed. The cats chill out just beyond the scarecrows range. The dogs run in circles trying to find the source and getting blasted repeatedly. It works on raccoons mostly. Opossums avoid it after one soaking. They are not interested in fish, I guess.
The slow movement by the herons is trumped by their body heat. Sandy

I sympathize with your plight. We lost about 10 fish before we figured out what was going on and actually saw the heron. He comes in the very early morning so that was just pure luck on our part. I thought I was clever and actually bought 2 scarecrows. I had that pond covered 180 degrees! I witnessed as he walked right past them into the pond. Didn't mind the blast at all. Very effective on squirrels and my poor dog however, and I think I injured a little bird with those damn things. Netting is the only deterrent that worked for me. I'm not about to string wire across the pond as we are constantly in and out of it. Use bird netting - it's virtually undetectable and cheap. I've purchased decorative four foot posts and stretch the netting over them so that it hangs 3/4 of the way down the posts. This allows birds, toads and frogs access to the pond without getting caught in it. Easy to pull off when you need to. The only thing I've sacrificed are dragonflies. They don't like flying under the net unfortunately. We have not lost a single fish since we put up the netting.

Plans for a DIY scarecrow are here, good advice too.

Here is a link that might be useful: predators

so we have a different problem..our heron is white!! LOL..not funny really I am teary because he/she is relentless, taken all little ones, MAYBE one hiding, including our own baby koi! (well, you know, not OUR baby..lol)and my beau caught him once and he dropped the lg comet in his mouth, who still died..:>( I am so distressed, I TOO love the herons but..NIMBY!!! so, we HAD an electric wire for 'coons, and fishing line..took it down a while ago, and since then, our lillies have even pooped out so NO cover for fishies..then the heron came..line is back up but not working, time for netting..thanks for all the posts, sad for all who lost beautiful fishes..our 3 koi are huge now so maybe they'll survive. ah the joys and losses of Fl living ;>) Debbie W Melb

Sounds like an egret--different bird, same appetite

Herons know no boundaries. It doesn't matter if you live in Fl or Timbuktu. If your bird was white it must be a different species of big bird. But it really doesn't matter what kind he is if he likes fish. Glenda

oh I know , was just kidding, in a black humor kind of way. He is a big bird, so I assumed heron, not egret. Not great white maybe but big... and he keeps coming back..! Beau scared him away today but good..time for netting me thinks..thanks! D

I have deer netting stretched tightly about 6 inches above the pond. It stays nice and dry, the pond water is clean and clear, leaves fall onto the netting and birds stay out of the netting. For the first time (so far!), I've not lost any fish this spring to marauding birds. I'll remove the netting in late May or early June, after all the trees have leafed out and provide the pond protection. I only lose fish in the spring, before the leaves have appeared.

Thank you, everyone who has answered. We still have our ugly, heavy netting over the pond. I will search out who has the best price for a very large piece of the bird netting. Our pond is an 18' round, so I will need a really large (probably expensive) piece of the bird netting. Thanks again!~Donna

You also might want to check out the deer netting....I can't even tell it's over the pond until the afternoon light hits it just right. And, it's not expensive. I purchased mine at a local farm store.

I cover my pond with black pond netting, purchased at a garden store, late fall - spring. You can't really see the black netting till you are up close. If I bothered to tuck it under most of my top edging rocks, which I don't, the pond would look pretty natural.
Now, follow the link below to a recent post on bunching water hyacinth so it doesn't get in the skimmer. The same solution also works for deterring heron, which are plentiful in my area and have cleaned out my pond(before I used netting) in the past. Also, note my pond is 40 in deep in the center and I have hiding places for the koi too.

Here is a link that might be useful: my pond with floating flora islands

donnaroe-
We usually have had a night heron show up. We had an alligator (decoy) for a while, but I think what has worked best for us has been fishing line. We have stakes (lengths of copper pipe) places all around the pond and string the line all around. In the best places for a heron to get the fish, we double or triple up the lines.

It is supposed to confuse them and halt their progress on approaching the pond.

Pictures of your pond and information on hot spots might help you get better responses, too.

Good luck!

There are white herons BTW. Egrets are smaller than white herons.

I use a black bird net bought at Wal-mart. I pounded six 24" rebar, 3 to a side. I then put black plastic piping over the rebar to it arches over the pond. On top of that I stretched the netting and secured it with electrical zip fasteners in various places.

I can lift the whole thing off or just one end if I need to access part of the pond and slip it right back on when done. I live in Great Blue Heron land and they fly over my house at any time.

After a few years of no fish being eaten I thought I'd take it off and put up a double row of fencing on the edge and also strung fishing line in triple rows. It was not a day or two the heron came back and ate another fish, so I put my portable net back up.

My net extends beyond the edges of the pond by about 12 to 18 inches but is open by about 12" so frogs can move in and out safely and also birds. Herons won't duck under it.

From nancyd: "Use bird netting - it's virtually undetectable and cheap. I've purchased decorative four foot posts and stretch the netting over them so that it hangs 3/4 of the way down the posts. This allows birds, toads and frogs access to the pond without getting caught in it. Easy to pull off when you need to. The only thing I've sacrificed are dragonflies. They don't like flying under the net unfortunately. We have not lost a single fish since we put up the netting."

I like the idea of using decorative poles so I may switch out my black tubing. The black netting is invisible from not so far away from the pond, but I can see my piping even though it looks OK I'd rather not see much at all. I'd like this to go straight across with no hanging down and take it out beyond the pond edge right up to the pondside plantings. I think I would like it to be 12" off the top of the water and pulled very tight. Thanks for the idea Nancy!