How to Stop Herons from Eating your Pond Fish

Herons are Skittish by nature, hence they flock together. They like ponds and lakes in wide open spaces with not a lot of vegetation around, they like to see predators and danger coming from distance.

They like shallow and soft slopping banks, they like to wade in search of their prey.

They like calm, clear and still waters, preferably ponds, they avoid fast flowing rivers, the ripples and strong currents makes it harder for them to see their prey.

They like topped up water levels, if the water levels are a lot lower, the feeding heron can not see danger coming and will find other sources of food.

Flat marsh lands, wetlands and fens are their preferred locations, knowing what the heron likes can work against them.

Herons are predators; their main food source is fish, but they are not too choosy, they will also consume amphibians, reptiles, insects and small mammals. This includes frogs and toads, newts, dragonflies, mice and an occasional rat.

Herons will consume on average 1/2 kg of fish a day or 2 lbs in old money, that is not too much, but when they are hunting in a flock and they will return day after day until your stock of fish is depleted.

Large Common Carp

This is the great Blue Heron catching and consuming a large Common Carp. This Common Carp is approximately 3 to 4 lbs, 1.5 kg to 2 kg. This is way above the Herons daily food intake, more like a weeks worth of food. But this does not stop the Heron from consuming the Carp.

This is some ordeal for the Heron to consume this much food, the average Heron weighs 5.5 lbs to 6.5 lbs, 2.5 kg to 3 kgs.

This is uncomfortable for a Heron to consume large fish, but, it will not stop the preying Herons from taking your large fish.

Click on the image to enlarge

Yes, as you can see above they can swallow very large fish whole. They have no teeth or ways of chewing their food, so they do have to swallow them whole.

Herons will turn their prey around and swallow them head first, this is so the spiky dorsal, scales and pectoral fins will flatten against the fish's body so it will go down the Herons throat smoothly and not damage the Herons throats.

The Herons stomach is not like a human sack shape stomach, but in fact it is a tube shaped, called the proventriculus. Although the fish can thrash around inside the narrow tube, its muscles holds it in one direction, so it can not turn around. The proventriculus will then secrete gastric acid, which quickly ends the fish's life and the digestion process begins.

Sounds horrific for the fish.

Heron usually fish from Dawn to Dusk, but under a full moon, Herons will hunt and feed at night.

As much as I agree with the question, unfortunately you can not shoot Herons, even if they are stealing your fish - herons are a protected species.

In Great Britain the heron is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and in Northern Ireland, 1985.

For anyone who is wilfully killing or attempting to kill a heron will be fined or imprisoned.

A Government licence can be issued to owners of commercial fisheries whose lively hoods are in danger. A Licence to kill small numbers of herons can be issued in very limited circumstances. These would normally be issued to where all other non-lethal methods have been shown to be ineffective.

There is no provision to issue such licences to protect ornamental fish. Owners of ornamental fish ponds who are concerned about the activities of herons should try and use preventative methods to make the area less attractive to herons and provide protection for the fish.

The Heron is shy and skittish by nature. Upon sight of a human they usually fly away. In general, humans are more of threat to the heron.

Have you ever heard the saying, 'My Dog does not Bite', well I am not going to say that Herons wont attack humans. But, If your climbing a tree, up towards its nest, to steal its eggs, I would not be surprised if the female did not have a go. Mother nature.

Over the last few days I have read a multitude of Tips, Tales, Techniques and Videos. For every method, there are multiple comments says it works, it does not work. What I did discover was that most pond owners use a combination of one or two methods. There is no full proof method, well there is, but it is very ugly and not practical. Which method you chose, is up to yourselves, all I can do is explain each method.

For most pond owners they never get this problem, but for others, it can be a nightmare with regular heron attacks. They have very good memories and keep coming back.

Full Pond Netting is the most full proof method as long as it is fitted correctly. Personally, I think they are both ugly, but if it saves my fish, I would consider it.

Large Gage Pond Netting

Small Gage Pond Netting

The image on the left, may seem practical in stopping a heron from stealing your fish. Unfortunately it does not stop them from having a go. The Heron can spike a fish through the mesh, it will not get it through, but it will probably kill the fish.

The image on the right is really ugly but it is really effective. The Herons can not get to your fish, neither can you appreciate them, sadly.

Motion Sprinkler System is a modern method which I like and it has probably the best success rate. Once a heron swoops in, it triggers the motion sensor and sets off a burst of water and scares off the Heron and other predators.

It takes a bit of setting up, getting the sensors and direction correctly, you do not want to get wet whilst admiring your pond and fish. But once it is done, it is effective not just for Herons but other predators like cats and occasionally foxes.

Depending upon the size of you pond, you may need 2 or 3 Motion Sprinkler Systems set up to cover all directions.

Motion Sprinkler Systems can be found on most online sellers and major retailers, they start from £18.99 to £45, not too expensive.

I believe this to be the most effective method of protecting your fish against herons and other predators.

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Heron tripwires are very cost effective, some pond owners swear by it, whilst the video proves it is not full proof.

This is easy and very cost effective method. You need a few stakes planted randomly around the pond perimeter. Then fix fishing line, approximately 80lb line, to the stakes in a spiders web pattern. Criss crossing them at different heights.

It is believed that an approaching heron feeling the fishing line on their legs, this spooks them and they fly off.

a lot of pond owners swear by this simple method, but it is not full proof.

If you are planning to construct a pond or willing to re-construct your pond there is Theory for you to consider.

The Right Pond Construction

The Theory or method is a bit scientific and I am not convinced that it is full proof. I would think long and hard about this method before you start ripping up your pond.

Herons are waders, and like to wade through the shallows to stalk their prey. This is true. What experts say is, Herons do not fish in water above feet deep, if heron can not wade, they do not feed. Therefore it is said, if you make your pond with vertical sides and above 2 feet in depth, you will not have a heron problem.

I am not convinced on this theory, I believe that herons will still stand on the bank edges, waiting for its prey to swim past. In my pond it wont be long if its my fish, as soon as someone comes near the pond they shoal up and come to the surface as they think they are going to get fed.

The Wrong Pond Construction

I believe that 95% of our ponds are constructed the wrong way to deter herons. We build them the wrong way, which is the right way for us. We like to have shelves and layers to our pond designs. We can decorate the shallows with plants and decorative rocks, with the steep sided pond, it is recommended that you use floating plants.

I believe this method not to be practicable and I will not be re-constructing my pond anytime soon. There are better methods to deter herons.

The position of your new pond could be effective, build it as close to your house or buildings as possible. Herons like ponds in open spaces, they get skittish around buildings. I have read reports of London suburban ponds that hungry herons will dive bomb ponds, even submerging themselves to catch their prey. When this happens most preventive methods go out the window.

A hungry bird will evolve.

Now we are getting into it, this is serious piece of Kit and extreme measures. Now I am sure this will work above all over methods.

The Velda Pond Protector

The Velda Pond Protector is an Electric Fence. Before you get shocked, Velda is a company dedicated to pond supplies. Velda build its first Aquarium in 1969 and now have shops and authorised sallers in 30 countries.

Velda is continuously on the search for improvement of its products, whereas it is also working on the development of new products and technologies.

Please be assured, Velda has researched and developed this safe product. No one wants to harm Herons, just scare them off.

This looks very easy to set up, arrange the stakes around the pond, connect the low voltage wire to the stakes, connect the earth wire and power it up.

The Velda Pond Protector

You would fit this extreme measure if herons are getting through other deterrents you may have installed. The electric fence will give the preying heron a small “shock” every time they touch it. This shock, although not dangerous, is plenty to scare even the most stubborn predators away.

This product is reasonably priced around £65 and available from most online sales outlets.

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What are Heron Decoys? They are plastic replicas of birds of prey, cats, and other Herons.

Falcon Decoy

Herons will always circle a pond from above, surveying the area, looking for predators and prey. It will only swoop down when it thinks it is safe.

If the heron sees a predator, hopefully, it will fly away.

There are reports from pond owners that preying herons will actually attack the plastic decoys. If they are hungry enough and frustrated enough, that every time they fly over, it is there. Herons have exceptional memories, therefore if you chose this method, move the plastic decoy around, dont keep it in the same position all the time. Other Heron decoys are ok, as long as it is bigger than the preying one, they will feel threatenend by a larger bird which they do not recognise,

Heron Decoy

Decoys are a cost effective method to deter preying herons. Problem is, they are not that pleasing on the eye, most cheap models are tacky and do not belong in a nice garden. I would chose wisely, decoys start from £5.99 and can be expensive for more effective and pleasing models.

Available on online retailers and in most garden centers.

There are plenty of other methods, some are wives tales, but like I said in the opening paragraph, most pond owners will use a combination of methods.

Hanging Chimes - are quite pleasant, not out of place in a garden, when there is a breeze the chimes clang together making an unusual noise to a preying heron, it scares it away.

Hanging moblie of Old CD's - Are a very effective way of scaring off preying herons. Simply connect three old cd's with fishing line and hang them up. When the wind blows, they will spin, catching the sunlight, sending random beams of light out, which will scare off the preying herons.

Have a Pond Fountain Feature - this will cause ripples across your pond making it hard for the heron to see its prey. Additionally the random jets of water can scare off the herons

Pond Grids and Floating Flower Beds - These act as a deterrent by moving around the pond, moving items scare the herons, they also act as hiding platforms for the fish.

Moving Windmills and other Moving Ornaments - These a kind of self explanatory, any decorative ornaments like windmills, nodding dogs, water activated features, water wheels can deter the preying herons.