Herons are majestic and attractive birds that have only one flaw: they are opportunistic predators that would love to eat your Koi. That’s why as you take care of your Koi, you must be always on guard, never leaving your pond unattended.

These are cunning and deceitful birds: they might seem harmless when you first notice them lurking around your Koi garden. Standing around 2 to 3 feet tall, they have a very wide wingspan, with a graceful appearance. But never be fooled by their looks, for what you’re looking at are predators on the prowl, ready to snatch up your fish!

When you look at your pond and you’ve noticed that you’re lacking some fish, greater chances is that the heron is the suspect. When you notice some large gaping holes in the sides of your fish, this is an indicator that a heron have attempted to catch your fish, but just didn’t have the necessary grip to get it successfully. Other cases include a fish lying on the lawn located 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 that you can do to avoid these 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 prevent the heron from landing on that specific spot. This may work for parts of the season, but may prove ineffective when the mating season begins, as they may land near the plastic heron when they’re looking for their mate.

[phpbay]plastic heron, 2, “”, “”[/phpbay]

2) Make some noises – If you catch a heron about to go for your fish, make as much noise as you can and physically frighten it. You can yell at it, cast things at it, or whatever ways that can give a scare to it. Remember: the more frightened it is, the lesser chance there is for its return any time soon.

3) Alter your routine – You can change your routine always. These birds are smart enough to know that you are around. Visit your pond as frequent as you can so that you will be able to increase your chances of catching herons in the act. If you’re unable to do it, you can ask or enlist someone to visit your pond instead. 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) Create a hiding spot for your Koi – You can create a hiding spot for your Koi 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’ll reduce significantly the amount of fish that the heron will catch (don’t fret if your Koi seems like they’re hiding from you, because they know that you will not harm them)!).

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.

[phpbay]koi carp fish, 4, “”, “”[/phpbay]