Deterring Birds from your Pond

It’s lovely to have birds come into your backyard, but not when they are going to treat your pond as their personal buffet. The best way to help keep your fish from being eaten by birds is by putting a net over the top of your pond which we know isn’t the look most people are going for. This doesn’t have to be a permanent solution though. Once the bird realises that in cannot get into the pond it will soon leave, but we can’t exactly guarantee when the bird will give-up and when another bird may come in and investigate when it sees that fleck of gold that may indicate a feed.

With our years of experience and feedback from customers we have come up with a few ways to help deter birds from your pond. Although depending on the bird these may not be 100% foolproof.

• Ornamental Birds (Herons, Owls) – This is the most common method people try. Having ornamental snakes or birds of prey around the pond can help. Commonly people use owls or heron statues, as these may deter another bird coming down to another’s food source. This can work but you do have to move the statues around otherwise the birds will wise up to it.
• Ornamental Floaters – The movement of a floating ornament can help keep birds at bay, but also provides the fish with some cover.
• Bird Feeders - Having another food source may help deter them from your pond especially if it’s a lot easier to get to.
• Sun catchers or Wind chimes – These can help by startling the birds with flashes of light from the reflecting sunlight or loud noises caused by the wind. People have used Old CD’s around their pond to create reflecting light to scare the birds.
• Plants, Logs or Tunnels – Having lots of cover for the fish will help greatly. Fish are not all that dumb. They will try and hide if there are birds around and if these hiding places are too hard for the birds to access they will eventually move off.
• Gazebo – Having a gazebo or some sort of structure over the pond will help to hide the fish from view and might fit in better than a net.
• Water Movement – This is really important for ponds anyway to help keep a healthy environment. Water Movement can create bubbles or a shimmering affect that can help reduce visibility. Add a spillway or waterfall to your pond or simply use an air pump to create bubbles in the water.
• Motion Activated Sprinkler – These have a motion sensor that will send a jet of water spraying at anything that comes by the pond.
• Pets - Having a dog in the yard may deter birds and other predators.

Remember, none of these options are guaranteed, but they can help deter birds and keep your fish safe.