Need some help brainstorming

[LobsterOfJustice]

Hey all,

I have a koi pond and it is a constant battle to keep heron from eating my fish. For whatever reason, there is not a good commercially available deterrent. Anyway, I'm trying to think of some kind of small device that, when plugged in, will move and make some noise. Heron are easily spooked and the idea is to put this on a timer to go off maybe every 10 - 30 minutes. Something that is not so obnoxious that it would bother us when we are outside enjoying the yard. And it has to be outdoor weatherproof. I don't care what the device is originally designed for, as long as it makes a little bit of motion and noise!

 

[GoPitt88]

Are heron afraid of anything, like a hawk or Eagle? If so, get a figure of one and place it next to the pond. Kinda like a scarecrow! [emoji16] Have no idea if that would work.....just thinking outloud.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Apparently they are somewhat territorial and don’t really like each other, so a fake heron stature can be used to keep real ones away. However, they are smart and they will realize if it doesn’t move that it’s fake, so you need to move them around regularly. I’ve got two next to the pond, I also have a fishing line fence and no shallow/wading area (walls drop straight to 3-4’ depth. And some tacky pinwheels (which move and reflect light... again, they are easily spooked, at least the first few times. Hate the way these look but whatever works...). All of these methods may or may not kind of work, so I’m just trying to stack as many methods to make the pond less and less appetizing.

Excuse the dirt, we are still working on the landscaping around the pond...

 

[davocean]

Herons have been an issue for me as well at my last place that had a pond.
I read same thing, most of the fixes are temporary, but what worked for me was just stringing outdoor lights over my pond.
Herons need a lot of wing space, and room to land or take off, so for me the lights made them scared to land.
Maybe something like that could help you, or shade sails or similar.
My next move was going to be pond netting, but it takes away from clean pond look, glad I got lucky w/ just lights strung

 

[TessGlo]

Like your question. I have no idea if this can be done and could look obnoxious, but what if you linked an outdoor motion detection switch and/or timer to a light and a fan blowing over something that would move and make some noise, thinking hanging wind chimes, bottles, pool noodles, reflective ribbon, or light fabric the fan can move. Could be cheap to try and alter over time.