How do I raccoon proof my pond?

[Fishnut]

So I have a pond on my patio.  Right now there are w 3 goldfish in there as I make sure everything is perfect before the koi go in.  Since I know we get visited by raccoons (the raided our compost bin last year) I bought a mesh to put over the pond and secured it with bungee cords so that it is snug around the pond.

Last night the little f***ers managed to lift up the mesh enough to reach in and rip all of my newly acquired floating plants and rip them to bits.   Thankfully the fish are ok, but maybe next time they won't be.  What suggestions does anyone have for keeping them out?  We're building a new pond with stacking stones this year.  I can't exactly cover it as easily as this little pond.

[KLKelly]

At the wildlife centre we keep racoons in enclosures made of 1" welded wire.  You could find a way to secure this stuff.

We use Jclips - metal pieces that we use plyers to join two pieces of welded wire if you need wider than the rolls come in.  Its in the fencing department.

I'm sure you'll get a ton of ideas though - especially from people that keep ponds.  I just figure if it keeps racoons in - it could keep them out if you found a way to secure it.

[bergenm]

I have heard of people using motion activated sprinklers, Lee Valley carries them.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=44958&cat=2,51555&ap=2

[beowulf]

I have been doing some reading on ponds and what I often read is if possible make the center of the pond deep enoug that the predator cannot stand up and the fish should be safe.

[The Pond Boy]

Hi,

A racoon don't like to become wet, so he/she is sitting on the side and waiting for a fish coming close to him/her. Then he/she graped it out with one of the front legs and eat ofthen only the head. The other part of the fish is leaving behind.
Thanks,

Greg Veldhuizen
The Pond Boy
www.thepondboy.com

[blizzack1]

I have heard of people using motion activated sprinklers, Lee Valley carries them.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=44958&cat=2,51555&ap=2

I bought my dad one of these to keep kids from trespassing on his lawn.

Unfortunately, he returned it.

Probably for the best, as I'm sure the first victim would probably just smash it

[Fishnut]

UGH!!!  That's disgusting! 

I have been reading about making the centre of the pond deep as well.  The koi aren't friendly at night, so they should be safe.  I found out that they can climb a chain link fence, which is around the back of our yard and gates leading to the front.  That explains how they got in the back yard. 

I'm presently researching electric fences.  The pond is going to be above ground so if I can build it in a way that the vermin get a nice shock if they try to get close to it, my fish will be even more safe.  It would resemble a tight version of those rope barriers at museums when they don't want people to get too close to displays...only it will be a few inches off the ground so they get a zap if they decide to step over it and a zap if they go under it.  MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA 

I hate raccoons!!!!

[Nerine]

I'm so with you on the electric fence!!! GO FOR IT it'd be awesome hahaha
should just make your whole fence electric, it's chain link right? or stick a "cat" barrier on top...they have these sections that sit on top of chain link to keep cats IN, but if you reverse I'm sure you can keep critters OUT.

raccoons are evil evil EVIL creatures.
best of luck in deterring them!!
you can always borrow Ready for a day or two, I'm sure she'd like some fresh meat

[limmer]

Saw one one those motion sprinklers at Pets Mart on Innes marked down to $30.
On the floor near the koi tank.  Maybe if you give them a call they will hold it for you.

[Fishnut]

Wow!  That's a good price.  I'll have to see about that.  I was talking to the hubby-to-be and he's dead set against the electric fence.  Something about it being too extreme and it's for farm animals, not ponds and what if we get sued because some idiot child wanders into our back yard...etc, etc 

That's when I told him that we need to get a big dog  .  So the discussion is on hold until I find some less extreme measures

I found this though...http://www.pondsonlinecanada.com/misc7.htm

[KLKelly]

I like the electric border for the pond as well.  Racoons are only going by instinct. I'm sure the fence will keep them away.

Do the motion sprinklers work at night when the racoons are out?  I think that would work on cats not racoons - they are very intelligent.

[Fishnut]

Yes, I'm not convinced the sprinklers will work on raccoons.

I'm still longing for my fence.......

[jimskoi]

IMO.If you have to put a fence around your pond.Whats the point?It will look terribleand you wont be pleased with the outcome.
What about putting a sensor hoked up to a radio?
They do not like noise.After awhile they might just stop coming around.

Most racoons will only leave when the food is gone.
I have also heard about putting clumps of dog hair around the pond hidden in plants.

[Nerine]

ha dog hair!
it doesn't work wives tale!! birds love dog hair though
dog poop on the other hand works dandy, but who wants that!?

and an electric fence...just a wire it's pretty much invisible. and if a child hits it, it's really not that painful, well it is, but no where near as painful as a cattle fence!!!!

a radio isn't going to scare a raccoon...trust me lol I have grown up with these nasty buggers. if they want something, nothing will keep them from it unless you go to the extreme. I've woken up to the darn buggers INSIDE the house as they came through the dog door!!

[beowulf]

Get a dog!!! 

[Fishnut]

yeah...a dog would be nice...something that loves to rip up raccoons   German Shepherd mix perhaps?  HA!  Like I'm going to get his blessing on that one!

I just have to find out more about these small scale electric fences before I re-address the issue  

[Sue]

We had huskies up until this spring, and we never lost any fish. Maybe this year will be different ...we saw a raccoon on our deck just last night.

I saw at motion activated sprayer at the Canadian Wildlife Federation on the pond tour last year, and they said it works well for them. 

One of our neighbours has a single strand of electrified wire running around his pond about a foot off the ground. Its a trip hazard so I think the sprayer sounds like a safer thing to try first.

It also helps to have a rocks the fish can hide under.

[presto]

One late night sitting inside by your door, slightly open, Bait by the pond, and a pellet gun.

It's safe to use around neighbors and it's quite. Shoot from inside the house (open door) to avoid scaring the coon.

[Fishnut]

Hahahaha!  Yes, that's a great idea!

So what I decided to do is go with something taller.  Yesterday we bought a 150 gallon Rubermaid stock tank, which is 25" high.  I also kept the mesh net covering it, tightened by the bungie cords.  They can still get at it, but it's so deep that they wouldn't be able to reach mu fish unless they went for a swim...and they have the mesh to give them the idea that there's a barrier.  Last night there was no activity, so I'll see what happens over the next week or so.

[renadia]

I have also been loking into this since my Koi's are now pretty big (largest around 12 to 14") and I am in the process of changing the rocks around my pond. I read to remove flat stones because they are confortable for the racoons and I am putting boulders instead. It makes it harder for them to get a confortable position (get uneven more pointed boulders) and it makes the water access harder if your boulders are big enough.

My sister saw on TV a pond building show and they were using flat stones but instead of putting them to the edge of the pond, they were using long ones that were going in by the insdide of the pond by around 12". That way it makes a shelter for the fish under the stones for the racoons and the sun.

I still like the boulder indea better. I will let you know how it works out.

Diane

[wu-gwei]

Check out this link:
http://www.getridofthings.com/getridofraccoons.htm

I heard of a product that deters raccoons by using a motion sensing repellant from an aerosol can. I couldn't find a link for it.

I have also read you can lay down black plastic on the ground. Raccoons don't like the mushy footing. You can use black grbage bags, but that doesn't look very nice.


Cheers,
JJ

[TomA]

Google has a lot of information about racoons.

Here are a few clippings....

"Raccoons are very intelligent animals, so these exclusion tactics usually work quite well. If a raccoon tries to get food or shelter and not only can't get to it, but also feels uncomfortable, then after a couple of attempts, they will stay away and find an alternative source".

Raccoons in the Garden or Fish Pond

"Use a Scarecrow. The "Scarecrow" is good at driving interlopers away from small areas where you don't want them. It is especially effective against deer, rabbits, raccoons, dogs, and cats. The Scarecrow, which works both day and night, is equipped with a heat sensor and puts out a brief burst of water whenever it detects motion within range. This device requires a clear field of view (bushes and trees block it), a dedicated hose line, and a 9-volt battery (to power the motion detector). It covers up to 1,000 square feet and detects motion in a 100-degree arc extending outward 35 feet from the detector".

"Use an electric fence, such as Fido Shock ®, which is high voltage, low amperage, and it will not hurt the animal or you".

"Light the area with floodlights or motion detector lights".

"The raccoon evictorT/ squirrel evictorT MB10K and MB100K are high intensity strobe lights that live up to their names-raccoons, squirrels, roof rats, and other home invaders hate them. Unlike ultrasound, which provides mostly backup support for indoor raccoon control (especially insurance against re-infestation), these are attack devices. Raccoons being highly visual, they find the raccoon evictorT MB10K and MB100K grossly offensive, intolerable in fact, and they commonly leave established nests in as little as 24 hours. So in most cases where there is an attic or basement space that the resident animals must pass through to enter or leave the building, they can be evicted".

"If you have a small pond, build a wooden frame to cover the pond. Cover the frame with 1" x 2" welded wire. Secure it to the ground. This frame can be left on permanently or removed daily. Since the raccoons are nocturnal, just be sure the pond is covered at night".

"So far, we have had great success in repelling raccoons with the 0700 Deluxe Dual Speaker Pest Repellant ® from Weitech Inc. at http://www.weitech.com. They can be reached at 1-800-343-2659, if you would like to call".

"Repel ® Granules, which is a dog and cat repellant, can be sprinkled around any area where the raccoons gather, be it roof, attic, trash area etc".

"Light the area with flood lights or motion detector lights. Motion detector lights usually work the best".

"live traps work fine and can get rid of raccoons safely. One or more of these traps should be set with a raccoon bait (such as Product T-14 below) and should be placed in areas frequented by the raccoons you wish to catch or along paths commonly used by them. If you opt for live release, captured raccoons should be released far away, some say as far as 20 miles, in order to ensure they do not return".

[Fishnut]

That's a lot of fantastic information!!

Since the new pond has been up and running, the raccoons haven't done anything.  It's 25" tall and has a 2 inch rim around the edge.  It's also covered with a mesh that is secured with a bungee "belt" around the pond.  I think what had happened when they initially discovered my pond was that they stepped on the mesh, it gave to the weight of the racoon and came out of it's elastic belt.  The raccoons must have discovered this and reached under that part.  On the new pond, the mesh has more give before it escapes the belt.  What I hope I have accomplished is that if they try to climb up on the pond, the mesh will give way and make them feel uncomfortable in their possible footing so they won't try to keep at it.

I have no idea if they have tried anything and not succeeded or f they just haven't been around, but the new pond has gone undisturbed for the past 3 weeks!

[Dorrie]

"The raccoon evictorT/ squirrel evictorT MB10K and MB100K are high intensity strobe lights that live up to their names-raccoons, squirrels, roof rats, and other home invaders hate them. Unlike ultrasound, which provides mostly backup support for indoor raccoon control (especially insurance against re-infestation), these are attack devices. Raccoons being highly visual, they find the raccoon evictorT MB10K and MB100K grossly offensive, intolerable in fact, and they commonly leave established nests in as little as 24 hours.

Whoa, hope the neighbors aren't epileptic

[Nerine]

Congrats on being coon free!! hehe

yeah that article was interesting!! roof rats = pigeons? hehe some of those things dont work though I've never had luck with the granules and the scarecrow, they just get used to it and come back!

[Fishnut]

Maybe I could get one of those mechanical things that people put on their lawns on Halloween 

[Tsukiyomi-sakura]

Be carful if you decied to chase them yourselves, Iv had a racoon that wouldint budge when I chucked stones at it, even when I went after it with a broom it just stared at me. Took my little dog to scare it off. So yeah get some sort of german sheperd or even a husky crossbreed with a wolf, they can stay outdoors all year long (they also prefer it.) Even a Roman mix would do well, they have been used alot for guard dogs and tend to be agressive to small furrythings.