I think we may have a raccoon visiting our pond. Today, one of our goldfish went missing. We’ve had him and his two mates since they were “feeder fish”. All three are about 8"-10" in length. They get along quite well with our two large koi and Brute, the bullfrog.

So today, I noticed one of the goldfish missing. We have the pond partially covered with a net, in case anyone was wondering. A Blue heron visits occasionally, but not so in at least a year. And we’ve been home and in the yard all week with the grandchildren, so I doubt it’s the bird.

I did a quick search for raccoon deterrents and found mixed reviews on all of them. So I’m asking for some advice on how to deter raccoons.

It may be a raccoon but in my own ponds I always discovered it was a possum… I know this because we set humane traps to catch the bugger and was I surprised when I came out one morning and found mama possum trapped in the cage with its babies sitting outside the cage!
I never had any luck with any type of deterrents, once a animal finds a food source it will keep coming back.
You either have to trap it or net the entire pond to keep your fish safe.
We made up removable nets to put on our pond, they go on/off in just a few minutes.
Keeps our fish safe while we are not out there, and makes it easy to enjoy when we are.

Thanks vince. I thought as much, on the deterrent issue that is. A few years ago, I got suckered into buying one of those water activated scarecrows, thinking it would scare off the Heron. What a joke 1 We sat in our kitchen and watched as the bird got soaked by the thing and never flinched. Fortunately the bird didn’t get close enough to the pond, though it was moving in that direction, no matter how much water was being sprayed at it.

I haven’t seen possums around here for many years. I’ll bet it’s been at least twenty-five years since we had any possums.

You may want to try contacting your local environmental agencie they may have traps you can use to try and trap whatever it is getting into your pond.
I was lucky and my neighbor was a firefighter, they had traps at the station I was able to use to catch the critter(s).
They even came and took them away, they released them by a near by stream.

Dan,

Our biggest fish loss has been a Blue Heron. I made a 1/2" PVC pipe frame (painted black so it doesn’t show as much) with bird netting. That and some 80# test fishing line to make their flyway difficult has eliminated the threat (unnoticeable). Racoons come around at night and would knock over my light house and other assorted decor around the pond and railroad. The Scarecrow didn’t work to prevent that much. I found what is called the Predator Eye. I was skeptical of it’s claims at first but have had no more damage from “night prowlers”. It’s just a red LED randomly blinking solar light and it seems to work very well. They’re cheap and easy to install. Here’s a link to Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Aspectek-Predator-Nighttime-Powered-Repeller/dp/B00KBAIGQO?ie=UTF8&Version=1&entries=0

I read the reviews on the RED LED light. The people that had raccoon problems gave the device a thumbs down. I read where moth balls are a good deterrent. I would hesitate to place them on the ground, but if I could hang a container that had holes on the bottom, that might be a possibility. Then I would be concerned about leeching being so near the pond. It’s becoming too clear that netting is going to be the best solution.

This is what I use to deter the Raccoons from visiting my house anymore, we had three that decided to make our rooftop the place to decide which was going to be king of the neighborhood. After a few nights of convincing, old Red decided for them, there backsides are still probably sore! I have ZERO guilt for doing so, these are varmits, not pets and can be very destructive in allowed to be particularly in an urban environment, its very necessary to establish boundaries with these critters.

Vic, I wish you would quit messing around…

I trapped three that were eating my chickens and transported them about 20 miles away into a wilderness area. That was three years ago, have not had a visit since. I don’t like killing things if I don’t have to plus it was a challenge to catch them. I respect raccoons even if they are bandits. They are quite smart and very dexterous. I couldn’t blame them for loving chicken nuggets

I agree with Vincent…once the coons find a food source nothing is going to stop them from trying to get to it. The screens might slow them down but not for long. It’s amazing how strong and nasty they are. I have tried all kinds of gizmos to try to keep them out of my pond but trapping and removing them seems to be the only solution. Last year I trapped 24 and my pond is only 70 feet long. I must have gotten most of them because (so far) I have only trapped one.

And for the herons, I have had very good success with stringing fishing line across the pond, spaced about 5’ apart. The herons could walk in but I believe they can’t flap their huge wings without getting tangled. We had many, many heron visits before I tried the fishing line and saw them carry off many a fish. But since I started using the fishing line we haven’t had one.

Yes, raccoons are very smart, and opportunistic. Once they figure out that your deterrent is no threat to them, they will be back. I scared off one the other night, well, my dog did. And so far I have seen no evidence that he has been back. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been back.

I tried the mothball thing before, and I can say, in my case, it was a waste of time.

So I would have to say that trapping and relocating the buggers is probably the best bet. Although that may not actually be legal in your area. But at this time of year, the mother raccoon’s dens have kits. So if you trap and relocate a mother raccoon, you are making the kits orphans, and they will parish at this age, without their mom.

Dan Padova said:

I read the reviews on the RED LED light. The people that had raccoon problems gave the device a thumbs down. I read where moth balls are a good deterrent. I would hesitate to place them on the ground, but if I could hang a container that had holes on the bottom, that might be a possibility. Then I would be concerned about leeching being so near the pond. It’s becoming too clear that netting is going to be the best solution.

Dan, I guess better jump in and and write the Positive review on the Predator Eye. It’s worth a shot they’re only $20 for two, Good Luck raccoons are a pain.

Herons are territorial, and tend not to poach on another’s territory. I’ve been told that a close to life size statue of a heron near the pond will keep the others away, especially if you move it every second or third day.

Coyote urine keeps other critters away. No, you can’t smell it, but they can. Human urine works well, too, I’ve been told. The first one you can get at the garden store, the second, you can supply yourself.

Steve, since I do, I mean, since I have, um, er, deposited some human urine next to the trash cans, and since the trash cans have been foraged in, I wonder. How often does one have to apply human urine for it to be effective?

David Maynard said:

Steve, since I do, I mean, since I have, um, er, deposited some human urine next to the trash cans, and since the trash cans have been foraged in, I wonder. How often does one have to apply human urine for it to be effective?

You’re axing me? How effective has it been?

Steve, I have one of those life size Heron statues. I haven’t used it for a few years but might place it out there now.

Another little critter that seems to like our place are chipmunks, or as my granddaughter likes to call them, chickmunks. I’ve trapped seven of the little buggers in the past week and relocated them several miles away.

Many people think of chipmunks as cute little creatures. They are indeed. But they can be worse than having mice in the house. Two years ago, I was renovating our mudroom. That portion of the house is built over an old brick patio. I tore the floor up because I was putting radiant heat in. When I removed the flooring and subfloor, I found that chipmunks had made themselves a very nice home under there. What a mess. It’s hard to describe other than it looked like they had chewed the insulation and spit it out as curly cheese puffs.

So I don’t feel guilty about trapping them and bringing them somewhere far away. Even if it’s one at a time, they’ll figure it out.

Steve Featherkile said:

David Maynard said:

Steve, since I do, I mean, since I have, um, er, deposited some human urine next to the trash cans, and since the trash cans have been foraged in, I wonder. How often does one have to apply human urine for it to be effective?

You’re axing me? How effective has it been?

It hasn’t been. That’s why I ask if maybe I should be “depositing” some there more often.

David Maynard said:

Steve Featherkile said:

David Maynard said:

Steve, since I do, I mean, since I have, um, er, deposited some human urine next to the trash cans, and since the trash cans have been foraged in, I wonder. How often does one have to apply human urine for it to be effective?

You’re axing me? How effective has it been?

It hasn’t been. That’s why I ask if maybe I should be “depositing” some there more often.

It’s a good excuse to have another beer !

Dan Padova said:

David Maynard said:

Steve Featherkile said:

David Maynard said:

Steve, since I do, I mean, since I have, um, er, deposited some human urine next to the trash cans, and since the trash cans have been foraged in, I wonder. How often does one have to apply human urine for it to be effective?

You’re axing me? How effective has it been?

It hasn’t been. That’s why I ask if maybe I should be “depositing” some there more often.

Maybe it’s only effective when you’re actually making the deposit?

It’s a good excuse to have another beer !