Herons are beautiful, majestic birds that have one major flaw. Herons love to feast on Koi, and where better then to find Koi then an unattended Koi pond or garden?

Of course, finding one of these birds, with their rather large wingspan, in your garden is a pleasant surprise under different circumstances. But not if you have a pond in your garden. If you do then you do not want these birds to be visiting it in order to feast on your Koi.

Herons are usually to blame if your Koi go missing and they often leave evidence that they were there. You might notice that some of your fish have nasty looking holes on their sides. This happens when the bird fails to get a proper grip on the fish. Also, they sometimes remove a fish only to drop it away from the pond for you to find. Unfortunately, nobody has yet come up with a way to completely prevent Herons from visiting your pond, but there are some things you can try that might be beneficial.

While there are many types of technical equipment available to attempt to detour Herons, you will quickly find that these types of detours will only work for a small amount of time.

Other types of deter ants available on the market these days work by causing some discomfort to the birds without harming them. However, Herons will eventually become used to this and it will no longer be effective in discouraging the birds from snapping up your Koi.

Basically, the only thing you can do is to keep a watch out for them. You cannot prevent them from coming but you can reduce their presence.

1.do not stick to the same routine. Herons can be surprisingly observant and intelligent and will learn when you are likely to be around. Instead change your routine and try to visit the pond numerous times throughout the day. Chances are you will catch the Herons in the very act of stealing you fish. If you work during the day try to get other people you know to pay visits to the pond to check up on things for you. Some people even enlist the neighborhood kids to help as well.

2)If you catch a Heron in the act, make as much noise and frighten the Heron as much as you physically can. Shout, yell, throw things, or whatever you feel will scare the Heron. The more frightened the Heron is, the less chance he is to return anytime soon.

3)Create a hiding place in your pond for your Koi. More natural Koi pond owners have noticed that after a Heron attacks a pond, it may seem that the Heron has got all the fish, only to notice that the Koi start appearing from strange hiding places once the scare is over. If you purposely provide a place for your Koi to hide in the event of an attack, you greatly reduce the amount of fish that a Heron will leave with. Do not worry about your Koi hiding from you, as they should know and trust that you will not hurt (or eat) them.

4.Finally, do not add more Koi to your pond if Herons have reduced the numbers of fish. Rather, allow some time to pass. Eventually the birds will look elsewhere for a more readily available meal.