Looking for Ways to Discourage Raccoons from Fishing in Our Backyard Pond

[Lisak1]

Lights off. Bubbler on. Some kind of plant cover so they aren't so easily seen. Do you have a waterfall? Keep it running. Anything to make it harder to see the fish in the water.

I might even go so far as to lay rolls of barbed wire fencing on the ground all around the pond. You have a small pond - it would be easy enough to do. Just put it out at dusk and let the little buggers try to walk on that!

 

[snoozer]

Made us wonder if the thing wasn't rabid or something as you sure don't usually see them during the day. We stayed far away from it!

They will look for food during the day, especially is they have young ones to feed.

 

[j.w]

Lights off. Bubbler on. Some kind of plant cover so they aren't so easily seen. Do you have a waterfall? Keep it running. Anything to make it harder to see the fish in the water.

I might even go so far as to lay rolls of barbed wire fencing on the ground all around the pond. You have a small pond - it would be easy enough to do. Just put it out at dusk and let the little buggers try to walk on that!

That reminds me, I did put down small flat boards in certain area's around my pond w/short tacks sticking upwards to ward those beasts away. Just enough to give and ouch but not really hurt them. I'm not into hurting critters out there that are just trying to survive.
They just need to move on to another food source, thank you very much

 

[BSquared18]

That reminds me, I did put down small flat boards in certain area's around my pond w/short tacks sticking upwards to ward those beasts away. Just enough to give and ouch but not really hurt them. I'm not into hurting critters out there that are just trying to survive.
They just need to move on to another food source, thank you very much View attachment 160171

View attachment 160170

Not a bad idea, j.w. Much easier to set up and take down than the framed screens that I've used before. I might start with just a couple and see if the camera catches images of the raccoons avoiding them.

 

[BSquared18]

Lights off. Bubbler on. Some kind of plant cover so they aren't so easily seen. Do you have a waterfall? Keep it running. Anything to make it harder to see the fish in the water.

I might even go so far as to lay rolls of barbed wire fencing on the ground all around the pond. You have a small pond - it would be easy enough to do. Just put it out at dusk and let the little buggers try to walk on that!

No lights means no camera images to review. Unless we switch to ultraviolet lighting, which is an investment we're not ready to make now. Yes we have a waterfall but wish to save on energy by not running it all night. All day is enough. J.w.'s idea about using several small boards with tacks sticking out might have the same result without having to deal with rolls of barbed wire. As you mention, the pond is small enough that either method might work.

 

[j.w]

@Trapper I had to put up a short wire fence all around my pond and it's attached to a fishing net that is above to keep out the heron. Also added some thin short boards around the edge of the pond where the raccoon usually tried to enter. The tiny spikes sticking up won't really injure them, just makes them back off!

You can see the little spike board on the ground where they seemed to like to try to get in all the time. Now I don't see them at all anymore. Can't be sure this is why..............maybe they all got shot by mad neighbors?

 

[bagsmom]

Raccoon during the day. Something we don't see where we are. Squirrels, rabbits, etc. but no raccoons.

We had one that we saw frequently during the day. I called our Dept. of Natural Resources and they said if it didn't look sick or otherwise weird, it was probably a nursing mother, needing to eat frequently so she could feed hungry babies. Sure enough, that turned out to be the case.
We noticed the same thing with our resident owls. When it's baby time, the adults are out and about at all hours, hunting and feeding.
I don't know if this applies in your situation, but I thought it was interesting!

 

[Guestie]

This is why I keep a form-fitted wire screen over my pond.

My first bad experience was waking up one morning to find the shells of all of my Japanese snails eviscerated and spread all over the terrace.

Then the raccoons had the effrontery up uproot the helvola lilies.

The last straw was when they went after my goldies.

The screen is weighted down with moss covered paving bricks. It is not beautiful .. but a workable solution.

 

[GBBUDD]

50 mouse traps set around the pond will make them think twice but don't be surprised if you catch others. i did not bait the traps just placed them where i knew was a good fishing spot . my pond is rather large

 

[GBBUDD]

Racoons do not need light to see their pray. they are primarily nocturnal and have excellent night vision

 

[Kelly H]

Below is a link to a video showing a family of raccoons fishing for small goldfish in our backyard pond (evening of Aug 27, 2023). The warm season started out with two dozen small feeder goldfish that we rescued from a local pet store. Ironically, now they've become feeders for racoons. Near the end of the video, it looks like one raccoon is exiting the pond area with a fish in its mouth. You may understand that it's easy to become attached to those little guys (little fish, not little raccoons).

I've started to research options for making the pond less attractive to the raccoons. Two main categories seem to be products such as animal urine or other anti-animal chemicals, and devices that broadcast ultrasonic sounds and/or pulse lights to scare away animals.

If you know of anything that works well to encourage raccoons to look elsewhere for their evening meals, please describe it in this thread. If I try something out, I'll post the results on this thread.

Thanks,
Bill

I would add a pond sprinkler that shoots water up - your pond is small enough that an Aquascape water pump would cover the whole pond keeping those masked bandits (and everyone else away). Also the ripple from the water would provide oxygen for your fish

 

[j.w]

I would add a pond sprinkler that shoots water up - your pond is small enough that an Aquascape water pump would cover the whole pond keeping those masked bandits (and everyone else away). Also the ripple from the water would provide oxygen for your fish

He's from Minnesota so water will freeze. Would be ok in mild temps tho but not in Winter.

 

[Kelly H]

I once had a Mom Raccoon and 3 kits living under my two-tiered sundeck - she would growl and try to bite any time someone stepped outside. I called my local wildlife relocation centre and they would not capture a mother with kits (even though she was dangerous). So I did research and found that raccoons are very sensitive to smells, and especially urine, as they are extremely fastidious animals. I soaked a bunch of rags in Amonia and pushed these rags into the nest through the slats in my deck. Well it took all of 2.5 minutes and she was outta there! She came back three times to grab each kit by the scruff to relocate them elsewhere. Never saw another raccoon under the deck again. They do occasionally cross through my yard, but again tyring Amonia-soaked rags along their entry ways seems to discourage them from crossing into my yard.

 

[Kelly H]

Ever since the Heron attack a month ago my Koi continues to hide or only
comes out at early evening - the goldies come out but my last surviving koi must still have PTS. Hoping that once Spring is here, I will purchase some more fish and maybe that will entice him out of hiding. I now have a really good net over the pond from Aquascape - The heron has tried to get in but to no avail. My pond is kidney shaped and about 3.5 ft deep in the centre - spouse is a landscaper and built it. However we still have to figure out how to secure the net properly, at the moment it is anchored by the visible blocks on top of the cap stones, which diminish the beauty of the pond. The important thing is that the 4 goldies and 1 koi (Big Red) are safe. Here are pics of my pond.

 

[j.w]

@Kelly H Very pretty pond and glad you have that net now to protect the fish