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I am a veterinarian who has done a considerable house call practice. There are a lot of things on the market that are sold to repel or stop herons from coming to your pond for a meal. I've encountered Herons that will readily eat fish from ponds with: 1) Heron decoys 2) Inflatable snakes 3) Inflatable or other "Owl Eyes" 4) Synthetic owls. It's interesting about the Heron decoy. The USFWS did a study on Herons and they found them to be solitary birds, preferring to travel and fish alone. Recently, marketing weasels have figured out that if they put a decoy near a pond, perhaps that would repel the Heron, since he wants to be alone...Right? WRONG. The Heron prefers to be alone, however, according to the USFWS the sight of another bird or Heron at water's edge means that it's safe to land!!! You'll see Herons landing on the opposite side of the pond, eat their fill and take off without a care. The most effective method is a pyrotechnic Heron scare - which is a unit which fires a pyrotechnical charge (a little firecracker) every three to fifteen minutes, often at random. They can be heard for miles and the sound repels the Herons. These are the ones they use at Fisheries in the middle of nowhere. They are very effective but they are VERY loud. Wouldn’t your neighbors love that? Probably the very best (and still practical) residential Heron control is the water sprinkler ( <http://www.scatmat.com/scarecro2.htm> ). It is a proprietary branded thing, looks like some kind of a Toucan, and it shoots water when it detects motion. So, the Heron flies in, and all of a sudden the sprinkler comes on. Not that the Heron minds being wet, but it startles them and they take off. Killing a Heron (which is a migratory bird) is very easy because they have a sizeable body and they think that by staying "stock-still" you cannot see them. However, it's important that you know if you kill a Heron, and your neighbor sees you, they can have you JAILED with the carcass unless you give him your large-screen TV. Don't confer that kind of power on anyone. Repel the Heron before you try anything like killing it. Best regards Doc Johnson |
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