Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Empty Pond

Reminiscent of Jasper Carrot's mole.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten that one Alan!

Hi Howard, if you are going to think about some sort of protective electric 'fencing' I have some experiences which might be of help.
We had extensive damage in the garden due to rabbits and badgers, I've no experience with otters or dogs but there are probably some cross over problems. I bought my gear from Agrisellex.co.uk in 2011 and it's still going strong. Their web site has a lot of good info on it so I would have a look at that to start with. I have had some equipment from a local farm supplies store as well, such as the electric fencing twine or posts but some of the stuff is aimed at cattle etc. which is probably overkill!

Look at the rabbit equipment section for the 12v battery energisers. They run off car batteries very well although leisure batteries are theoretically better. These are very portable and can be set up quickly when intruders are discovered.

I've used the rabbit netting which is quick to set up and comes with posts attached, although the posts are quite widely spaced and the net can sag a bit between them. I have found that extra posts are needed, especially if you need to go around corners. You don't need to have it switched on all the time, badgers are nocturnal, not sure about otters. After a few days the critters get to know what's coming and stay away from it so you can leave the net up but not switched on. With badgers you can see where they trample it down when breaking in and then switch it on again.

The other alternative is wire strands or electric fencing twine, probably at two different heights around the pond. You may have to experiment with heights if you can't find recommendations on line. A couple of wires around the pond edge might help to put off herons as well. I think they prefer to wade into water rather than landing on it. The wire will be less visually obtrusive but then could be left up semi-permanently.

With both the netting and twine you need to keep it clear of vegetation otherwise it will earth the current. You will hear a clicking and in the dark you might see small sparks.

I think this is a humain way of dealing with intruders and could be successful if you are prepared to experiment a bit. A camera might be helpful with setting up if you have any idea where they are entering the water to get an idea of the best height of the wire. Our cats soon got the hang of it and learned to jump over the rabbit netting but badgers are too ponderous to try that I think. I wouldn't think otters are great jumpers either. Dogs might be able to jump over but would probably not risk the learning process.

I hope some of the above is helpful. Look on it as a Challenge!!

And Howard, you will hear every tick on your radio gear, as you will no doubt be aware

Yep ... electric fences can give really annoying interference ... we live about 5km from our exchange and the local farmers have fences that run parallel to the phone lines for a mile at a time (and probably use some of the poles for mounting 🙂) ... back when we used the BT line for internet, not only would we get loud rhythmic clicking on our phone conversations but the spikes were strong enough to crash the internet conection ... made it un-useable hence our switch to 4g for the web.

K

Is that the price you pay to stop cows roaming majestically through your back garden?

Fair point ... though it's more roaming on the road ... friend had near death injuries driving home one night and hit a black cow stood in the road (no hi-vis jacket or lights!! 🙂) ... bonnet just swept its legs out from under it leaving the half-ton body to crash unimpeded through his windscreen.

Our most destructive visitors are small herds of deer wandering through the garden ... they don't take fish from the pond though! 🙂

K

Its been a 5 year challenge that I havent won yet Calypso. Behind our house is a field and the border between is pig wire topped by barbed wire and running through it all is a beach hedge 6ft tall. No holes, no gaps. The dog seems to see it as a challenge too - he wont go through if he sees me watching though I have caught him climbing the pig wire! God only knows where he goes ( one neighbour was greeted by him as he was towelling off after a shower ) but he does come back after maybe 20 mins. But he wont climb back in.

I think I will try an electric fence.

Badgers will squeeze through the standard stock fencing wire which has 4" X 4" holes so your springer may have found a hole he can get through. I put a layer of chicken wire over the stock fencing which stopped the badgers going through. Of course they dig underneath usually in the same place every time. If you lay a square or two of stock fencing flat on the ground all along on the outside that makes it much more difficult for them burrowing under. At least you can then see where they are getting in. A strand of barbed wire loosely wired to the bottom of the stock fencing before filling the hole in makes it more uncomfortable for them the next time. Live electric fence on the inside to greet them when they have got through all of that usually does the trick.

But enough of my main enemy. The fix for fence climbing is a single strand of live wire along the top. That's what the chicken farmers use round here. I imagine Bold Sir Raynard runs out of options when he reaches the top of that! ⚡⚡🦊⚡⚡

We had a feral cat hanging around and decided we'd borrow a trap from the Cat's Protection League to catch her and have her neutered ... came out next morning to this ... very disgruntled and having bashed the trap door to where it was jammed solid! ... cue welder's gloves, rigger-boots and my thickest padded overall ... bashing the door flat again didn't improve its temper one bit ... finally set it free and we rapidly departed the scene in different directions ... no fingers lost so I counted it as a success! 😁




K