Snakes keep eating my pond minnows

[Lizzyduff]

Anyone else have this issue? The net keeps out the birds but garter snakes keep getting in and eating my white cloud minnows. I pulled a 3 foot long one out of there last night and it was almost too full to move. I'm tired of feeding the local wildlife. Anyone have tips or suggestions to keep snakes out?

[Sarina]

I have had decent luck with granulated sulphur, however if they know that there's tasty snacks in there, they will likely push through the smell anyway. I had a few garter snakes that would consistently snack on my guppies and I ended up having to bring all of my fish inside for 2 months. Once the food source appeared to be gone, they didn't have much incentive to push past the sulphur to get into the water. 

[Lizzyduff]

I suppose I could train my chickens to eat the snakes...🤔 there is no way that could possibly go wrong.  I'll try the garlic first though... thanks!

[PineSong]

Wow! I literally came here to ask if snakes eat fish because I found two young garter snakes in my pond yesterday afternoon. I was sitting there chatting with my daughter and zzzzzzzzzip they were slithering around on top of the frog bit and lilies, then went in the water and had their heads up like periscopes.

We haven't had rain in many days so I thought they were thirsty and maybe that drew them to the pond. Now I am worried about my fish. I have white clouds, platies, and one too-big for snakes to eat goldfish out there.

[Biotope Biologist]

Decoy birds work well against snakes especially fake herons. Herons naturally stand statue still, so snakes will avoid areas with these decoys. Herons will also mostly avoid these areas as they are fiercely territorial over hunting grounds.

 

Make sure to move the heron several times during the summer and take it down in the fall, animals are good at recognizing patterns and if you leave decoy birds out year round, they will get wise and know that it’s not real. 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Biotope Biologist