Backyard Chickens & Bees

Aren't they cute? At least these three raccoons can't get to my fish! This was taken at 2 am in early October.

I think that sometimes it’s OK to be that grumpy old man who yells “get off my lawn!” Particularly when it’s directed at three raccoons that are standing on top of your fish pond, trying desperately to get in for a goldfish feast. I built the grate on top of the pond this past summer in an effort to keep the raccoons out of the water. This was after there was a full-scale attack that took one fish, two lilies, and thrashed everything else in the water. I think that the raccoons, in that instance, were standing in the water just fishing around for whatever they could get. So, by putting a grate over the top, I stopped them from being able to reach more than their arm’s length into the water. Of course, that didn’t stop them from standing on top of the grate and reaching in to pull out the water plants floating on top of the pond water. So, the next step was to put a layer of chicken wire beneath the grate, attached with 3/4 round rings of 1/2″ PVC pipe (they fit over the 1/2″ copper pipe quite nicely and are hard to pull off). This has kept the raccoons out of the water, and all three fish have been safe for the last few months, despite nightly visits by at least 1 raccoon. I know that they come nightly, since the water fountain is always pushed aside in the morning, even though I reset it every day. While it’s not as attractive as a free-standing pond, it is still very functional: the fish, snails, enzymes, pump, and plants keep the water clean and stink-free, and that, in turn, provides the bees with a nice water source in the summer. All-in-all a good deal, so long as I keep the raccoons away…

The fish pond, and how it SHOULD look without the need for raccoon-proofing.

The fish pond, complete with grate and chicken wire to keep out the raccoons.

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