A Practical Purpose
Garden Pond Netting
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You're bound to get caught up by this tool used in protecting and maintaining the backyard pond. Yes, that is a little cliché but one can't help but get all wrapped up in the idea of netting. Pond netting comes in many sizes and types of mesh. Imagine it basically, as fishing net, except these ones are good for the health of the fish and other aquatic life in your pond. |
There are three basic uses for pond netting:
- keeping debris from falling into the pond
- keeping new arrivals from getting too 'jumpy'
- keeping unexpected arrivals from snacking on the aquatic life
In the fall the leaves on the trees naturally begin to change color and well, fall from the trees. If you happen to have your backyard pond in an area that is just lush with trees you may have a small problem. Some of these leaves will almost certainly land on the surface of the pond. For a while they will float on the water blocking sunlight and making it a little difficult for fish to skim the surface for insects to eat. It can also hinder the decorative effect of your pond, though this isn't too much of a problem. The real issue occurs after the leaves sink to the bottom of the pond and begin to decay. There will be a build up of noxious compounds that can pollute the water with algae blooms or make it harder for fish to get the oxygen they need.
Every now and then you will purchase a new fish for your pond. It may be a Comet Longtail, one of those goldfish with the beautifully long tail fins or a more expensive Kohaku Koi fish, the national fish of Japan. Either way anyone who has had an indoor aquarium will remember at least one time when a fish went kamikaze over the side of the glass tank. The larger pond fish do just about the same thing. It usually takes about a week for the new arrivals to get adjusted to the pond and its other inhabitants, so it can be a good idea to put up a net during this time to keep them from getting any ideas. For this purpose you need a fairly large mesh net. If the netting is very small the fish may get tangled up in it. Don't make it too large or it will get out anyway.
Lastly you might live in an area where there is, as they say, a whole lot a nature and your benign pond life could be susceptible to unsavory predators. Herons and Egrets love fish. While you may be delighted to look out your kitchen window one morning to see a Great blue heron, that delight will turn sour the minute you see it snatch up one of those expensive Koi. So well-placed netting can keep the long legged birds from making a safe landing in your waters. More domesticated animals can also wreak havoc with your pond life. Keep an eye out for the local cats in the neighborhood.
How to place netting:
Netting is easy to place. Spread it across your pond and stake the edges down every few feet with a wooden stake or even tent stakes. It's important to have the netting suspended above the water. If you see areas where the netting hangs down into the water extend a length of PVC pipe or wooden pole across the pond in that area and drape the netting over it.