Sad stories of lost and stolen Koi are depressingly common. As we know, Koi are often such brightly coloured fish that they'rehard to miss and this makes them more prone to falling victim to predators. Koi are also coveted by people, some can have a significant value so it should come as no surprise that they are frequently stolen. A misconception that all Koi are extremely valuable certainly doesn't help. If your Koi are your pride and joy then you should always be taking steps to protect them because your stock may very well be Fuitargeted by thieves of both the four legged and two legged variety. Pond security is not something about which you should be, well. . . coy!
Secure Your Garden
If it is possible to access your garden from the side of the house then it's wise to fit your gate with a lock and a bolt. The higher the gate and fence the better. Don't allow potential human thieves ready access to ladders or anything else that they can use to scale your gate. Keep any such items locked in the garage or a shed. You should also consider fitting an alarm to your gate or even installing a perimeter alarm if your garden is vulnerable to ingress from the rear. It can help to display a "beware of the dog" sign even you if you don't happen to have a dog!
Lighting
Both human and nocturnal animal intruders will be far less likely to target your garden if it's illuminated. Outdoor lighting can have other benefits too, such as enhancing the ambience of your garden and pond as well as making your garden safer for you and your family at night. At the very least, where lighting is concerned, fit security lights that are activated by motion sensor.
Secure the Pond
Your Koi carp could potentially be vulnerable to predation by cats, foxes, large birds and more. Netting is, therefore, a sensible precaution. It does always seem like rather a shame to cover a pond with a net but losing your fish as a consequence of not having oneis of course far worse. It is also possible to invest in a scarecrow thatwill squirt water when triggered by a motion sensor. This should see off most animal invaders.
Catching Intruders Red Handed
If you do find that you are losing fish then you need to be able to identify the culprit as soon as possible, otherwise you won't really know what measures you will need to take in order to prevent the same from happening in the future. Other than lying in wait for your invader, your only course of action is to install security cameras. You can then review the CCTV footage and this should help to reveal the culprits. Security CCTV equipment doesn't come cheap and so perhaps it should be considered as a last resort after other preventative measures have been put in place and overcome.
Electric Fencing
Electric fencing is easy to install and doesn't cost the earth but it's unsightly and is likely to even catch you out from time to time! It could of course also shock your pets. However, an electric fenceis an effective deterrent that animals quickly learn to avoid.
Security Round-up
As you'll probably already know, security is a major concern if you keep Koi. Thankfully the vast majority of measures that you can take to foil thieves are relatively inexpensive and most will not have a negative impact on the aesthetics of your pond.