Pond Management: Dealing With Wildlife In & Around your Pond

Ponds offer many benefits. Ponds offer a serene place to relax, complement the aesthetics of a landscape and serve as a source of water and shelter for wildlife. Critters who might visit your pond range from insects to predators. The size of the pond, proximity to inhabited spaces, vegetation, landscaping and geography influence the kinds of wildlife that will frequent it.

In Florida, both desirable wildlife, such as butterflies, frogs and birds, and dangerous wildlife, such as alligators, snakes, wild hogs and foxes, live near human habitation. There are ways to control the types of wildlife that visit your pond. Wildlife control strategies are part of the services offered by pond management companies in Florida. Although you may consider managing your pond on your own, using a professional company has its advantages.

Ponds As Ecosystems

Ponds create micro-ecosystems that are attractive to wildlife and humans. Water, food and nesting habitats provide shelter and sustenance for many species. Because natural habitats often decrease as human activity expands, many kinds of wildlife must find alternative food sources and live closer to people. Good pond management creates microenvironments that attract a broad range of desirable wildlife while keeping nuisance wildlife away.

Discourage Unwanted Wildlife With Active Pond Management

To keep unwanted or dangerous wildlife away, keep the area around the pond free of tall grasses, piles of wood or stone, empty potting containers, mulch and thick vegetation. Keeping the area free of food and waste makes it less desirable to snakes, raccoons, rodents and other scavengers. Although most snakes are not dangerous, Florida is home to six species of poisonous snakes. If you encounter a poisonous snake, call a professional to remove it.

Several types of wildlife enhance the ambience and health of ponds and surrounding landscape. Frogs and toads, salamanders, small lizards, turtles, birds, insects and fish contribute to a healthy pond and balanced ecosystem. Larger animals include opossum, deer, squirrels and rabbits.

Frogs

Frogs are a desirable part of a pond ecosystem. They eat insects, including nuisance mosquitoes, as well as worms and snails. Larger species eat small rodents, snakes and small fish. They are food sources for wildlife higher in the food chain, including birds, opossum, raccoons, foxes and other predators.

Frogs are an enjoyable addition to a pond, providing background noise during mating season and an opportunity for people of all ages to enjoy their antics. Catch them skimming the surface of the water, resting at the edge of the water body or hiding in vegetation. The range of colors, sizes and sounds makes them a welcome addition to backyard ponds.

Birds

Ponds draw many types of birds, including migratory species, ducks, kites, ibis, hummingbirds and owls. Several vibrantly colored birds, including painted buntings, orioles, purple gallinule and cardinals, are found throughout the state. Birds are beneficial because they eat insects, small rodents and snakes.

Experienced pond management companies in Florida can help you manage your pond, keep it healthy and create habitats that attract desirable wildlife. You can create a unique ecosystem by managing the area around the pond. Good management practices enhance your landscape and property and encourage beneficial wildlife to nest and breed.