Ponds are not only attractive to people, they tend to draw other animals also. Raccoons, deer, neighborhood cats and dogs, Canada geese, turtles and many other critters may seek out your pond as a source of water or shelter.

Raccoons – These masked bandits will come to your pond looking for water and a meal of fresh fish. It is nearly impossible to prevent them from getting to your pond in most cases. Therefore, you need to design the pond so that they cannot easily get into it and make a mess or eat the fish. The key is to design the sides of your pond such that they cannot reach the fish from the shore or from the plant shelf. Also, a depth of 2 feet or more in the center of the pond will limit their ability to reach the fish.

Canada Geese – These large birds are great to watch as the glide along in the water followed by their young. Unfortunately, they can also make a big mess by using the pond as their personal bathroom or by leaving their deposits on the landscape around the pond. Geese can be persistent but there are a few thing you can do to discourage them.

If they are grazing on the grass or foliage around the pond, you can spray the area with a mixture of grape Kool Aid. For some reason, the geese find the chemical that gives the drink its grape flavor very unpleasant.

If the birds are getting into your pond, you may have to string strands of mylar material above the surface of the water. The silvery material waves in the wind and messes up their depth perception as the come to land in the pond. With luck, they will get the point after a few days and move on so that you can remove the mylar strips.

Mosquitoes – Most species of mosquitoes only reproduce in still, stagnant water. Most backyard ponds with circulating water, especially when it goes through a filter system, should generally not have a problem.

Fish often eat mosquito larvae and, if this is a big problem in your pond, there are special species of fish that are touted as good larvae eaters.

There are some species of mosquitoes that reproduce in running water and, in some ponds, the water does not circulate through a filter so they could become a problem. A good approach is to us formulations of the biological agent called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) which only kills the larvae of the mosquito and does not harm other aquatic wildlife. There are several strains of Bt used to kill caterpillars, Colorado potato beetles and other insects. Be sure to get the strain specifically intended for mosquito larvae. They often come embedded in a small sponge-like donut that you toss into the pond.

Turtles – For most backyard ponds, turtles should be avoided. They eat foliage plants like water lilies, they may nip at the smaller fish and they may occasionally carry diseases with them.

Snails – The beneficial impacts that are always given for snails in the pond are almost always overrated. Sure the may eat a little algae off the liner but, they often become over populated and crawl out of the pond to feed on nearby plants. Again, species are sold that are supposed to stay exclusively in the pond but people report that this is not always the case. Keep the algae down by keeping your pond in balance rather than relying on snails.