Hi
Remember having a 31 inch rain and had fish in the kitchen as well as the neighborhood. How they got through a chain link fence I'll never figure out.lol Interestingly i built in an overflow and it's never happened again lol.
Beautiful fish!!! In my area Herons, egrets ,possums raccoons would be standing in line for dinner.
I switched to tropical fish and while I still feed a lot of birds they breed faster then predators can eat lol. gary

Hello garyfla: I am so sorry to hear about your poor fish, I would have been a real girl and cried, I named my fish so when I lose one its a heartbreaker. Since your in Florida the fear of having a large green crock with very sharp teeth in the yard would my concern.:0) Deanna

Deanna
Interesting that you would mention that. When I built my first pond a neighbor told me "You can't have a pond here. Youll be up to your elbows in alligators ,snakes and mosquitoes .!!) Have NOT had any problem with those 3 and that pond is over 25 now lol. Predators I have had in order
of damage. Green herons, Egrets,Herons,turtles,toads,raccoons,possums, dogs, cats,rats
and last and most obnoxious KIDS.
Have often thought about how exciting it would be to find a 10 foot lovesick bull aligator or 20 foot Burmese python lol Has not happened so far lol. They did catch a gator in a swimming pool in my area once. You'd think he'd be repelled by the chlorine?? gary

Have you ever tried putting those fake owls that hoot and move their head? It works for the rats and mice and smaller birds for me anyway but it might be lunch for that bull gator you want. As for those pesky kids there is no amount of pest detourant, the more you want them to stay away for their own safety the more they will bring the next time, ah shoot we were kids once upon a time. I am sure we upset the neighbors once or twice.:) Deanna

Hi
Have not tried most of the deterrents for pests because I use the pond as a storage area for rainwater,. So soft slightly acid not too good for the carp family anyway. I do keep a few fancy goldfish, but in the aviary
which is screened in so no problem there.
Have not had a kid problem for several years .Once had two that could catch every fish in under 30 minutes flat lol.. Had to revert to psychology as there seem to be some silly laws about trapping children lol
The best deterrent was that the entire family moved to Illinois.!!! Worked like a charm lol gary

Garyfla maybe one day in the spring you could post some pictures of your place, you post on the orchid forum so I know that we share many of the same hobbies and I have been trying to picture what your place looks like. I was thinking taking photos needs to be my next hobby:( because I sure can`t seem to take a clear one now:) Sounds like you have a paradise and alot of on going work to keep it up. I love hibiscus and I bet it grows like a weed there. I have to drag my big huge pots of hibiscus in the house at every threat of cold weather, it sure keeps me busy LOL.

Hi
If that were only true lol My entire grow area is only 25x75 feet. Contains 4 water gardens the lagest 5x10 an 8x14 aviary and a 12x25 shadehouse.Add to that I'm a hopeless "collector". So what I have are a series of interconected specialized grow areas. The total effect looks much like a yardsale lol Patches of lush jungle with lots of weeds and pots all over the place.
Though I have tried over the years a "lanscape" plan has only evolved from "No more room" lol
NOT very photogenic ,you need 6 paragraphs of caption to explain what the heck it's a pic of lol.
There are dozens of fantastic gardens in florida . Check out the Florida forum. BEAUTIFUL!!
I suspect they are cheating though as I see clipped hedges, edged beds,manicured lawns!! Even more perverse they have pathways , even areas where you don;t have to turn sideways or climb over something to get through.lol
They may even be using a "landscape " plan ??!!
Oh well I love my garden .okay jumble lol gary

I know what you are saying thats how my front yard (developed) What ever was pretty in the big box store I brought home, the back yard however I did sit down and draw a plan and it has worked fairly well some modifications due to lack of funds but it is shaping up, I figure that when I get it just where I want it I will die and my kids will sell the place, they won`t want to take care of it!!!!!!!!! Oh well its mine for now and I am having fun. Happy growing to you and may the pest go over to the neighbors yard lol Deanna