Beginning with that lower BBQ portion of the patio to show the re-work after ants completely undermined it. That was part 3 of 3, basically re-laying the whole thing from the deck, along the garage down to the BBQ. I managed to get one piece done each of the past three years, on a job that would have taken 3 days before malpractice crippled me, January 2019. This time around I mixed generous quantities of two different types of insect poison in the ground underneath. It appears to be a good solution, with very minimal ant activity noted since completing the top portion two years ago.
Water Lettuce covering the pond surface has a twofold purpose. The fish get something to nibble on and more importantly, it keeps the water temperature 5-10° cooler than it would otherwise be under direct sunlight. The past couple years I noticed the water getting too warm, even under shade from the trees and garage over half the day.
The big floating planter in the middle is also a functional piece, helping keep the Herons and Raccoons at bay. Between that and the lettuce, fish have a fighting chance to evade the predators. This was the first year we haven’t lost any to the hungry wildlife. I waited for the Blue Herons to finish their migration this spring before putting the fish out, so that obviously helped, but the coons are a constant threat. I ran off a herd of them not long after dark just a couple weeks ago. The three biggest ones from a family of probably ten or so was stalking around the edge of the pond trying to figure out how to get the goldfish when I walked out one night.
I might end up running all three basement tanks this winter to house the goldfish. There’s at least forty of them now, with a handful approaching a foot long. I’ll call around to the pet stores looking for adoptive homes before then, but not optimistic. Goldfish are fairly common, so interest in taking them off my hands will probably be low. Maybe I’ll start stocking the creek…
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