I have a small (roughly 10' x 7') pond next to my deck, with some small fish, lots of frogs and many water plants. Some type of animal has been visiting my pond at night (since no one in my family has seen anything during the days) and leaving a pile of feces behind at the edge of the pond. My concern is that the feces falls into the water and becomes an abnormal source of bacteria that will eventually harm the fish. I'm even concerned about the health hazard to myself and others. Any thoughts or suggestions? Has anyone else encountered this?

Thanks for your help.

Kerry (Massachusetts)

Our raccoons leave feces around my pond quite often. They often dump them right in the water. I try to net some out but invariably, a lot of it ends up in the pond. They make huge waste piles too, the size of a 30 pound dog! I know it's them because of the food remnants (that my mother fed them sometimes or cicadas when those were out or black cherries when those are in season) and raccoon fur in the waste. My pond is a little bigger at 1800 gallons but so far nothing dire has resulted. For some reason, the raccoons love to "deposit" all around the pond. Sometimes I move it, and sometimes I don't. You might have the same animal doing this or maybe an opossum, dog, cat, or another wild animal. I would just use a dedicated pooper scooper to move them in your case. I don't think the hazard is that dire unless a lot is going into the water. As for people, as long as you don't touch them, it's no threat.

Wishing you a poo-free pond perimeter day!

Robyn,

Thanks for your comments. Based on what you have said, it sounds like I have a raccoon that likes to visit my pond as well. Unless I can find a way to keep it away, I'll have to add poop-scooping to my list of things to do on weekends!