Kids love looking at them, and fishermen can't stand them. Turtles are no stranger to ponds and lakes all over Texas, and other than grabbing your bait or lure, they seem harmless. While turtles may seem harmless, they in fact do need to be controlled around your pond.
If you have an abundance of turtles in your pond, you may notice a drop in fish reproduction. This is no coincidence. Turtles are scavengers by nature, and they will locate the fish nests in your pond and feed on the eggs. The amount of turtles it will take to affect the fish population in your pond will ultimately depend on the size of your pond, but it is important to keep the turtle population to a minimum.
Not only will turtles feed on fish eggs, because of their scavenging habits they don't shy away from eating fish food as well. Another concern to take into consideration is the type of turtle in your pond, and how they can harm swimmers. If you have snapping turtles in your pond, and you have kids or anyone else swimming, the snapping turtles do present a risk of injury.
Snapping Turtles can be very aggressive if provoked, and if they mistake a toe or finger for a meal, they will end up causing a serious injury to whoever may be swimming in your pond. Another fact to consider is that turtles can transmit diseases, and one of the diseases they carry is salmonella. If you come in contact with a turtle, and experience abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and a fever, you should be seeking medical attention as it could be salmonella.
So how do you control turtles?
The most common way to control the turtle population is by utilizing turtle traps.
At Pond King, we do sell a floating turtle trap, which will be the easiest way you can start thinning the turtle population in your pond. Turtles will climb on top of the trap to get sun, and end up falling in. The traps we sell at Pond King can hold up to 50 adult turtles.
Though turtles can be fun to look at in your pond, as you can see they do have the ability to negatively affect your pond environment if their population is not under control. If you have any questions about turtles in your pond, contact a Pond King biologist today.
