Escape routes for pond wildlife

Every animal that can get into a pond needs a way to get out. A hedgehog that comes to drink, a froglet leaving the water for the first time, a fledgling that misjudges a landing, or a bee that falls in while drinking all have the same problem in a pond with smooth, steep sides: there is nothing to climb.

This page is about getting animals out of the water. Building the whole pond is covered in how to build a wildlife pond. This page is the check you can run on any pond, including one you inherited, a formal fish pond, or a container on a patio.

Why ponds become traps

Water itself is rarely the danger to a hedgehog. Hedgehog Street says hedgehogs are excellent swimmers, and asks you to make sure there is a gently sloping edge for them to escape from. The danger is the edge. A liner pulled tight up a vertical side, a preformed shell with a lip, a stone coping that overhangs the water, or a water level that has dropped below a smooth edge in summer can all leave an animal swimming until it is exhausted.

The same applies to young frogs and toads leaving the pond, and to birds that come down to drink or bathe.

Beaches: the best route out

A long, shallow beach is the simplest answer. The RHS wildlife pond guide wants at least one side of a wildlife pond to have a long, shallow slope, and says that allows easy access for wildlife. It also describes a layer of gravel, mud or stone on the shallow side as perfect habitat for amphibians and insects, and as a place where birds and hedgehogs can drink without risk of falling in.

A beach works when the level drops as well. As the water goes down in a dry spell, the beach just gets longer. A vertical side becomes a taller wall.

If you are still at the planning stage, build the beach into the shape you dig. Where to site a garden pond and the size guide cover where it goes and how much space it takes.

Ramps for steep sides

If the pond already has steep sides, add a ramp. The RHS suggests a wooden ramp, cut with grooves or covered in chicken wire to give a better grip, for steep ponds. Hedgehog Street suggests stones or chicken wire to create an escape route. In both cases the point is a rough, gentle slope from below the water line up onto the bank.

Things that make a ramp work:

• It reaches below the water. An animal swimming along the edge needs to find the bottom of the ramp. Let the low end sit in the water, not stop at the surface.
• It has grip. Smooth planks and glazed tiles are as bad as a liner. Grooves, mesh or rough stone are better.
• It is fixed. A ramp that floats away or tips over is not a ramp. Weigh it down with stones at the bank end.
• There is more than one. On a larger pond, put ramps on different sides. An animal does not know where the single exit is.
• It still works when the level drops. Check the bottom of the ramp is still in the water in August.

Chicken wire on a ramp is about grip. It is not a safety barrier, and it is exactly what RoSPA tells you not to use as a child cover. Those are two separate jobs. See pond safety for children.

Stone piles and planting

A pile of rounded stones in the shallows, rising above the surface, makes a stepping-stone way out and a perch for birds. Marginal plants at the edge do the same job for smaller animals, and tall stems are where dragonfly and damselfly larvae climb out of the water. The plants guide lists which plants do which job.

The RHS also says tall grass near the pond gives cover for young toads and frogs leaving the water. Leave a strip of longer grass on at least one side so they are not stepping straight onto a mown lawn or a hot patio.

Raised ponds and pots

A pot, half-barrel or raised pond needs a way in and a way out. The RHS wildlife guide says that for container ponds, you add a ramp on the outside and the inside. Stones stacked inside to just below and above the surface, and a log or a stack of stones against the outside, are the usual approach.

Raised ponds are not automatically safe for children either. Read the child safety page if young children use the garden.

Pond edges, nets and other hazards

• Netting. A leaf net is a useful autumn tool, but loose netting can tangle hedgehogs and birds. Peg it taut, keep it off the water, and take it off when the leaves have finished. Winter care covers leaf nets.
• Pumps. A pump intake can trap small animals. Use a guard.
• Other water. Water butts, buckets and trugs drown wildlife as well as children. Cover them or empty them.

A quick audit of an existing pond

Walk round the pond and ask, for each side: if I were a hedgehog in the water here, could I climb out? If the answer is no all the way round, add at least one beach, ramp or stone pile. Then check again in midsummer when the water is lower.

Do hedgehogs drown in garden ponds?

They can, if they cannot climb out. Hedgehog Street says hedgehogs are excellent swimmers but need a gently sloping edge to get out. Give them one.

Will a ramp help birds?

Yes. Fledglings and bathing birds can get into difficulty in a steep-sided pond. A ramp, a beach or a stone pile breaking the surface gives them somewhere to stand and climb out.

My pond has a stone edge that overhangs the water. What can I do?

Add a ramp or a stone pile somewhere along the edge, reaching down into the water. Overhanging edges are the hardest for animals to get past.