Scarecrow for squirrels

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HarveyH42

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The squirrels over at my mother's house are pulling down unripe mangos, take a few bites, then leave them laying around on the ground for the fire ants. Was wondering if anybody had anything to scare them off, besides a shotgun. I don't think an ultrasonic device will work (don't seem to be bothered by anything I built for the neighbors cat's). But then again, my squirrels are almost like pets, hand feed two of them...

Maybe something like an owl or other bird of prey. I don't really know their natural preditors (tobacco spittin' rednecks perhaps...). Any suggestions?
 
The squirrels over at my mother's house are pulling down unripe mangos, take a few bites, then leave them laying around on the ground for the fire ants.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the circle of life to me

You'll have a hell of time recreating a digital owl sound since I beleive they are very very complex, have ultrasonic properties like a tigers roar or a ducks quack. But maybe not, its as a squirrel would hear it so maybe you just need a who-who machine.... seems like they would get used to it though.

Foxes, Snakes, Owls, Hawks, Dogs, etc all probably preditors. Not sure, but I always seem to scare squirrels off w/ a little noise.

You're probably going to have to do some research on this. Are there commerical products for this ?
 
Was just thinking. I got called over there for a lawn mower repair (project, what a mess...). I noticed the mangos on the ground and knew it was way to early for them to be ripe. She told me about the squirrels.
The squirrels around my place are pretty fearless, I'm sure they can get use to anything. They seem to be very smart. Just figured there have to be a few people out there, who found some way to protect their crops, bird feeders, ect... from our furry little friends. Me, I don't mind them so much. They wait for the oranges to drop off the tree, never even seen one climbing in it.

Probably something with a bright light and loud noise will do the trick. Just need a means to detect when they are doing bad things to the fruit trees.
 

I Don't know Anything about Mango Trees, But what about putting a Guard on the Trunk of the tree so they can't climb the tree.

Cut a hole in the centre of a Carbage can Lid to the size of the tree trunk, than a slit on one half so you can put it on the the tree trunk, say about 5 feet above the ground.

This is a Simular idea to the guards they use for Boats:
To stop Rats from using the ropes that tie to the warf and getting to the boat.

Hope this helps.
 
I think barrier protection would be a little obtrusive, probably not too effective (lots of other plants, trees and shrubs.) Also kind of close to the roof of her garage (short jump). They're just yard plants, nothing comercial, so kind of hoping for something not so visiable.
 
A barrier will not work those suckers are smart they will figure it out how to get around that. Have you tried a loud shout like a bang if it works then 2 LM555 and a speaker will work. just an idea
 
Ultrasound might do the job, you'll have to experiment with transducers and frequencies, or you could just go for an off the shelf pest scarer.
 
I use ultrasound one the neighbor's cats, short burst about every 60 seconds. Works on all but 4 of them. My squirrels don't seem bothered at all. Maybe they need a different frequency, or the noise is better than cats. This a square from a 555 timer. Found a sine wave circuit a while ago using a 358 opamp, but haven't built it yet. I think I'll get better output through a piezo tweater.

Haven't search for anything yet, did for cats many times $50 to $170 plus shipping, and questionable results (may not work on all... disclaimer).
 
HarveyH42 said:
I use ultrasound ......Found a sine wave circuit a while ago using a 358 opamp, but haven't built it yet.
Click to expand...
The old, old, old 358 opamp is the dual version of the old, old, old quad 324 opamp and are low power so have their max frequency at only about 6kHz.
Yes, their upper frequency limit is even worse than an old, old, old 741 opamp that makes it to about 9kHz.
The TL071 single, TL072 dual and TL074 quad audio opamps have an upper response at 100kHz.
 
Pretty sure I don't have any of those on hand, will keep them in mind. The circuit says it's upper limit is 20Khz... But then again, never really know if these circuits found on the web actually work, until you build them. Really just learning about opamps. Finsish my first RGB LED fader with a LM324 about 2 weeks ago. Haven't finish the PCB artwork yet (autorouters suck), have to do it manually.
 
Don't waste time with amps the LM555 can source and supply plenty of drive. what i had in mind is use one lm555 as astable driving pin 5 of the next from the ramp of the first lm555 such that you get fast frequency FM on the final lm555 like to cover many frequency.Maybe that will work.try it it is simple 2 lm555 one speaker.
 
Harborfreight Tools sells a motion-sensing hoot owl whose eyes light up and hoots as well. CLICK HERE to see it. I have seen it in operation and the only downside was the volume level seemed low, but the display model may have had a low battery. I also have seen similar fake owls that have a bobble head that moves about to instill a sense of a real bird looking at a suspect prey.
 
Harvey try pcb express easy to use and good library and make your own components layout. Well anyhow that is the one I use.
 
Cayenne pepper spray. Buy or mix up some on your own. They really don't like it. When they used to dig up the flower bulbs I tried that, and they didn't go for seconds. Maybe spraying some on the tree trunk and whatever branches you can reach with a ladder will have them looking elsewhere for food.

Remember that they pretty much have nothing else to do all day other than figure out a way to circumvent or feel safe around mechanical deterrents. ( sort of like little kids, LOL )
 
Have you tried using water? If you can get a garden hose close to the tree you can use a "Motion Activated Sprinkler". Anything within 10 to 30' will get a burst of water. LINK . Runs on a 9volt battery. I use something simular to keep the raccoons / cats / skunk from the garbage bin.
 
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Is that $89.50 US or Canadian? Kind of pricey either way. Guess she would be better off getting a cat. The pepper idea might work, but you would have to be very careful with it, and around it. That stuff is really strong.

A lot of good ideas, but guess the squirrels will do what they want anyway. Will be back over there this weekend, almost done with her lawnmower. I survey the area a little closer this time, and see if any of these ideas have a better chance. The sprinkler might work, but then again they might enjoy it in the summer heat.
 
Not a cat. The dogs are the ones that LOVE squirrels. If the tree can't be reached by jumping from a safer tree, they may leave it alone. Also if the tree is isolated, collaring the trunk with something slick for a couple of feet can make it impossible for them to climb.

But, you came here for the high tech solution. So here it is:
http://www.usmechatronics.com/old_page/turret.htm
A camera-operated gun that automatically aims a gun that shoots Airsoft pellets. These won't actually break skin, and you can get biodegradeable pellets. You'd need to tweak the software to detect the size of a squirrel and probably just stop looking on windy times when all the leaves are moving. Ranging might be tricky, it would take stereo vision and special software to detect range from stereo camera. So you'd probably want to program a range for each tree in view and elevate for that.

Bonus, you get to put up a sign saying "Warning: Property is guarded by automated sentry gun. DO NOT ENTER" and actually mean it. Wow, you get to be the guy to invent a whole new little warning picture. I suggest a head with a gun on one side blowing its brains out.

Are you Sarah Conner...?
 
it's $89.50 Canadian. The squirrels around here HATE water ( super soakers water guns ) and this is a good DIY project depending on what you have in your junk box. An IR sensor from an old porch light, and a sprinkler head from a automated lawn watering system. Here is a link of one ...
**broken link removed**
Could mod the idea to include a water pump ( more pressure ) and a rain barrel to store water if there is no possibility of reaching the area by hose.
 
The commercial aerosol cans of pepper spray for/of repellent are not crowd pleasers, happen to be downwind and ..... well it gets ugly. Regarding the homemade pepper spray, I used a regular "squirt bottle" like you get for plants, window cleaner, etc. Set it to spray a stream so that you minimize atomization of the spray, and you are ready for engagement. I guess even better would be to use a cheap paint brush, dip and apply. For the plant bulbs, you can just sprinkle the powder into the ground as you bury them. Keeps dogs and cats from watering the plants too, LOL. Moth balls hanging in the tree may also work so I have heard, stick them in a stocking or similar.
 
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