Some bird repellent methods:
1. Tanglefoot. It is a sticky non-corrosive goo you put where birds
roost/perch and they HATE IT. It is non-toxic but birds and other critters
hate it.
2. Ultrasound. Ultrasound played loud and intermittently (randomly) annoys
birds and they tend to move on. Various vendors (I got mine at Sharper
Image) sell ultrasound projectors that will keep dogs, cats, birds, etc
away. Typically there are multiple settings for random/intermittent
broadcast, different freqs (some will not bother dogs and cats but bug birds
and rodentes. I used a "wailing yelper type siren sound" and it worked great
and I couldn't hear it.
Forget the phony snakes and owls. Save them for Halloween decorations.
Critters get used to them and will perch on them.
I wired an IR motion detector (security light) so the load was a water
control solenoid from a defunct dishwasher instead of light bulbs. You put
the unit into the test position so the light detector is defeated and you
can make it work in daylight. You then hook up the solenoid to a pressurized
water source (I used a garden hose) and the output side to a Rainbird style
sprinkler or your favorite sprinkler. When IR motion is detected the
sprinkler is turned on. About 10 seconds after detection is lost (birds are
gone) it turns off (note: test function trumps the settings for delay
times.)
Few critters will hang around when this thing goes off. Many critters are
long gone while the air is purging from the hose and are gone way before the
water squirts.
My setup kept dogs and cats from using my landscaping for an outhouse. It
also trained the postman to not cut across the yard.
Patrick AF5CK
-----Original Message-----
From: GARY HUBER
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 8:46 AM
To: TT TowerTalk
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Birds n towers
I never found a good solution to roosting birds except turning the beam
frequently to get the turkey buzzards to leave just as soon as they started
using the TH-7 boom and driven element. 1 KW CW on 20 M may have also
helped. I also had several Great Gray owls using the TH-7 at 50' at night,
leaving small animal carcasses and the pellets of owl dung at the tower
base. When I recently took the the TH-7 and Rohn 45-G down after
twenty-seven years in the air, the corrosive effects of bird dung was
evident; stainless steel was corroded and galvanized steel was etched and
beginning to rust. Red tailed hawks do keep the other birds away and may
have the least negative impact on your aerial equipment as a result.
73 ES DX,
Gary -- AB9M
-----Original Message-----
From: jcjacobsen@q.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 8:19 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Birds n towers
I'd go with eliminating the food source, if there is one. You can't scare
them away.
Years ago, where I grew up, there was a problem with starlings roosting in
trees on one block. Talk about a racket!! Someone came up with a solution:
Let's have the Police Dept get a case of bird shot for the 12 ga. shotguns.
Then, one evening at the appointed hour, they assembled all the squads AND
the fire rigs on the block. The "fired up" all the sirens and the shotguns
were fired in the air, but not at the birds, until they were out of ammo.
"We'll just scare 'em away with noise" Naturally, the birds all took off.
Everyone patted themselves on the back, packed up, and left. If I remember
correctly, the last squad had barely rounded the corner and the birds
started coming back.
Now on the other hand, at work we had a tower and a massive LPDA on the roof
for HF emergency comms. A hawk decided to use it as a vantage point to look
over the surrounding acreage. Never had a problem with other kinds of birds
roosting on the antenna. Must have been because the hawk was real and not
plastic. <GRIN>
Don't mess with Mother Nature.
73
K9WN Jake
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