Noise maker on a timer

[Chain Bender]

Couldn't find anywhere to post this so I brought it here because this place gets a lot of traffic. I just finished planting about 1/2 an acre of watermelons and a lot of other vegtables that deer tend to nibble on. I'm really worried about my peas and pole beans. Does anyone know of an automatic noise maker that can be put on a timer? I don't want it to make a really loud noise. Just something that will make a deer leery and keep them away from my crops. My garden(s) are spread out over 4 different clearings in a cut over and running electric wire would really be a chore. Especially since it would have to be at least 4 strands up to 8'.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated,
CB

 

[rockinmywaypa]

you could use a radio on a timer so that it comes on a few times a day, talk shows may make the deer think that there are people around.

 

[/pine]

School bell w/ timer

 

[Ed of all trades]

We planted about 5 ac of soy beans and the deer where keeping about half of the field grazed down so that there was no chance of a crop. We tried to get a permit to shoot them and instead the game warden gave us ropes with the wicks of big firecrackers stuck in the rope. We lit the end of the rope and about every hr. a firecracker went off. After about two nights the deer would look up when one went off and go back to eating beans. Later we found out that one electric wire run about knee high will keep deer out of a garden. Wipe it down with something that smells good to deer. My sister used pancake syrup. The deer smells the wire and ZAP the deer wants nothing to do with the thing that bit its nose. I have seen around 50 deer eating clover around a garden and not a track in the garden.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Depending how geeky you are go to harbor freight and pick up one of the cheap outdoor motion sensors that are solar powered. Then go to Radio shack and buy a 5 volt piezo alarm. Solder that to the lamp circuit so that it will honk when motion is detected. I like the electric fence idea

 

[spurlocktool]

Hi CB, I have made a number of very successful scare devices to keep birds out of my fruit orchard. They would no doubt work for deer as well. The simplest is a rope or several ropes with stuff hanging from them suspended at a convenient height above the crop. For a large area I run several ropes that cross in the center sort of like a spider web. The ropes have empty plastic milk jugs or soda bottles hung from strings every so often, or plastic garbage bags taped to the rope. On the ground near the center where the ropes cross I place an electric motor with gear reduction and crank arm with about a 10-12" radius running about 2 revolutions per second. I use a home made timer that turns it on for about 30 seconds every minute or so. When running it creates complete pandemonium that no animal will tolerate, yet the noise is minimal as far as bothering humans. If more noise is desired the jugs can have a few beans inside. The beauty of it is that a very small power input creates sound and motion over a very large area - think about a jump rope oscillating with minimal input.

I have some low quality videos on my computer but they are not posted anywhere I can link to.

Another simpler option is a motion activated sprinkler like this:

 

[J F]

School bell w/ timer

You'd find a bunch of deer 25' up in the trees. :laughing:

 

[/pine]

You'd find a bunch of deer 25' up in the trees. :laughing:

On the other hand the deer may think it's a "dinner" bell...

A lot of game animals learn to relate the sound of an automatic feeder and come running when they hear it...

 

[JohninCT]

Do you think a motion activated barking dog would scare them away?

Amazon.com: Electronic Secure Dog Barking Dog Alarm: Electronics

 

[J F]

On the other hand the deer may think it's a "dinner" bell...

A lot of game animals learn to relate the sound of an automatic feeder and come running when they hear it...

Crap, deer coming from three counties over to eat your garden.