Bird Scarer, help & advice, please

[Avery]

I have a quite specific need for a green laser, but there appears to be a lot of dodgy dealers about.

I would appreciate specific help for a specific problem, involving Guinea Fowl which are destroying our lives, please.

First I should say that I have researched on UK/EU Governement web sites for information on laser bird scarers and the indication from all the official governement sites on which I can find any reference is that 200mw green lasers operated from 25yds + will not damage the birds, even with direct eye contact for a moment. The birds instinctively, instantly turn away and promptly vacate the area. That is all I want.

The problem is that manufacturers of green laser bird scarers charge the earth for so called dedictaed devices, £4-500+ in UK.

I have a serious problem with these large raucous birds which regularly come to my house at anything from 4.30am, (basically at sunrise) every day.

Over a period of time it has become obvious that these birds are -

a. intelligent - they know when I am comming to scare them away, and once scared, do not return for several hours.

b. under the "control" of a third person who has proved to be devious, malicious and destructive. He has been videod driving the birds from his barn towards our house, planting corn seeds near us as feed for the birds.

The local governement agency responsible for noise polution has proved to be utterly unhelpful and counter-productive.

I have used loud noises to discourage the birds and that has been quite successful, even though it requires that the birds first waken me in the early hours.

Unfortunately, the third person has now released horses into the same field as the birds and is threatening to take action if I frighten the horses with my bird scarer!

He has quite openly lied about the birds, claiming they are wild and nothing to do with him. He even told me I should shoot them if they come onto my land. Bottom line, I'm on my own in this, he will not even admit there is a problem.

So, to cut a very long story to just a long story, where do I buy a 150-200mw green laser pointer with a good performance, for this purpose?

This is a very serious problem and althouigh I cant afford to throw money at it, it warrants neccessary expenditure.

I am in UK.

I would prefer not to get involved in debates about who is bad, I have seen some very dubious sites already.

Please, just tell me who is good, if there is anyone good.

Thank you for your help.

Avery.

 

[davey696]

I think that sort of laser would probably be too powerfull for your needs.
You could probably make a very cheap and efficient laser scanner or laser lighting so that the beams are constantly moving and the birds don't learn where to sit.
Have a look in the tutorial section there is lots of handy information in there.
Also be aware that any laser around that power can cause permanent eye damage if it hits anyone's eyes either directly or reflected.
If you need anymore help give us a shout,
Dave
Also give this page a look http://laserpointerforums.com/f47/new-scanners-32674.html

 

[HIMNL9]

Well, mainly it depend from the laws of your country, anyway .....

A self-built device with a pair of 50mW green modules in decent heatsinks, a pair of motors with mirrors for scanning, and some lenses, i think can be built with much less than the price that these "professional vendors" sell them ..... also, using a couple of lenses for make a "cheap beam expander" that enlarge the beam to at least 1 cm, i think it make the device more efficent in scaring birds, and at the same time more safe in matter of eyes safety.

This can be done using beam expanders configurations externally, or modifying the modules themselves, but this depend solely of how much DIY work you want, or can, do on the device .....

If you can do DIY works easily and have access to some machines, you can also use a single 100mW module and some splitters for build a 4 beams device, with horizontal and vertical scanning capability ..... but, as i've said, please check first the laws of your zone, and remember that, being this item pointed at the sky, and being basically a laser system, you need to check that there's no fly paths in that zone, and for safety, ask to the police or to a lawyer about the safety and usability of a laser bird scarer in your zone (also if, basically, the device is a scanned and timed system, so there's no permanent and focused beams pointed to the sky ..... but is always better to ask these things BEFORE, than have to justify yourself in a court AFTER )

And about the horses ..... i don't know, really, but if this is a real problem, there's always the system of the "ultrasonic cannon", that can be used ..... efficent and invisible ..... :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[RA_pierce]

Using a laser may or may not work. If you really want to give it a shot, though, that is up to you.

I think you should not need more than 100mW.
For this, I would recommend this product:
X75 Compact Portable Laser - X-Series - Novalasers Inc.

If you feel that a higher power version would be better for the job, the store linked above supplies higher output lasers. 250mW is excessive, though, and is never cheap.
I can vouch for NovaLasers. They provide reliable products and good customer support. Their prices are also the lowest around for the quality you will get.
Those lasers should last you a good long time and actually put out the power they claim -- unlike some of the cheap, generic garbage circulating these days.


You may want to consider alternate methods.

Maybe you can try planting corn seeds in the other guy's yard so they eat there and not near you?

Perhaps you can get a dog or a cat that can chase or scare away the birds for you?

Employing a natural predator may be the most effective solution, especially if the birds are "intelligent." They may learn to stay away.

Otherwise, the only way to keep them away is to kill them.
I know it sounds cruel, but I'm just trying to offer solutions...

Perhaps you can try poisoning the birds?

:tired:
It's my bed time.

 

[calculator]

Avery
Only some birds are frightened by lasers. The common starling will not even notice it.
Canada geese, crows and seagulls are scared by a green laser.
I would suggest you feed the birds then trap them with a live trap.
Guinea fowl are good eating and/or are saleable.

 

[Avery]

Thank you all for your very prompt replies. If the truth be told I would happily poison/shoot the lot of them, but the situation does not permit. I would prefer to stay within the law!:undecided:

His house is about 1/4 mile away into his own land, but my house is just twelve feet from his boundary. There is no way I can encourage the birds to stay at his end.

I have considered all sorts of methods and am trying very hard not to antagonise him any more than is neccessary. He is an extremley unpleasant chap and the relative dispositions of our lands gives him considerable potential influence over our lives.

Alas I am no handyman so I need a shop bought solution. Someone did say that a 150-200mw green laser beam may be visible even in daylight. I prefer that even this clue to our activities be hidden, so maybe a lesser powered device if the 200mw beam really is visible? I would like to be able to harrass the birds at up to 200yds away, if practical.

The laser will have to be hand held as I will ned to aim it through bushes and thickets. A device on my side of the hedge would simply reflect off the thick undergrowth and not get through to his birds.

Thank you to the gentleman who recommended a supplier. I shall pay their site a visit, but in the mean time, please, any further advice very welcome.

I'll let you know how I get on. By the way, if I do end up with a 200mw green laser, I have heard of safety glasses for my protection. Adviseable/essential?

 

[DakotaDaNative]

i highly advise safety glasses and i think anyone on this site would say the same. it wouldnt be fun to be blind than all your going to do then is hear the birds and not know where they are to scare them away <----blind guy lol

 

[Benm]

I suppose it would be best to borrow a laser first to test if it actually solves the problem. It still seems like quite an ordeal to go shining a laser around every day to get rid of them, and they could even get used to it and ignore the laser after they learn it doesnt actually harm them.

Perhaps its easier to go to some local animal shelter and get some outdoorsy cat. You can then use a low powered red laser to steer the cat in the general direction of the birds, if it doesnt do that on its own ;p

 

[Asherz]

If these birds are as persistent as you say, surely when you arn't using the laser they'll just come back for more? Same apply with the noise technique you've tried. Unless you leave the laser on all night which would mean the birds would probably get used to it and ignore it + plus with a laser pointer or even labbys duty cycle and lifetime could become a problem.

How many are there off them? You could try a humane trap to capture a few and then take them to another location (kill?)

Seems like a awkward situation, maybe accidental let a few foxes out near his chickens? If he has any?

 

[Meatball]

A wide angle two mirror spirograph would be pretty effective if the birds notic the dot or beam at all. Something that could be mounted outside to project onto the piece of land you're trying to protect, could be powered up and activated from indoors. A timer could even be set to activate the circuit at a specific time. These are just ideas... where did I hear that birds see UV better than anything? Perhaps Blu Ray is an alternative to a green laser?

Do you know where these birds drink from? Putting a large amount of rotting flesh from a dead animal can easily deter animals from an area... the trouble is, is that you may end up attracting a few new animals. Chances say, that these new animals may be the kind that most birds would want to avoid anyways.

Dogs and cats can't be beat for this purpose. A 6 month old puppy would love to chase birds off your property for you.

 

[HIMNL9]

Uhm, if a ultrasonic cannon don't help, some salt bullets can, maybe .....

Animals sometimes don't learn to stay away if someone shoot and kill them, but for sure, if they become shooted with salt, and stay alive, i bet they never return there .....

But i still think that ultrasound can help you, if lasers don't do the work, and bullets cannot be used .....


EDIT: or some trash-metal cd played at high volume, with the loudspeakers pointed in the birds direction, maybe ..... :eg: :eg: :eg:

 

[hakzaw1]

Some of these ideas are way over-thought--a plastic owl decoy might be your best answer if you cannot get a dog(a cat would be a waste of time IMO) owl decoys work very well to scare away seagulls- and maybe guineas too.

I have a neighbor with them and I will take some green pointers over there and see what their reaction is.

BTW unless it were a fairly young bird I don't think they would make a very tender meal-- I know from experience that an older chicken is very tough meat.

Another idea might be to run a water hose with a sprinkler on the end and turn it on whenever they approach-- also there is an motion sensor made for keeping dogs from your yard that turns the water on and off- but I am guessing that they are not cheap.

lastly it would be nearly impossible to do any damage to the tiny eyes of birds even at close range--a very small target that is not going to sit still. Maybe you have a friend with a bird dog who will visit and let the dog chase them a bit--might give them a reason to wander elsewhere. OR get some earplugs...good luck--hak

 

[hakzaw1]

If these birds are as persistent as you say, surely when you arn't using the laser they'll just come back for more? Same apply with the noise technique you've tried. Unless you leave the laser on all night which would mean the birds would probably get used to it and ignore it + plus with a laser pointer or even labbys duty cycle and lifetime could become a problem.

How many are there off them? You could try a humane trap to capture a few and then take them to another location (kill?)

Seems like a awkward situation, maybe accidental let a few foxes out near his chickens? If he has any?

FYI fowl roost at night in a henhouse or up in the trees--never saw a fowl running about after dark--don't think lasers are the answer---AND where would one find foxes to 'let out' and how do you get them to not just run off?? why not a python or a harpys eagle LOL

 

[Avery]

Thanks for all the tips, folks, even the rather esoteric ones.

I have been in touch with Novatech(?) and they gave me the following link http://www.laserglow.com/page/golfcoursebirdcontrol where there are several possible devices.

Unfortunately, cats and dogs, shooting or spraying or chasing them away are not options. It is his land, his birds and his peevishnes that I have to deal with. I was up at 4.55 this morning due to the screetching of his Guinea Fowl. His reply to my protests is that I should sell up and move. So far as he is concerned, the only problem is my complaints.

There is no doubt that it is deliberate and it appears that even as I write this, he is currently fencing in his land with large aperture wire fencing, immediately adjacent to us, presumably in order to make sure the birds remain penned in, close to us, but still on his land.

So far as the behaviour of the Guinea Fowl is concerned, they do learn, and quickly. But the problem is that we have done the decent thing as we see it, and stopped making the noises that would scare them away because we do not want to scare the horses.

The result of this is that each day the birds try it on a bit more, more and more of them come earlier and earlier as they realise that we are currently taking no further action against them.

At the height of our scaring period, we could go probably two weeks without disturbance, but as they regain confidence they come back maybe two or three times a week.

We have had suggestions that we breed foxes, just for the smell of their poo, spreading that onto the field and we are sufficiently far gone as to be considering that.

I like the noise idea but according to most people, "sonic bombs" are a pipe dream.

Pending the arrival of a laser pointer, does anyone know of natural predators for Guinea Fowl? Or what, if any, frequencies would get their unfavourable attention?

 

[HIMNL9]

Just as idea ..... some "horn" speakers (those that are usually mounted over cars for public announces ..... a 400 or 500W amplifier ..... and some audio files reproducing BIG prey birds screams ? ..... maybe these last ones can be a bit difficult to find, but some naturalists or hunters can know where to find them ..... and if the birds are intelligent enough to "learn" that in that zone there's the possibility to meet their enemies, is easy that they just start to avoid the zone .....

Also, audio bombing like this, don't left evidences, like instead bullets do ..... and, hey, after all, if the horses get scared, it's not your fault ..... first, also if he record the sounds as evidence, the records only shows natural sounds, that can be caused from animals ..... second, if they catch you using it, you can always defend yourself saying that you're using "natural and ecologic control systems", instead guns and poisons .....

For the corn seeded intentionally for attract birds, i suppose that some packs of salt, seeded at night on the ground where the plants are placed, can take care about them (and salt melt and flow away the first time that rain or irrigation happens ..... and also if someone analyze the ground and find that it's filled of salt, where's the evidence that you done that ? )

As for the last resource, some real big prey birds can be a solution, but this is an extrema ratio, cause they are surely not cheap, and not easy to tame (i've heard that in some countries there's companies that tame and train these birds for make "anti-birds service" for airports, as example, but not in my country, at least not yet, so i don't know how much can cost something similar) ..... but, hey, just imagine the face of your neighbor if you start to have something like golden eagles or bearded vultures as pets ..... and other than this, he can't complain also if they start to kill his birds, cause it's a natural thing for a bird of prey to kill and eat other birds ..... and can't shoot them, cause some of these species are protected .....

BTW, a sonic bomb CAN be built ..... it's simply not exactly directional, and part of the noise, ofcourse, bounce back and around, but i've experimented in the past with ultra and infrasounds ..... there's no way for make an infrasonic device directional, ALL around become affected, but ultrasonic frequencies can be "directed" on a target for at least 80% of the power ..... still not extremely efficent, but better than nothing :evil: :crackup:

 

[Avery]

I'm not sure that I entirely understand the corn/salt reference. Could you epand, please?

And please bear in mind that this guy has considerable potential power over us, due to his location and the lay of the land. Anything we do should be undetectable in normal, every day circumstances.