Over in the “hunting/no hunting” GD thread, we were talking about deer getting hit by cars, so I wondered whether those ultrasonic Deer Alert gadgets really work. I notice that this particular model bills itself as a plug-in, not a “wind-activated” one, like that’s supposed to make a difference.
Here’s what the Column Archives have on ultrasonic bug repellers, but it doesn’t mention deer. The Thread Archives are evidently not back up yet.
I don’t have a source, but I remember reading about some folks who tried them out.
Didn’t do a thing. Deer did not seem to care at all.
I’ve also seen things along the highways (5-10 years ago) that were supposed to do the same thing. They looked sorta like a paddle wheel mounted laterally on a pole. Cars would go by, causing them to turn, which would then presumably cause some sound that sould frighten deer.
When I was kid we put these (the wind operated kind)on the family car and we never even SAW a deer again for years. The idea behind these widgets was that the deer would hear you coming and not be startled by your headlights, et.al., NOT that they would be scared off by the sound. As far as I could tell, they worked
I worked in Wyoming for a while. People were constantly hitting antelope. The company safety people looked into them and found they don’t work. If you are worried, put one on to “feel good”. They certainly won’t attract deer so it won’t hurt. In honor of “feel good” laws, if only one deer is saved, it is worth the cost; after all, I’m not buying it for you.
You can also play your stereo loud, it will work just as well.
I used to drive at night through the Davis Mountains out here in West Texas quite frequently in a truck equipped with “deer whistles”. My conclusion: you’d be a fool to trust them. (The whistles, that is; deer are very trustworthy.) So, since I had to always slow down, drive extra carefully, and break frequently anyway, why bother?
They are extremely common around here. Unfortunately the discussions I’ve heard about them are using the whistling about tigers argument. EG A:“Why are you whistling?”
B:,“To keep away tigers.”
A: “There are no tigers in Saskatchewan.”
B"See it works."
I don’t think they work simply because they ignore the tendency of deer to freeze when they are startled. A frozen deer on the highway=deer sausage.
Keith
I’m grateful Notthemama asked this question. I was looking at the differing prices at Wal Mart on these gadgets, wondering if they worked. Here in Atlanta, not only was Bambi ‘deer sausage’ but she flew in the air after the motorist hit her, and then she hit a boy on a bicycle, killing him. But, I guess if they don’t work, there’s not much point to getting one, just slow down and avoid woodsy areas in the evenings.
I worked at a car dealership in an affluent rural area. It seemed like every used Mercedes that came in had these deer-whistle things tacked onto the bumpers. I started collecting them. Then one day, I snagged a big chunk of 3M foam tape and stuck about a dozen of them to the underside of my bumper (so I wouldn’t look like an idiot). That night, I blew through my pet-owning pals’ neighborhoods at about two in the morning.
When I got home, every outside dog in my neighborhood was howling. Did a single one of my friends notice? Hell no. Dogs do that all the time. Did I do it? Maybe, although I would point to my lack of an exhaust system as a possible cause. Verdict: inconclusive, though I should add that I saw no deer.
When I was semiregularly commuting from northern Nevada to southern Idaho to run river trips I got a set, my favorite line being, when I asked a laconic Idaho native if they worked, was “Haven’t heard.” I’m familiar with the theory that what keeps the deer paralysed on the side of the road will keep them paralysed in the road, and that seems to make a bit of sense–I guess the only proof would have to be negative; has anyone who had them installed actually hit a deer?
Alan Q
My mother and step father got a set of deer ‘whistles’ in a fun little gift exchange on year at Christmas. I bet with all my life that those whistles are the reason that NOT ONE DEER ever ever ever set foot in their bedroom closet where they were kept for 5 years.
We have the same sort of devices on sale in Australia to scare kangaroos away from the highway, for the same reasons you guys are worried about deer. We have both the wind-driven type and the electronic ultrasonic emitter type that bolts to the front bumper bar of your vehicle.
And funnily enough, the same question gets asked here too: “Do they work?” And no-one here has come up with a conclusive answer either.
I live in major deer territory & you can’t hunt them here either, so there are plenty of black tailed deer. Not all deer are the same. Anyway, they see cars a coming whether you got that silly thing or not. They have eyes on the side of their head & they are mighty sharp.
Might be fun to put a Dog whistle on the bumper. Anyone try that?
Here’s my Official Irrelevant And Anecdotal Evidence:
My father’s vehicle has carried deer whistles for years and years, and he has never hit a deer, and rarely sees any actually on the road. I have no deer whistles, and my car has hit two deer in two years. Well, actually, both deer ran into the side of the car.
But I don’t think the whistles have anything to do with it. Dad drives a 1985 Suburban. It’s like the Titanic, only with a grill guard and 4-wheel drive. When the deer see him coming, they get the hell outta the way. I drive a '98 Pontiac Grand Am, and when it comes into contact with a fast-moving deer, it crumples like a candy wrapper. They see me coming, they yell, “I can get it!” and plot an intercept course.
My dad was telling me about some guys he knew who got tired of fixing the damage to their truck because they’d run into deer on a regular basis. (To avoid wooded areas in northern Michigan, you’d have to pretty much avoid all of northern Michigan.) They welded a homemade heavy-duty grill to the front bumper that would kill the deer with no damage to the vehicle. It proved so effective that they would hit deer intentionally for the free meat.
I have no idea whether deer whistles are effective or not, but you have to admit that the person who came up with the idea was probably pretty smart. Especially for using an adhesive strong enough to stay on the car, yet weak enough to get knocked off by car washes, requiring you to buy more…
I don’t use a whistle & I haven’t hit a deer in this heavily populated deer area in 30 years but then I drive responsibly. Most of the people I know who hit deer were going way too fast.
