# Have there been advances in scarecrow technology?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-advances-in-scarecrow-technology/239262>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 10, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-advances-in-scarecrow-technology/239262 "2004-04-10T01:47:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-advances-in-scarecrow-technology/239262/21 "2004-04-11T22:14:53Z")

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> [@yabob](#):
>
> I have some reservations about that statement. Most birds supposedly have little or no sense of smell, an exception being vultures, which apparently locate carrion partially by smell. Perhaps somebody like **Colibri** could comment.

Yes, that’s correct. Most birds have a very poor sense of smell (exceptions being Turkey Vultures, kiwis, and a few petrels that find their nesting burrows by smell.) I doubt very much that crows are going to be able to detect the scent of a scarecrow at any distance under most circumstances.

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**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-advances-in-scarecrow-technology/239262/22 "2004-04-11T22:43:29Z")

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This is more for deer and large “critters” you want to keep out of your shrubs, etc, but on Ask This Old House they helped a homeowner install sprinklers attached to a motion detection system. Once deer got within a certain distince of the shrubs/garden they were pelted with a spray of water and scared off.

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**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-advances-in-scarecrow-technology/239262/23 "2004-04-11T22:57:41Z")

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**Its, Eki and Fire** I don’t see how that would help. I thought crows were largely carrion eaters and had no ethical problems with cannibalism.

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