# Monkey Sounds at the Auto Plant **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802 "2010-01-21T04:50:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/1 "2010-01-21T04:50:43Z")
In my travels, I have often visited a few different automobile production facilities. One in particular I had been to several times and many of those times I noticed peculiar sounds being played over loud speakers outside of the facility. The sounds were those of monkeys calling, screaming, whatever. Finally, I asked someone what that was all about. His response was that because at any given time there \*a lot \*of brand spanking new cars parked outside, the monkey calls kept away birds to avoid any mess before the cars ever saw a dealer lot. So, do birds in North America (the Midwest, actually) really recognize monkey noises and identify them as a preditor? Or are these moneky noises just annoying to birds? Or are these monkey noises just annoying to humans and not having much effect at all on the birds? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/2 "2010-01-21T06:08:41Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > His response was that because at any given time there \*a lot \*of brand spanking new cars parked outside, the monkey calls kept away birds to avoid any mess before the cars ever saw a dealer lot. I doubt that. I had a friend who worked summers for a car dealer. Much of his job involved cleaning cars, including a full, careful wash of every new car right after it arrived. Even if no bird ever pooped on it, the cars traveled halfway across the country on railroad cars (often right after trainloads of coal), then were unloaded in dirty railyards and transferred to auto haulers, then trucked over dirty highways to the dealers lot. They are dirty, dusty, and far from showroom condition when they arrive at the dealers, and will always be washed right away. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/3 "2010-01-21T07:06:11Z")
I suppose it’s possible this guy was just taking a guess at why the auto plant would play monkey sounds over loud speakers outside. Made sense at the time, but I just want to know if this method would even be an effective bird repellant. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/4 "2010-01-21T12:35:00Z")
It’s also possible that management thinks it works that way and does it without proof. I sure don’t know, but it would definitely annoy people after a while. I can tell you that when farmers have severe crop damage occurring from deer and the DNR decides to try noise to save the crop, that the deer get used to the noise and don’t stay away. However the neighbors for miles around wish to destroy the different noise making devices that have been tried. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/5 "2010-01-21T15:03:18Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > I doubt that. > > I had a friend who worked summers for a car dealer. Much of his job involved cleaning cars, including a full, careful wash of every new car right after it arrived. Even if no bird ever pooped on it, the cars traveled halfway across the country on railroad cars (often right after trainloads of coal), then were unloaded in dirty railyards and transferred to auto haulers, then trucked over dirty highways to the dealers lot. They are dirty, dusty, and far from showroom condition when they arrive at the dealers, and will always be washed right away. But there’s a world of difference between plain old dust and bird poop. Bird droppings can seriously corrode paintwork if left on for any length of time. Dust, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/6 "2010-01-22T00:11:47Z")
Probably hawk or eagle noises; predator bird noises to scare away the little ones with large anuses. Dust and grime or not, one story I hear often from car-lovers is that guano has acidic properties to ruin the finish of a car. Besides, some cars might sit there festering under their splats for weeks given current economic conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/7 "2010-01-22T01:19:25Z")
In the spirit of people who shout “Band name!” I just wanted to point out that the title of this thread would make a great album title. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/8 "2010-01-22T02:26:04Z")
Bird poop _will_ eat through paint. It can etch the clearcoat on fresh paint in minutes. I don’t know anything about monkey noises though. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/9 "2010-01-22T02:31:33Z")
They don’t damage the paint at all. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/10 "2010-01-22T04:57:40Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Probably hawk or eagle noises; predator bird noises to scare away the little ones with large anuses. > > Dust and grime or not, one story I hear often from car-lovers is that guano has acidic properties to ruin the finish of a car. Besides, some cars might sit there festering under their splats for weeks given current economic conditions. Monkey noises. Distinctively monkey noises. I guess what it comes down to is…can animals identify preditors that are not indiginous to their own native area? ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/11 "2010-01-22T06:06:01Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Monkey noises. Distinctively monkey noises. I guess what it comes down to is…can animals identify preditors that are not indiginous to their own native area? Central American monkeys might scare away migratory birds in North America, since some of them will winter there. Not the starlings, which congregate in flocks of thousands and stay around all winter. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/12 "2010-01-22T19:02:38Z")
I can’t address whether American birds are scared of monkey sounds or not, but I can point out that new cars have a lot of protective plastic coatings on the majority of the body surfaces from the time they leave the plant to the time they arrive at the respective dealers. Bird poop might work its way through paint (which I doubt, given the short time), but it won’t get through plastic. I’m curious; which plants have you been to that do this? None of my own company’s plants have anything like that. There’s not really any need. When I worked in air traffic control in a previous lifetime, there’s one thing that works to deter birds: loud explosive sounds along the entire length of the runway. They don’t like that. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/13 "2010-01-22T19:50:39Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > … scare away the little ones with large **anuses**. Cloacae. Birds don’t have anuses. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-sounds-at-the-auto-plant/525802/14 "2010-01-22T22:06:39Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In the spirit of people who shout “Band name!” I just wanted to point out that the title of this thread would make a great album title. When I read the title, my first thought was that maybe the OP was confused and it was not really an auto plant but a banana plant.