How do artificial owls keep birds away?

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For literally hundreds of years, farmers across the globe have used scarecrows to be able to deter crows from coming for their crops. It is an ingenious little device, that has acted as a deterrent for generations, and is so simple it's application that it seems that there no possible way that it should work. However, that is exactly what it does.



It is based upon this kind of mentality that people have looked for similar kinds of options to assist them in keeping other animals away from their property. One of these is the use of an artificial owl. By placing the owl on their roof or around their home in some way, the belief is that this will help to keep birds from coming around.

Birds are naturally afraid of owls because of the predatory nature of these beasts, so it is proposed that having an artificial owl would be successful in keeping other birds away. The question becomes if you can believe if artificial owls will actually keep other birds away?

As odd as this may seem, this is something you can do that will keep flying creatures like birds away from your property. It would seem that they would look at this artificial creature which is not moving and find no reason to be deterred by it, but the fact remains that it does work. Several different studies have been taken and have found that this can be a successful means to keep other birds away. However, it must be done in the right way.

What is meant by that is that you simply can't leave the artificial owl in the exact same location they after day. Birds may not be that smart, but they are also not that dumb when they never see the owl move they will eventually become wise to what is going on and not fear any longer.

To ensure that you keep the element of fear alive, it is recommended that you move the owls around on a regular basis. What you will find is that these critters will believe that the owl is actually living and will do their best to avoid coming around your property as a result. If you make sure that you frequently move the artificial owls then you will have even greater success.

Keep in mind that these kinds of ideas are not new in any way. In many old buildings and castles that you will find even a thousand years ago, this idea was used and is why you see gargoyle and other kinds of critters placed around the roof of their buildings. This was designed not only as a scare tactic for enemies, but also as a means to keep birds away from the structures as well. It worked a thousand years ago, and you can be sure that it will work for you as well today. Just make sure that you take care to move your artificial owls around on a routine basis.

Do Artificial Owls Keep Away Birds?

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Do you have a problem with birds on your home or property? Perhaps it's a commercial building you have a bird problem in? Whatever the problem, one of the things that you are likely to have read is that artificial owls can be used to keep away birds. But ... is it true? Could something as simple as a plastic owl really solve all of your bird and bird-poop problems?



Sadly, probably not.

Some birds will more than likely be put off by the sight of an owl, plastic or otherwise. Most of them, on the other hand, will not be bothered by the dummy owl in the slightest. The bird prevention method is not foolproof, and different homeowners seem to have different levels of success with them. In areas where birds are rife and the problems are great, a couple of stuffed owls probably won't cut the mustard. In other places, when you only have a problem with a couple of innocently dumb birds, the owl decoy might just work. It's a trial and error thing, but sadly you're more often than not going to come away disappointed.

Taking a quick peek online and you'll see that these owl decoys are only around $10 to $20, so you wouldn't waste lots of money if you were to buy a couple and give them a shot, but you should be aware that decoys rarely work to repel any animal. The good news with most birds is that they fly together, and you'll only need to scare away a couple of them in order to encourage them all to go away. You'll probably find that you'll have better luck using a scarecrow, or similar old-fashioned and conventional idea, than you will with a $20 plastic bird.

For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How much does bird removal cost? - get the lowdown on prices.
How to get rid of birds - my main bird removal info guide.
Example bird removal photographs - get do-it-yourself ideas.
Bird job blog - learn from great examples of bird jobs I've done.

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