Using a BLF GT70 to repel wildlife

mgracia85 · 2019-01-12T20:27:50.000Z

I have a small dog, as you can see on my avatar, and when I would take him out to do his business at night there was this certain type of bird by one of the trees just watching him. Needless to say, I read online that if you beam them with light, they stay away. . . . I did, and he hasn’t been back since.

jon_slider · 2019-01-12T21:01:25.000Z

> I can’t believe how tolerant those critters are of the blinding beam

lights and strobes do not deter animals
the light just makes it harder for them to see you
and harder for them to see their escape route

if you shine a light at an aggressive dog, it will use its nose to keep track of where you are, it does not matter if you are hidden behind a flashlight

to deter a dog, or skunk, or raccoon, you need to use something that irritates their nose or eyes
for example Pepper Spray, or a squirt gun loaded with ammonia water

plain water in a squirt gun, will startle a dog, but as soon as he realizes it does not hurt, he will resume the attack

Plain water on an aggressive Raccoon, is an invitation for him to wash his hands, before he eats you.

So, unfortunately, NO, a flashlight will not deter animals.

And, if you shine a light at a bird, it cant see where to fly to, it freezes until the light is gone, so they can see their escape route.

Firelight2 · 2019-01-12T21:19:28.000Z

jon_slider:

…Plain water on an aggressive Raccoon, is an invitation for him to wash his hands, before he eats you.

The raccoons must be as big as grizzly bears where you are. :smiling_imp:

Pete7874 · 2019-01-12T21:28:49.000Z

I can’t believe how tolerant those critters are of the blinding beam of a GT70 at close quarters.

Ever heard of the phrase “like a deer in the headlights”?

RobertB · 2019-01-12T22:15:30.000Z

I don’t know, but it almost seems that animals take no time for their eyes to adjust back to dark unlike humans where it can take minutes. A deer is a good example. Standing in the road staring at your high beams, then jumps into the woods at full speed without hitting anything.

Spartan · 2019-01-13T05:43:19.000Z

I have a small pickup with a led array on top bar good for about 10,000+ lumens. It’s fantasticks on the back roads, literaly turns the forest into daylight, but does nothing to deter deer taking in a late snack….or scurry out of the way.

I swear, one day one of them is going to raise a leg and take a p*ss at the truck.

lionheart_2281 · 2019-01-13T06:52:59.000Z

I found that crabs don’t respond AT ALL to the wavelength of LED flashlights, might be similar here?

raccoon · 2019-01-13T07:19:35.000Z

In 2010, shortly after signing up for BLF, my neighbor's pit bull got into our yard and fatally wounded my mom's dog, Garth, a German Shepherd.

(Garth did not die from his injuries immediately.)

The pit bull was in our front yard, and my mom and Garth were in the back porch.

There was no barrier to keep the pit bull from further injuring Garth, or attacking my mom.

So I stood in the side yard with a flashlight, the Lumapower MRV SE.

I shined the light at the pit bull as it ran around in circles and Animal Control tried to capture the pit bull.

Every time the pit bull got close to me, it turned away because of the light.

If it weren't for the flashlight, that pit bull would have gone from the front yard, to the side yard, to the back yard, to the back porch, and caused more injuries.

teacher · 2019-01-13T07:53:50.000Z

Only thing you needed to add to that equation RC is a 12 gauge shotgun & a good stout load of #2 shot. Threat eliminated……

raccoon · 2019-01-13T08:32:38.000Z

Our family bought a Mossberg 500 because of the incident, though we haven't had a chance to use it.

Instead we moved away to a much nicer part of California.

It's for the best, as well, because killing the pit bull would not end the problem.

The real problem is the evil owner of the pit bull, and I don't feel comfortable killing him.

teacher · 2019-01-13T08:59:23.000Z

… I understand completely. Good choice not killing the owner, way too much paperwork involved in that……

toddcshoe · 2019-01-13T09:24:35.000Z

raccoon city:

Our family bought a Mossberg 500 because of the incident, though we haven’t had a chance to use it.

Instead we moved away to a much nicer part of California.

It’s for the best, as well, because killing the pit bull would not end the problem.

The real problem is the evil owner of the pit bull, and I don’t feel comfortable killing him.

I am a pitbull owner and it gets me some wicked kind of PO’d when I hear of crappy owners of Pitbull’s or any dog for that matter. I never understood people who don’t train and take care of their animals. I can respect someone who is not a animal lover and chooses not to have pets. But to just be a irresponsible owner will and has gotten people killed or seriously injured. Sorry you had to witness and deal with that RC.

toddcshoe · 2019-01-13T09:29:42.000Z

Sorry, back to the subject at hand. I have a friend that swears by spraying urine around the perimeter of his yard to keep critters away. Small suburban lot. I didn’t ask for his mixture ratio as I was having a hard time catching my breath from laughing so hard.

raccoon · 2019-01-13T10:15:11.000Z

toddcshoe:

I am a pitbull owner and it gets me some wicked kind of PO'd when I hear of crappy owners of Pitbull's or any dog for that matter. I never understood people who don't train and take care of their animals. I can respect someone who is not a animal lover and chooses not to have pets. But to just be a irresponsible owner will and has gotten people killed or seriously injured. Sorry you had to witness and deal with that RC.

That neighbor was the worst neighbor I've had in my life by far.

He was proud of the fact that his dog was a killer and even called it "Killer" as a nickname.

We had trouble with him over and over again.

Now we live in a community where the neighbors are pretty darn good, and not that close to our home either.

Deputy_Dog · 2019-01-13T13:11:58.000Z

I can’t believe how tolerant those critters are of the blinding beam of a GT70 at close quarters. I certainly would be running away if someone shined that at me.

As someone who is involved in wildlife enforcement and K9, I’ve seen this everyday.

Very interesting thread. We humans can’t relate because smell isn’t our primary sense when it comes to survival, for us seeing is believing, we believe what we see more than what we smell. Many, if not most, animals believe what they smell more than what they see.

The birds on the other hand, I’m not sure what’s going on. It would be a fun test on some different types.

Frumious · 2019-01-13T22:44:05.000Z

Two-legged rats and skunks DO run from light. But something else makes them run away even faster. True story:

A friend of mine owned a tourist shop on a street that was being overrun by two-legged dumpster divers and panhandlers. It was hurting his business as tourists shopped more pleasant streets. The city couldn’t get rid of the divers. Every time the city tried to relocate them, the ACLU took them to court, successfully defending their right to sleep on the sidewalk and panhandle.

I don’t know what made my friend think of it, but he wired up a pair of stereo speakers outside his shop and played a one hour loop of opera arias. Quick as a bunny, the ne’re-do-wells vacated the sidewalk in front of his store. Other merchants saw this and did the same thing. Some tried playing Country Western music but that did not work. Neither did grunge, folk music or just instrumental classical music. It seems opera arias have some kind of supreme repellent quality among street people.

I don’t know if this would work upon raccoons.

Lightbringer · 2019-01-13T22:50:35.000Z

teacher:

@ fazalmajid…… Try ‘fast strobe mode’ & see if that makes any difference. I have no idea if it will or not, but it should be interesting to see.

Or just hit ’em with nasty low-freq pwm, see if it drives ’em crazy.

Firelight2 · 2019-01-13T23:20:29.000Z

toddcshoe:

Sorry, back to the subject at hand. I have a friend that swears by spraying urine around the perimeter of his yard to keep critters away. Small suburban lot. I didn’t ask for his mixture ratio as I was having a hard time catching my breath from laughing so hard.

This technique could also be used to save water in California. Defend your yard and save water in not flushing at the same time!! :smiling_imp:

teachtom · 2019-01-14T00:33:58.000Z

I have found something that has helped me this fall/winter. After looking at many alternatives to keep the deer from destroying my yard, I found something called Yard Defender by Orbit. It connects to your water hose, has a sprayer,timer, motion, and light sensor. You set the range,sensitivity,area of coverage and day, night or anytime time period. Kinda pricey at $75. but it works. Any critter that comes in range get sprayed.

HorizontalHunter · 2019-01-14T01:18:57.000Z

A paint ball gun would work and you will have fun doing it. You can always step up your game by mixing in some pepper balls with the paint balls.

Bob