Bird scarers

[Warp Land Farmer]

Do the Porter kites / flags on a long pole / spinning balls actually work? Crow bangers are great but not with horse paddocks being the next field.....

 

[average farmer]

Kites work well for a week or two.

 

[Shutesy]

In conjuction with gas bangers and rope bangers and rotated round fields they work ok as part of a strategy. On there own they wont work over much of an area for too long.

 

[chaffcutter]

We've had five kites up for several weeks now, if the wind gets a bit too strong they do tend to wrap themselves around the pole but generally if you put the pole in at about 60 degrees they fly well, the hawks with the long tail are the most effective as they are moving all the time unless it's dead still. You do need one for each 25 acres or so unless you are also using bangers or something else as well.

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

Are they any more effective then the good old scarecrow then?

 

[nick...]

Kites are ok till people nick them.ive had a few stolen over the years
Nick...

 

[chaffcutter]

Yes good point, ours are far enough away from houses this year but we have had them stolen in the past. Another thing is that the telescopic poles do let go and collapse into a shorter pole so I have taken to fixing the joints with a bit of tank tape.

They are better than a scarecrow etc as it is the constant movement that scares I think.

 

[Kidds]

Horses usually get used to gas bangers very quickly, it is the horse owners that make a fuss not the horse.

 

[whindy]

The fibre glass hawk eye aren't good can snap off in strong winds

 

[Clive]

The fibre glass hawk eye aren't good can snap off in strong winds

they are cheap though - the sentinel is similar but twice the price so I guess is stronger

 

[Badshot]

I have a chap I call wurzle, he's keen as mustard to shoot pigeons, but as soon as he appears they disappear

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

Horses usually get used to gas bangers very quickly, it is the horse owners that make a fuss not the horse.

Absolutely true.

Our horses are 250m from a banger and they don't flinch or stop grazing when it does its three pops.

It is right on a footpath and pointing at the village though, but that's another story

 

[dannewhouse]

had a few grumbles about our banger guns starting before 6 am but the pigeons were out in numbers at this time so I had to start it early

never used kites but did make a scarecrow for the peas and it worked very well (tied a bag under each arm to blow in the wind)