Owl Decoy

[dsnrbec]

We want to mount a plastic decoy owl on top of our bird cage to hopefully deter other birds. Sparr is out of stock but we found some on Amazon. My question is how are they attached to the birdcage? The ones online have a hole in the bottom to mount on a pole but that obviously wouldn’t work on the birdcage. Any input from those who have them? Thanks.

[villagetinker]

I believe you could just mount a short piece of suitable pole to one of the vertical supports on your birdcage with 1 or 2 long screws. Use stainless steel screws and predrill the holes to the correct size.

[Stu from NYC]

My son has one attached to his house in Georgia and it works great to keep away woodpeckers who were pecking his house.

[Two Bills]

I had a plastic hawk that hovered over garden to scare pigeons away.
Not a bird was deterred.
We purchased an owl, and the pigeons s(H)at on it!
Get an air rifle. Do the job properly
They taste nice as well!

[Stu from NYC]

I had a plastic hawk that hovered over garden to scare pigeons away.
Not a bird was deterred.
We purchased an owl, and the pigeons s(H)at on it!
Get an air rifle. Do the job properly
They taste nice as well!

Would a bb gun work as well? Asking for a friend

[Toymeister]

Place 2-4 lbs of lead in the bottom of the owl, seal it. Climb your ladder to the roof, use a stick to push the weighted owl. as far as you want along a support beam towards the center.

The owl has relatively little wind resistance.

That's my suggestion. Please report back your results.

[Two Bills]

Place 2-4 lbs of lead in the bottom of the owl, seal it. Climb your ladder to the roof, use a stick to push the weighted owl. as far as you want along a support beam towards the center.

The owl has relatively little wind resistance.

That's my suggestion, the first one posted so far. Please report back your results.

2nd. actually.

[bilcon]

I have owls for several years on my lanai screen and they served a great purpose. The birds love to punch on them. Save your money. Get a cap gun( Remember them?) and any time you see a bird on your lanai, BANG.

[dsnrbec]

I believe you could just mount a short piece of suitable pole to one of the vertical supports on your birdcage with 1 or 2 long screws. Use stainless steel screws and predrill the holes to the correct size.

Thanks!

[dsnrbec]

Place 2-4 lbs of lead in the bottom of the owl, seal it. Climb your ladder to the roof, use a stick to push the weighted owl. as far as you want along a support beam towards the center.

The owl has relatively little wind resistance.

That's my suggestion, the first one posted so far. Please report back your results.

Thanks for your suggestion. Sounds reasonable. Will report back.

[Topspinmo]

Would a
bb gun work as well? Asking for a friend

Houses around here are too close to be shooting BB guns. Might put someone’s eye out:), beside I sure there rule or ordinance not allowing it unless you’re at the air rifle range?

[Topspinmo]

I have owls for several years on my lanai screen and they served a great purpose. The birds love to punch on them. Save your money. Get a cap gun( Remember them?) and any time you see a bird on your lanai, BANG.


I would to be afraid to do that with houses close, some one might call shots fired?

[Topspinmo]

IMO the dummy owl may work for while, but even the crows figure it out pretty quick. Crows hate owl cause the rob there nest in night, so they harass them if they even catch them in day light.

[Two Bills]

Would a bb gun work as well? Asking for a friend

Never had one.
A good water pistol is fun though!
Specially for 'dumping' cats!

[CFrance]

2nd. actually.
Actually, I think yours was sarcastic/not helpful. So you're suggesting someone sit outside and shoot an air rifle, possibly shooting the birdcage full of holes?

[Two Bills]

Actually, I think yours was sarcastic/not helpful. So you're suggesting someone sit outside and shoot an air rifle, possibly shooting the birdcage full of holes?

No. VT gave a perfectly good response in post #2 and you suggested shooting holes in birdcage.
My response to OP was my experience using decoys to scare birds, and a TIC option regarding air rifle..
No sarcasm intended.
I live in open space, so air rifle is a safe option.

.....and I shoot straight.

[Flanman]

We want to mount a plastic decoy owl on top of our bird cage to hopefully deter other birds. Sparr is out of stock but we found some on Amazon. My question is how are they attached to the birdcage? The ones online have a hole in the bottom to mount on a pole but that obviously wouldn’t work on the birdcage. Any input from those who have them? Thanks.
I used an appropriately sized L-bracket and drilled a hole through the bottom of the decoy attached with a bolt and nut. I attached that with 2 screws to a vertical frame section. Start with one owl decoy at the corner. I found I needed 2 - one at each end. Have not had a single bird land on top since.

[HeleneGB]

We tried owls to deter pigeons on our patio in California. A waste of money. Never deterred them.

[dsnrbec]

I used an appropriately sized L-bracket and drilled a hole through the bottom of the decoy attached with a bolt and nut. I attached that with 2 screws to a vertical frame section. Start with one owl decoy at the corner. I found I needed 2 - one at each end. Have not had a single bird land on top since.

Sounds perfect. Did you fill the owls with anything as has been suggested by others?

[Eg_cruz]

Would a bb gun work as well? Asking for a friend
No…..why hurt the birds
They are just living their best lives and you / your friend want to hurt them…..

[MrFlorida]

Save your money and your time, plastic owls will not deter anything.

[Altavia]

Reflective spinners are another option.

[sarvbill]

Search "Daddy Long Legs Bird Deterrent" on Amazon. They work really well on the bird cage.

[charmed59]

We floated a Mylar balloon in our birdcage and that worked well at scaring the birds away. I would imagine a spinner would work as well.

[Stu from NYC]

No…..why hurt the birds
They are just living their best lives and you / your friend want to hurt them…..

That was tongue in cheek sorry you did not see the humor.

Besides good luck shooting a flying bird not many can even come close.

[Kevinwitgen@yahoo.com]

Houses around here are too close to be shooting BB guns. Might put someone’s eye out:), beside I sure there rule or ordinance not allowing it unless you’re at the air rifle range?

Not to mention all the dead birds that will get stuck on top of your bird cage!! 🤬

[JMintzer]

That was tongue in cheek sorry you did not see the humor.

Besides good luck shooting a flying bird not many can even come close.

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Clay-pigeon-shooting.gif

[Stu from NYC]

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Clay-pigeon-shooting.gif

Vast number of people in that situation could not hit the side of a barn.

[davem4616]

We want to mount a plastic decoy owl on top of our bird cage to hopefully deter other birds. Sparr is out of stock but we found some on Amazon. My question is how are they attached to the birdcage? The ones online have a hole in the bottom to mount on a pole but that obviously wouldn’t work on the birdcage. Any input from those who have them? Thanks.


We had mourning doves nesting in our gutters, I attached a pole to the bottom of a plastic Owl and placed the pole in the downspout....haven't had a problem since

good luck

[noslices1]

We want to mount a plastic decoy owl on top of our bird cage to hopefully deter other birds. Sparr is out of stock but we found some on Amazon. My question is how are they attached to the birdcage? The ones online have a hole in the bottom to mount on a pole but that obviously wouldn’t work on the birdcage. Any input from those who have them? Thanks.

If it looks real, it won’t last long when a hawk or eagle sees it just standing there.

[Deden]

I agree. Dumb A-s.

[Topspinmo]

Actually, I think yours was sarcastic/not helpful. So you're suggesting someone sit outside and shoot an air rifle, possibly shooting the birdcage full of holes?


Only .177 thousands.:duck:

[Topspinmo]

If it looks real, it won’t last long when a hawk or eagle sees it just standing there.

You’ll fool them once after that gig up. I use to hawks hit my Purple Martin decoy after the one hit they ignored it.

[RatattacK79]

I have bird feeders up and yet to have any show up. Not sure what the nuisance is. But I love seeing and hearing birds…

[Bogie Shooter]

No. VT gave a perfectly good response in post #2 and you suggested shooting holes in birdcage.
My response to OP was my experience using decoys to scare birds, and a TIC option regarding air rifle..
No sarcasm intended.
I live in open space, so air rifle is a safe option.

.....and I shoot straight.

Where is open space in TV?

[jimjamuser]

We want to mount a plastic decoy owl on top of our bird cage to hopefully deter other birds. Sparr is out of stock but we found some on Amazon. My question is how are they attached to the birdcage? The ones online have a hole in the bottom to mount on a pole but that obviously wouldn’t work on the birdcage. Any input from those who have them? Thanks.
Sorry, they won't work unless you buy a motorized one with sound effects.

[jimjamuser]

Would a bb gun work as well? Asking for a friend
A BB gun is also really an Air Rifle. The internal spring moves a plunger which creates air pressure to move the BB forward. Just saying.

[jimjamuser]

I have bird feeders up and yet to have any show up. Not sure what the nuisance is. But I love seeing and hearing birds…
Florida doesn't have as many songbirds as you might imagine. Cats get a lot and so do the hawks and eagles. Coyotes eat their eggs. Songbirds have a tough time here.

[nancyre]

Super soaker will shoot through the screen without damage - BB or airgun will tear up the screen and damage other's property

[JMintzer]

Vast number of people in that situation could not hit the side of a barn.

They could if they were inside the barn! :1rotfl:

[Stu from NYC]

They could if they were inside the barn! :1rotfl:

Do they hit the ceiling when they aim for the door.

[Calisport]

How about a stuffed cat at the roof line of the cage? Probably scarier than an owl.

[Spikearoni]

I have bird feeders up and yet to have any show up. Not sure what the nuisance is. But I love seeing and hearing birds…

Bird feeders attract snakes too.

[Oneiric]

Birds quickly get used to and ignore the plastic owls. I'll never forget the day when we saw 5 different birds sitting next to a plastic owl we had on top of our bird cage. What worked REALLY well for us are Bird-X Stainless Steel Bird Spikes, available on Amazon, installed by any handyman. Absolutely zero birds since these were installed.

[dsnrbec]

Birds quickly get used to and ignore the plastic owls. I'll never forget the day when we saw 5 different birds sitting next to a plastic owl we had on top of our bird cage. What worked REALLY well for us are Bird-X Stainless Steel Bird Spikes, available on Amazon, installed by any handyman. Absolutely zero birds since these were installed.

Are they installed all around the top or just in places?

[Oneiric]

Reflective spinners are another option. Just our experience- the birds eventually got used to the reflective spinners and just sat a little further away.

[Oneiric]

Are they installed all around the top or just in places?
Birds have good eyes and can see them at a distance looking where they might land. They must be installed on the entire perimeter of your bird cage. You can barely see them and having zero birds is well worth the effort.

[OhioBuckeye]

They work but you have to move the decoy every couple of days, otherwise the birds get used to seeing it in the same spot. We have an Owl Decoy & tried to get rid of 2 Turtle Doves from landing in our Lani now the Turtle Doves think they’re buddies with the Owl Decoy. I found out a big rubber snake does better than the Owl or hang a couple of aluminum pie plate on the bird cage. If you get an Owl Decoy from Amazon get one that has a motion detecter that hoots when something lands near it !

[Jimmy Lee]

My neighbor had a bird problem and installed a couple of plastic owls. Within a few weeks the birds were ignoring them. He then had stainless steel spikes installed along the top ridges of his bird cage and it solved the problem. Years ago I bought a plastic owl to keep the crows off my mother's front yard in Michigan. It only took the crows about 2 days to figure out it was fake. I subsequently learned that crows are among the smartest birds. They can do arithmetic! This was determined by researchers who erected a tent near where crows were roosting. They then sent 5 people into the tent. This would cause the crows to become aggravated and they stayed aggravated until all 5 people left the tent. It didn't matter if 2 people left then two more people left and then one person left or if they left in any other order or combination. Until all 5 people left the tent the crows stayed aggravated. They repeated the experiment with up to 8 people.

[ElDiabloJoe]

... They can do arithmetic! This was determined by researchers who erected a tent near where crows were roosting. They then sent 5 people into the tent. This would cause the crows to become aggravated and they stayed aggravated until all 5 people left the tent. It didn't matter if 2 people left then two more people left and then one person left or if they left in any other order or combination. Until all 5 people left the tent the crows stayed aggravated. They repeated the experiment with up to 8 people.
This just tells me they don't like ANY people in their tent, regardless of the number of people. No math skills involved.

I had an owl on my dock up north. It was covered in bird crap, they roosted on it. I tossed it and got a couple of black rubber snakes on Amazon. Boy, those were great! For about one summer. Then the birds completely ignored it.

I found some of those spike strips at an estate sale. I installed them (upside down) on the beam above the boat lift cables, the preferred roosting (and crapping) spot of the swallows. Those lift cables happen to be directly above my boat. They (and their crapping) have not roosted on the cables since. Make sure to buy yourself a pack of stainless steel screws for mounting in any outdoor capacity.