Do Deer whistles actually work?

[TomoHawk]

How many of you have had experience with, or own one?

I'm in the suburbs of northern Ohio, where there are so many deer, sometimes they roam city streets like gangs! Even with the annual hunting seasons to thin out the heards, you still see them sometimes on wooded lots or wooded areas in the park system. My mom's roses have all been decapitated.

I erwmemner seeing deer whistles all thewtime in the J.C. Whitney catalogs, so I Googled (verb) for some "deer whistle" devices, and found a place that sells electronic ones (http://www.xp3hornet.com/), and a passive one (http://www.deerwhistle.com)

I prefer the passive type, since I'd rather not add any more electrical stuff to the Z's wiring :tapemouth so i'd probably mount the passive one to the underside of the front bumper, if possible, with some of the rare-earth magnets i have, it'll go on & come off easily (sort of).

thx

and w

[LanceM]

A lot of people around here swear by them, my folks have run them since they came out. I've had cars with them and cars without. 35 years of driving in northern Indiana I've hit 2 deer and have had several close calls, one about 3 weeks ago, all of them were with cars without them....

Do they work, don't know, anymore I think the best defence is keeping your eyes moving and drive defensively, think of deer as nothing more than kids on bikes only without the bikes, can't count on them to do anything except the unexpected!

[ggarrard]

My first experience with the deer whistles was a couple of years ago, driving our "new to us" van home one evening. The previous owner had installed the little plastic stick-on whistles under the bumper. The deer turned around and bolted back into the woods...instead of up onto the road. I have since put a pair on the front end of our Altima, but haven't yet put them on the Z.

I agree the best defence is to be alert...but sometimes they appear out of nowhere..

So far my experience is leaning towards the whistles being a good investment...($8.00 CDN)

GWGarrard

[boyblunda]

I note that this device is also supposed to be effective for kangaroos so maybe a comment from down under might be okay here.

I have various brands of passive whistles on three of my vehicles and my very subjective opinion is that they probably do get animals moving sooner. No real proof of this but I thought they were worth the investment given the lack of expense compared to the electronic "Shoo Roo" which sells for seventy times as much. Despite the expense, I have heard station (ranch?) owners who live in serious roo country swear by the electronic devices particularly as they are working at all speeds the car might be travelling at.

I have collected three roos so far this year - two during daylight and one at night. All were on the move at the time we collided. I have had many near misses at night, particularly over a crests and around bends, when I have found several animals going in an equal number of directions.

My personal thought is that the best money I have spent on roo detection and avoidance has been on a good set of driving lights - a pair of Hella 2000 spotlights looking straight down the road plus a pair of Hella 500 lights underneath angled to each side of the road. Over here, the roos you see are often not the problem animals, it is the other animals leaping about that cause the greatest excitement.

However, it is easier to detect something on the move and if my whistles are helping there, then that gives me a better chance at a good start to the rest of my day.

If your deer are in plague proportions and represent a serious risk then maybe an effective electronic device and good lights are warranted. Maybe look at it from another viewpoint and think how much money it might have been worth spending in the hindsight of an encounter of the worst kind in a beloved Zed.

[Zthing]

http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmj/9705/rm970503.htm

Hey....found this. Has some information about the whistles at the bottom. Don't sound too promising. Take care.

[TomoHawk]

Neither deer nor humans can hear ultrasonic sound. Whistles blown by mouth near captive deer produce no response.

Deaf Deer?

[280z1975]

The word from my friend who lives out in far west Texas where the deer are ALL over the place says they don't do anything. She (along with many of the other locals who live there) have never had any help with them. The only sure fire deer protector is the thick steel front cages you see farmers have attached to thier car fronts. It won't always work, but it can.

[SteveJ]

Well, my thinking is that deer whistles are as effective at repelling deer as the magnets on the fuel line improve gas mileage.

Google can be your friend, too: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=deer+whistle

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1677/eb1677.html

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/021118/02111812.htm

http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/deerw.html

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01522.htm

http://www.cnr.usu.edu/crossings/pubdetail.cfm?projname=&locstate=&Submit=Search&offset=51&pID=862

Need more? Just use that Google search. I didn't include the "pro" side because they fell into two categories: people selling the product or anecdotal accounts. Neither is enough to convince me, especially the testimonials. After all, I've been out on a golf course in a thunderstorm without getting hit by lightning. Does that mean it's a safe thing to do?

[zbane]

I have heard both sides of this discussion. The one that got my attention the most was this-If the deer whistles do indeed work in sonically disturbing the deer into moving, isn't it just as likely that the sound will make sedentary, grazing by the side of the road, minding their own business deer more likely to RUN INTO the road in an illgained effort to get away from the noise?

I've never personally used one, so I can't say if they work or not. I have, however, been passenger in an equipped car and hit a deer with it.

[TomoHawk]

Well, I got a magnet out of a computer hard drive and a set of deer whistles from Murray's Discount Auto Parts, and I'll saw the magnet in half then GOOP it to the whistle, so I can stick it opn the bumper, or anywhere else, and it's guaranteed to stay there, unless it get's hit by something solid.

thx

[Sailor Bob]

They work for the retailers! Alot of people around here who travel the highway use them, I haven't heard any complaints.

We have moose instead of deer - accidents are deadly - typically the moose's legs get busted off and the body ends up in the cab (through the windshield). Not good.

[Virto]

Not really on topic, but we sometimes, rarely get Elk. A large forest preserve north of Chicago has an Elk facility where they're supposed to remain caged over something like 200 acres, but once in a while a fence will come down or someone will snip the chain link, and an Elk or two will make it into the whole of the preserve.

This wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a 4 lane highway running through it. I've seen one Elk/car accident and I tell you, I'd much rather hit a deer.