Deer Whistles

[passionateaboutRUBY 0]

So this morning we were tripping along one of our suburban freeways in Ruby at about 100km/h. As we rounded a curve in the right lane, there were two SIZABLE deer steeping toward the road! I started to touch the brakes, expecting to take evasive action, then they glanced at us, turned and ran off up the hill.Good thing; it's a 6-lane stretch with concrete median barrier and a fair amount of traffic. They would not have had a happy crossing. After we caught our breath, we got to wondering if it was our deer whistles that scared them off. How well documented are these little whistles, anyway? We have them on both cars just for good measure, but we've never seen them work (until today?)

[bilgladstone 13]

I guess they do have 'em on my car too and haven't hit a deer yet.The elephant whistles are working well too!

[MikeT 747]

I think they have a great placebo effect. I had them in the Kootenays for 4 years and ungulate behaviour with and without them was identical.

[Duck 16]

Did you ever hit one? If not, then they may work The only way to prove they don't is if you hit a deer and have them installed, I guess.My '85 Corolla had them on it when I bought it, and I left them on. Figured why not.-Iain

[bilgladstone 13]

I think they have a great placebo effect.

Playing head games with the deer, eh? Convince them the whistles work and they'll stay off the damn road.

[MightyMouseTech 0]

One issue I have with these things, is, if they are supposed to be producing a frequency above our hearing level that scares away the deer, how do you know that cars do not already make LOTS of noise at these same frequencies while they are driving along at highway speeds? Look at all the small gaps in the panels.....they are all making whistleing noises as you drive, you just can't hear most of them because they are out of our hearing range....Just saying.......

[SMRT EH 0]

We put over a million night k. on our van all through deer country with a whistle they always ran away. This fall I hit a deer in the Smart san whistle for 8 bucks I think I try the placebo.

[passionateaboutRUBY 0]

... producing a frequency above our hearing level that scares away the deer, how do you know that cars do not already make LOTS of noise at these same frequencies .....

I guess you DON'T know exactly what noises are coming from each car unless you find a way to do a noise assessment at those higher freqs. Maybe someone has done this?

[yolanda 0]

Like religion, a lot of people say "heck it's cheap, why not hedge my bets?" I too use deer whistles but I think they probably do work. I think they produce a very rounded and clear note vs the mucky muddy noises of all the other stuff on cars. Clear and rounded notes at high frequencies carry farther and more closely mimic wild animal danger calls. I can't hear the deer whistles but most likely because they are out on front of the car and only working at high speeds. I CAN hear dog whistles and other "inaudible" high pitched sounds though, and they're distinctly different from random whistles of high wind on irregular shapes. (and can be very annoying)

[Tardis 3]

OK guys my two cents and yes we hit a deer before installing whistles. Look up Jake hit a deer thread.Before they were installed there was a farm dog that always chased the smart along the ditch when we passed.. after the whistle he now tucks his head down and does not run with the car.After the whistles we noticed the mennonite horses quite often turn to look at us coming, cows often look up when we pass more so than before.Yolanda's right you have to be going at least 50 k per hour for them to work but under that you would probably not hit one any way. Unless of course you were in a PT cruiser. Our friends have one, were driving slowly looking at some property and the dumb deer ran out then veered into them kicking the S**t out of the the door. they were crawling along trying to let the deer outpace them. (Bambi fought back)Since installing our we have noticed the deer do in fact look our way then head back off the road so I beleive they do work. Of course if it is hunting season no whislte on earth is going to stop a panicked deer trying to out run the gun.We just have the cheapest ones from the dollar store two of them incase one falls off as they often do but at a buck each who cares.Karen

[yolanda 0]

OK guys my two cents and yes we hit a deer before installing whistles. Look up Jake hit a deer thread.Before they were installed there was a farm dog that always chased the smart along the ditch when we passed.. after the whistle he now tucks his head down and does not run with the car.After the whistles we noticed the mennonite horses quite often turn to look at us coming, cows often look up when we pass more so than before.Yolanda's right you have to be going at least 50 k per hour for them to work but under that you would probably not hit one any way. Unless of course you were in a PT cruiser. Our friends have one, were driving slowly looking at some property and the dumb deer ran out then veered into them kicking the S**t out of the the door. they were crawling along trying to let the deer outpace them. (Bambi fought back)Since installing our we have noticed the deer do in fact look our way then head back off the road so I beleive they do work. Of course if it is hunting season no whislte on earth is going to stop a panicked deer trying to out run the gun.We just have the cheapest ones from the dollar store two of them incase one falls off as they often do but at a buck each who cares.Karen

Okay, I need a picturing showing how you installed it! I fitted mine in the center of the lower grill, right at the bottom. It's kind of inside and whether it's catching wind I don't know but I drive pretty careful when I"m out of the city.

[passionateaboutRUBY 0]

The ones I use come in pairs; each whistle is a different note so together I imagine they emit they supersonic equivalent of a "dis-chord". Bell Automotive Products; sold at CTC. We mounted them into the upper edge of the lower opening, where it appears there would be steady airflow.

[Duck 16]

We put over a million night k. on our van all through deer country

What kind of van goes 1 000 000 km?! And all at night? You must have upward of 2 million km on the odometer!-Iain

[yolanda 0]

] The ones I use come in pairs; each whistle is a different note so together I imagine they emit they supersonic equivalent of a "dis-chord". Bell Automotive Products; sold at CTC. We mounted them into the upper edge of the lower opening, where it appears there would be steady airflow.

That looks like a good spot, thanks for the idea. I'll do that when the time comes to reinstall.

[MikeT 747]

Theoretically these things need a decent throughput of air to make any noise, so they should be on the roof or side mirrors. On that dead end panel I doubt they'd be passing much, if any, air.

[limecabrio 0]

Have a pair of deer whisltes on my other vehicle. On the way to the cottage one dark, rainy and slippery night, I spotted two deer in the lights, and slid by them standing on the shoulder. One deer in its haste to retreat ran into the rear bumper of the car. Thankfully, neither deer or car was injured but it did deplete my confidence in the whistles. limecabrio

[passionateaboutRUBY 0]

Theoretically these things need a decent throughput of air to make any noise, so they should be on the roof or side mirrors. On that dead end panel I doubt they'd be passing much, if any, air.

Mike - that spot is part of the airway to the A/C rad. The pic might be deceiving; there is airflow over both whistles.limecab - when you "slid by", were you doing more than 50km/h? If not, there would likely be no sound.

[MikeT 747]

Actually it appears to be in front of the dead end panel that is a high pressure area, of stagnant air. It's to the left of the vertical element, right? If so, then it's in a no-wind zone.Only the central opening in the lower valence passes any significant amount of air on to the radiators.

[Speedie 4]

Did some research a while back - Deer (really stupid deer) are a problem over on Saltspring so I was considering the deer whistles - apparently the deer whistles have more effect if you actually fling them at the deer - at least the whistle in the wind types.They used to make a powered one - might be more effective - but then you have to ascertain what noise will make deer go towards the ditch to flee rather than in front of the car - just annoying them might not be enough. The other aspect is that the thing has to be loud enough to project well out in front of the car - no easy task if the car is going 50km an hour (13.8 m/s) so you would need a pretty good amplification method (Deer have sensitive hearing but the sound has to get there first and then there is reaction time).The primary cause of deer jumping in front of cars is not the car but the deer seeing a shadow from the headlights behind them moving. This invokes the "get my backside out of here" response and they jump in front of the car rather than getting eaten by the nasty bushwacking shadow critter. Best thing is to avoid driving in deer country during twilight hours and exercise caution during the fall rut (those crazy bucks) and if there are deer around. Either that or promote hunting - that tends to make the little buggers keep well clear of roads and such - couple shotgun blasts tend to be more effective than the whistle in getting them to exercise caution crossing the road.Cheers,Cameron

[bilgladstone 13]

If you see them in the road, flash yer lights at 'em! Breaks the spell and off the go... ... so I've been told.

[Speedie 4]

Wonder if an acetelyne cannon like they use in orchards is street legal - hmmm.... been looking for a use for that shifter side switch - I got a 12 v. solenoid kicking around - and the piezo lighter from the BBQ...... Cheers,Cameron

[bilgladstone 13]

Sometimes you can flash yer lights, toot yer whistles and it just don't do any good.

Them critters just get all hyped on go-juice and munchies and they stumble into trouble!

WARNING!

Don't click the pic if you're strongly sensitive to roadkill.

Photo by my daughter's friend.

Bil

[passionateaboutRUBY 0]

Actually it appears to be in front of the dead end panel that is a high pressure area, of stagnant air. It's to the left of the vertical element, right? If so, then it's in a no-wind zone.Only the central opening in the lower valence passes any significant amount of air on to the radiators.

Mike - you're right that there is LESS wind in that spot. That would mean that if our whistles are functioning as they're supposed to, they would only function at higher road speeds than if they were mounted on the roof or mirrors. For anyone considering adding them, it would be possible to mount them on the inside of that vertical element, for more air flow. So we have some opinions here, everything from "wouldn't be without 'em" to "pretty well useless"! (I love this forum!) We have only the one deer experience since we started using the whistles a few years ago, so 100% or our experience is that they work. Maybe the deer here in Ontario are smart-er?