How to detect wild animal pests in a windy garden?
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I suppose a bunch of solar powered electric eyes could be positioned so that multiple adjoining triggers close in time indicate a likely animal presence (instead of just falling leaves or something). In that case, I suppose we could replace the robo-sentry by simply activating our regular irrigation system for a short period of time. That's sure to hit everything in the yard with water, and it would be well hidden, unlike the current makeshift solution of the motion-sprinkler staked to the ground with a hose running to it.
Is that the best that can be done? I was hoping someone here might know of some kind of ultra low power proximity detector that might be deployed, perhaps more cheaply and easily--or perhaps have a different insight altogether.
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I suppose if the AM612 could be made to be highly directional, instead of wide-angle in its detection, then it could be focused away from plants that move in the wind. What sort of optics would best support highly directional detection? Then its detections should have fewer false positives in absolute number. Its advantage is that it consumes very little current, so it is very well suited for use in a wireless mote that's either solar or battery powered:
https://www.openhardware.io/view/420/AM612-Passive-Infrared-Sensor-Breakout-Board
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Is it windy at night too? Have you considered like a laser/IR fence that if it gets crossed it fires the sprinkler?
@gohan said in How to detect wild animal pests in a windy garden?:
Is it windy at night too?
Not tonight, but sometimes.
Have you considered like a laser/IR fence that if it gets crossed it fires the sprinkler?
Yes. See post #7 above. However, I don't know how energy consumptive that would be. Do you? Definitely more than a AM612 PIR sensor.
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No idea about power consumption, but I agree it is definitely higher than a pir sensor. You could try to implement some rules about how often the pir is triggered in relation to other pir sensors, but that will require a lot of testing. About the "virtual" fence, you could use a cheap 12v lead acid battery that will give you a reasonable battery life and in case you could always add a small solar panel if the setup satisfies your needs :)
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Why not 3D print a hood like on camera lenses, that would leave view open only in the direction you want to check ?
@Nca78 said in How to detect wild animal pests in a windy garden?:
Why not 3D print a hood like on camera lenses, that would leave view open only in the direction you want to check ?
You mean like one of these?
I had thought of putting the am612 at the base of a simple tube to hopefully provide directionality, though I don't know how well that would or wouldn't work.
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If these ultrasonic repellers actually work, then perhaps that would be the simplest solution.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0742J1XJC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3L23X67U0ZFFD&psc=1
Then no water would be needed, and I guess false positives would't matter.Anyone here have any experience with them or anything similar?
According to: http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/HearingRange.html
a raccoon can hear sound frequencies up to 40,000Hz! That's clearly way beyond the range of human hearing. -
They work well for dogs so don't use this if you have dogs in the neighborhood.
And where is the fun ? :PFor the tube it should work as long as it blocks IR from unwanted directions.
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If you want to shrink the range of the pir sensor, just put some tape on the lens. About the repeller I tried once but it doesn't work on cats and indeed it was putting out a tone around 20khz but it wasn't bothering them besides drawing a little curiosity the first they heard it.
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The trouble with these consumer devices is that it's very hard to know what it is that you're getting. No datasheets. Nonetheless, I'd say the minimum features are a frequency knob that encompasses a frequency range well outside human hearing (I don't want to be annoyed by hearing it), weatherproofing (preferably IP66 or better), a large mini solar panel (I've seen some with solar panels that seem just too small), and advertising on the box which claims that the device will rid the type of pest you want excised. That still leaves one vulnerable to being scammed, though, so I filter that list by picking the ones that have both the best reviews and a large number of reviews by verified purchasers.
On top of that, it probably means getting about three different ones made by different manufacturers so that hopefully at least one will actually do the business!
Wish there was an easier way.
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So, I ended up ordering this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LW4VWV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm a bit disappointed that it's only rated IP44 and not IP66 or better, but with luck it will be good enough as the near-term solution. The amazon reviews of it are encouraging that it will do the job. -
There are quite a number of products on the market which are advertised as pest "repellers," and literally all they do is blink an LED at a fixed interval all night long.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBAIGQO/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JF0FEJIRJQ6IThe funny thing is: their amazon.com ratings are almost as high as the ultrasonic device that I ordered. Makes me wonder whether any of this stuff actually works at all, or whether by the time people receive their orders the pests have moved on to greener pastures and so consumers wrongly conclude that their newly purchased repellers are effective.
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Actually flashing light into eyes of a night mammal could indeed blind it temporarily as the eye takes time to go back to "low light" mode, not to mention being exposed to light may give off his position to any nearby predator. Anyway cats don't seem to be bothered but maybe something else is more susceptible to these kind of disturbances
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I think a "sure fire" scare tactic would be to have an RC car race out and make a rukus near wherever animal activity is detected. If it could actually chase after the animal, then even better. It would require a whole different level of sophistication, but it's no longer pure science fiction either.
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It might be time to level up :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPgqfnKG_T4@mfalkvidd - this is gold! Love the Sentry water gun idea!
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@sundberg84 said in How to detect wild animal pests in a windy garden?:
@gohan, @NeverDie - I just love the way this project evolves RC Cars and blinding leds... wonder where its going to end!
Oh, we've barely scratched the surface. That's why I'm hoping other people will add some ideas to the brainstorm. The more the merrier!
I kinda like the idea of having a jack-in-the-box fire off in the vicinity. That's sure to scare the bejeasus out of whatever critter wants to munch the plants. It would have to be able to re-arm itself automatically afterward though, because re-arming it manually would get tiresome in a hurry.
