Bird-X YG Yard Gard Ultrasonic Animal Repeller
by Bird-X
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List Price: Our Price: $30.88 You Save: $94.12 (75%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Bird-X YG Yard Gard Ultrasonic Animal Repeller
Customer Review: Back to the Pellet Gun
Summary: 1 Stars
I hope this second review takes (the first one disappeared while I was reviewing it). This Bird-X Ultrasonic Pest Repeller, in my honest opinion, does NOT work. That is, for squirrels who continually raid my bird feeders. I am 74 years old and should have known better. But I was completely taken in by the glowing enticement of the advertisement PRIOR to purchase. I carefully setup and adjusted the Bird-X within 30 feet of the bird feeders and gleefully awaited the results. For about 12 hours, I actually believed the Bird-X was admirably performing its job and I was overjoyed. Then the squirrels came, and came, and came. I could hear the sound coming from the Bird-X, but either all the squirrels at the feeders were deaf (I personally wear hearing aids) or were hungry enough to ignore the sound eminating from the Bird-X. I reread the instructions and reset and adjusted the Bird-X. I did this several times and could have sworn the squirrels were grinning at me while enjoying the bird seed. I again read the 2-page instructions and noticed one bit of information I had not noticed before. Basically, the manufacturer stated to remove all enticements that would attract the pests from the area you were trying to rid them. Unfortunately for the customer, this was not mentioned in the advertisement (probably an oversight on the part of the manufacturer). I do NOT intend to remove my bird feeders. I DID intend to remove the Bird-X gimmick, but my mind dwelt on two things. First, maybe, just maybe, the Bird-X attracts rather than deters the squirrels. Maybe while enjoying my bird seed they were also enjoying the instrumental or whatever coming from the Bird-X. Then I started grinning! Now it was Dead-Eye Bob (with the possible help of Bird-X like a siren luring sailors to their doom) versus the squirrels. Secondly, the RETURN POLICY(30-day max, customer-paid returned shipping, and 15% restocking fee) cooled or chilled me on that possibility. Final note: Save your money and invest in a good pellet gun. The only thing you (and the squirrels) will be missing is the serenading or luring of the squirrels by Bird-X. HINT: Get a recording of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" by Tiny Tim....Same results....Customer Review: Less effective than a shotgun, but more neighbor freindly though
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want something to ensure a dog never sets foot in your yard again, get a shotgun. Because this won't do it. But if you want to make your yard less fun for dogs, this is great.
In weeks prior to installing it, there was dog poo in the yard every week when I mowed. In the 8 weeks or so since installing it, there has been dog poo twice. One was my fault - I turned it off while doing yard work, and forgot to turn it back on. The other time was within the first couple weeks, so the dog may have been still figuring it out.
The neighbor dog does still come in the yard when playing fetch, playing with kids, or stuff like that. This will not drive them away howling in pain. But when the dog is looking for a nice relaxing place to squat, he can now find better than our yard. As far as I'm concerned, that is just about perfect. I don't mind them playing in the yard, I just don't like the mower tracking poo into the garage.
These things are not supposed to be audible to people. Or at least not adults (children have a larger hearing range). But everyone I've asked under 60 can hear it when its on. What we hear isn't exceptionally loud, so it is not putting out full volume in audible frequencies. I think its just a sloppy/cheap buzzer that leaks into the lower frequencies.
One other thought: It has a red LED that glows through the motion detector any time it is activated. At night it is visible from down the street... So today I opened it up, and put tape over it. There are 4 screws holding it together. You just take them out, and comes right apart. There are two things sticking up from the circuit board. One is the motion detector. It is like a metal button with a glass lens on the front. Don't put tape on it! The other thing sticking up is the LED. It looks like a small clear plastic light bulb. A 1/2" square piece of electrical tape covers it nicely, and now it doesn't glow every time someone moves.
Customer Review: Keep the cats out from my backyard
Summary: 4 Stars
I like pets but if people let 20+ cats go to their neighbors' backyard as toilet is something going too far.
I had think of use my BB gun (w/ scope) to shot all invaders but abandoned the idea after a couple of second (just not my character but I understand why another reviewer pick up his gun...), so I spent $50+ for this product.
It's work so far after use of about a week.
I'm using it in AC mode so to keep it up 24/7 and have no idea how it stack up my electricity bill, anyway stop those cats to treat my backyard as their toilet is the first priority.
Do not expect cats, dogs, and even opossum to react or retreat from the ultra sound immediately, but eventually I observed they just stay away from the sound source and my backyard.
Some cats still jump down to my backyard but just stay few seconds then jump up and go away.
I give it 4 stars because it's expensive, the motion detector function (explain later), and I believe the area cover is not as advertised (4000 sq ft) even I can't measure the exact real cover area.
Another reason I turn it on 24/7 is I tried to use motion detector but those cats are pretty smart to avoid it. Also body motion can't trigger it but wind blow the leaves activate the ultra sound (same distance), so it's pretty hard to predict it's work fine or not.
I just don't wanna spend $150-200+ to cover my whole backyard.
Compare to cat repellent which cost $13+ but cover only small area and last only 30 days, this is a pretty good product if I don't see a surprise in my PG&E bill.
By the way it stated it can repel insect too but I'm doubt about it.
7/11 update: Some old cats / white cats are not response to the sound and keep coming, and I found out it's the limitation of this type of product. Well, I had to spend another $60 for a Contech Scarecrow for the exception, so far the result is satisfactory.
Customer Review: It Worked For Me
Summary: 4 Stars
Imagine a neighbor's cat fouling your yard every single night for ninety nights in a row! Wet cat poop - in a rainy clime - on a yard used by toddlers.
We tried chemical sprays, a water-sprinkler motion sensor (From Contech); cat-deterrents. Nothing worked. He just pooped around them, right on our brand new lawn. I was furious, but I could never catch the cat in the act cause he did it at 3 in the morning. Then he started doing our front yard and digging up the roses too.
That was before I placed this little green YardGard machine under a glass table on the back porch, and turned it up full blast using the "always on" electrical option (instead of battery or motion sensor setting). The company says the range is 80 feet, and since I've got a fenced-in back yard, I get the Matterhorn echo effect off the fence walls. I thought our situation was hopeless, but the YardGard worked. The cat stopped coming around.
The sound is ultrasonic and very high-pitched. I can hear it, but it's extremely irritating, so I turn it off during the daytime. I put one in the front yard too, inside a lattice box to disguise it, and aimed it down my lawn. I have a corner lot that's perched on a hill and surveys the whole neighborhood. My wife says she's seen cats scurry across the street when they get near our property, just to get away from the sound.
So yes...THIS WORKS. A couple of caveats - kids and people with good hearing can hear it, even though it's supposed to be 10DB above human range. Make sure you unplug it when your children play in the yard. It could damage their ears and you might not know that.
There was a nice 'ending' to our story, too, some months later. One night I heard a loud hissing sound at 3 in the morning, then silence. A coyote had my feline friend in his mouth for a late night dinner.
Our YardGard is now in the garage.
Customer Review: This product works for us
Summary: 5 Stars
We use this product in our yard to repel deer. Before DeerGuard, we tried dozens of chemicals, devices, and barriers. Some worked at first - but then deer became used to them. Every year, they stripped our azaleas and many other plants clean of buds and leaves from fall to early spring. There were no flowering azaleas in our yard then! Worse, deer liked to "hang out" in our yard even when nothing was left of their preferred vegetation. They then began to chew on and sometimes strip plants they would normally leave alone. In short, deer made themselves at home in our yard.
We tried DeerGuard for the first time last fall. At first, deer still came and nibbled - but over time fewer came and they did less damage. Rather than get used to DeerGuard, they seemed to avoid it more and more over time. They no longer "hang out" in our yard - at least not anywhere near the DeerGuard device. This spring, our azaleas flowered nicely for the first time since the deer "discovered" us several years ago. It took a bit of patience, but we now feel that we finally have the upper hand. We recently bought two more DeerGuard units to protect the rest of our yard. An unexpected side benefit is that dogs avoid the protected areas - so if your community does not require or enforce leashes, DeerGuard is a convenient second layer of defense.
Reviews by customers were very helpful in steering us away from lower quality products and to DeerGuard. Customer reviews of DeerGuard itself ranged from very high to very low marks. We wondered if lack of patience or other factors caused some pest control professionals' negative reviews. Anyhow, DeerGuard works for us!