Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler
by Contech
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List Price: Our Price: $34.99 You Save: $25.00 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler
Customer Review: Lifesaver
Summary: 5 Stars
The scarecrow is a true lifesaver.... for my goldfish at least! I struggled with a cat problem for several months, losing 10, perhaps 20 goldfish that resided in my outdoor garden tubs. I've physically chased the cat away, hoping it would have some sort of lasting "scary" impression, but my goldfish population kept dwindling. I even tried using rosemary/lavender oils, scents that are supposed cat deterrents, with even less success. I almost ordered a batch of the fox urine (yuck) repellent sold online, but decided against it after reading the heaps of bad reviews it garnered. And then, 20 unfortunate goldfishies too late, I stumbled upon the water scarecrow. At first I wasn't too thrilled at having to spend over 50 bucks on a cat deterrent, but I had already spent more than twice that on the cost of goldfish (yes yes, I know there is no cost to be placed on innocent lives) so I did the math and knew it would have paid for itself, if it did infact do what it had claimed. What actually sealed the deal for me was reading all the reviews on here. SOOO many people raving over this little gadget, loads of stories that started out so similar to my own, but instead ended happily ever after.... with the help of the scarecrow of course! So I bought it, and have NEVER LOST A GOLDFISH SINCE. I've even absentmindedly left the water source turned off overnight a few times, but thankfully, that's not nearly enough time for Mr. Cat to muster enough courage to face the scarecrow again. I guess there's nothing better than a cold splash of water to show a cat that its unwanted.
Customer Review: This Really Works!
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought a home that stood vacant for half a year. In that time, every cat in the neighborhood became accustomed to using the grounds as a nicely landscaped cat box. I bought this item, and voila! No more cats defecating on the lawn, squirrels uprooting carefully planted bulbs, or raccoons drinking from and splashing in the pool. Even if the water misses them, the clicking sound provides a sufficiently deterrent "freak out" factor. The 'crow provides no small measure of entertainment for a night owl like me who sits quietly outside at night reading or browsing Amazon on the laptop.
Easy to assemble, loaded with options for angling and focusing its powerful spray, the Scarecrow delivered. It was worth every penny.
I'd advise checking it every few days to ensure that the couplings are completely tight. I flooded a flower bed one day after I repositioned the 'crow. I'd loosened the hose at the bottom. Retightening was easy.
As for the warnings about getting sprayed inadvertently (because, say, you go to fetch the mail and forget the 'crow is on), everyone in this family has felt the fury of the 'crow at one time or another, but it just makes you laugh.
I like watching it work, but my enthusiasm derives less from seeing an animal in panic, and more from the satisfaction I feel about using a device that doesn't harm an animal. No poison, buckshot, or ravenous watchdogs--all of which seemed reasonable when I was picking up twelve pounds of poo a day.
That's why I'm getting two for my parents for Xmas!
Peace,
Michelle Lamb Discher
Customer Review: Fantastic product, great company!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this earlier in the summer on the recommendation of a colleague. I have a small vegetable garden and raised flower bed area that had been mowed down by hungry deer. The scarecrow works great at repelling animals and preventing destructive behaviors.
Incredibly simple: Assemble the unit, attach a garden hose, and stake it out in the garden. The motion-sensor is very sensitive, and it does take a bit of fiddling to get the positioning and sensitivity settings correct, but once everything is set you can basically forget about it. I checked it every few days to make sure the stake hadn't shifted and the motion-sensor wasn't blocked by growing foliage. The deer stopped eating the plants, and every so often I would hear a very satisfying sprinkler-sound drifting in through my open windows early in the morning letting me know the Scarecrow was still hard at work. The Scarecrow has been keeping my tomatoes safe for 3 months now with no problems. I have not had leaks as others report, but I also added a quick-connect attachment onto my hose, so maybe that helped.
A note on the company: The original unit shipped to me was defective and would not work when connected to a water supply. I called Contech Electronics' customer support number, and they were very friendly, professional, and efficient. They shipped a new unit to me that afternoon, and it worked perfectly. If only more companies were this reasonable!
I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a safe, effective animal-deterrent.
Customer Review: Worth every penny
Summary: 5 Stars
My neighbors 14 stray cats that she decides to feed everyday turned my yard and my back yard into a cesspool. it smelled so bad that my 7 year old refused to play in the back yard.
After I installed this thing (a month ago), no more cat poop. I never had the patience to stare at the window to see how it works but yesterday I was lucky to see it in action. I just wish I had a camera to snap a few shots.
This cat was about 15 feet away trying to get a peek around the garage corner. Scarecrow was about 45 degrees from that corner.
() [GARAGE----]
*cat [GARAGE----]
##### YARD #####
#### ^^
#### ^^
#### ^^ SCARECROW
This cat tried 4 times to get a peek from the garage corner and the scarecrow managed to detect it and turned on the sprinkler every single time. (scarecrow setting was in 7)
It loooks like the 8 sec delay totally in sync with the cat as the damn thing took almost that long to decide to try again. This thing really works !
Finally one thing about pet owners. On the outside you people look like you are so nice that you care for the animal. But those of you who feed animal and let them defacate on other people's property are the scum of the world. These are the same people who probably do not shower or brush their teeth. Disgusting !
Customer Review: Works well, but took a lot of effort to set up
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this device to keep a Blue Heron from eating the fish out of my Koi pond. When it arrived I was struck by light-weight plastic used in the construction of the device. When I set it up, I quickly found that the plastic hose and sprinkler head connections leaked. I used some Teflon tape on the threads and reduced the water pressure, which seemed to solve the problem.
The next issue I ran into was that the sprinkler head would not hold its position. The light plastic ranging clips just spun around the base of the sprinkler and sprayed water everywhere but where I wanted. I replaced the sprinkler head with a metal one from the hardware store, which solved that problem.
The next problem was that the short plastic stake would not hold the device in place for very long before it fell over. I solved this problem with a section of half-inch PVC pipe hammered deeply into the ground and then forcing the stake into the PVC pipe.
After getting it all set up so that it would stay in place and spray water where I needed, I had to play with the sensitivity over the next few days to keep it from going off when the grass plants around the pond moved with the wind.
It now seems to work fine, but I had to invest a good deal of time and the cost of a new sprinkler head to get it to work as advertised. I would recommend this unit, with comments above, for use in controlling bird or animal problems primarily because I have not been able to find other products of this nature.