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Birds in the office... — Parallax Forums

Birds in the office...

tobdectobdec Posts: 267
edited 2012-05-19 12:39 in General Discussion
Walked into a bird sanctuary this morning....kinda sick of it. These birds keep getting in and we dk how they're getting in. Heres my question..short of an auto targeting machine pellet gun lol....is there some ultra sonic frequency generator I can build to keep these winged rats out? Anybody know of some frequency range that birds can't stand to be around? Im starting to feel like Albert Hitchcock....accept this time birds die!
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Comments

  • Mark_TMark_T Posts: 1,981
    edited 2012-05-14 15:15
    A model bird of prey or silhouette of one facing the way they get in? Or is it birds of prey that are invading?!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2012-05-14 15:24
    Stun Grenade. :)

    Or a little more humane:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?139293-S2-Marauder-12-shot-Semi-automatic-...
  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,983
    edited 2012-05-14 15:36
    Are they angry birds?
  • User NameUser Name Posts: 1,451
    edited 2012-05-14 16:26
    All the farm stores around here sell strychnine-laced grain to kill pocket gophers. A few mayonnaise jar lids filled with this grain and strategically placed about your workplace might clear things up.

    Another approach that worked fabulously in my basement was to open a window and let the poor thing fly away.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-14 16:28
    Mark_t: Not birds of prey...magpies...and the whole statue bird thing has never worked for anybody I know...just something for them to land on.

    Publison: If you have access to live military grade stun grednades PM me NOW!!!! lol, and reguardless of my bird problem.....i like that!

    Frank freedman: The mommy bird was pretty pissy but the babies were scared so one was...there were 2 other neautral adult birds for a total of 3 adult one mad mom...and 4 babies that I (stole) so I guess that makes what? At least angry birds original round 5? And me a pig?

    User name: Ive done that 3 times now this week...kinda getn sick of seeing birds and cleaning up theire ****...bc it smells like ***
  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2012-05-14 17:13
    The local Home Depot has the same problem. The birds wait for the loading bay doors to open and then swarm above the birdseed. They have installed some kind of device that plays a litany of "fuss calls" and songs of birds-of-prey at a loud volume every time the door opens. I'm not sure what is more annoying, the birds, or the bird repellent. http://www.birdbusters.com/scare_bird_garden_pest.html
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-14 17:28
    Awesome~at $1500 I think i'll pick up 400! lol I bet I could rig up a BS2...a PIR and a hacked mp3 and some speakers to do the same.....hmmm...wait dont even need the bs2 just the pir bc it has a high output.....this could be cheap!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2012-05-14 17:33
    Time to get an office cat. :)

    Get some shrimp and Browser will hang out and take care of them.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-14 17:47
    No offence...but I hate cats...it would end up like the birds...
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2012-05-14 17:55
    Can you put up some cameras to find out where they're getting in?
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-05-14 17:56
    tobdec wrote: »
    No offence...but I hate cats.....

    Forget the cat.

    Get a dog.

    dog-with-gun-257x300.jpg
  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2012-05-14 18:02
    tobdec wrote: »
    Awesome~at $1500 I think i'll pick up 400!

    Don't be silly, one would be plenty.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-14 18:12
    Xanadu: Thats something the owner and I need to discuss anyway....

    Aye: My greatgrandmae had a poodle I swore was that sadistic......I still have memories of wanting to skin that dog (alive) and a small dog would most likely do the trick!

    Martin: With 400 all going at once I seriously doubt any animals...humans....or police would care to attempt contact with the front door...soooooooo 400 it is!
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-05-15 07:56
    Here in Taiwan, we have a rather popular racing pigeon culture. I was visiting some Taiwanese that own an restaurant when the husband came in with his prize racer. I was asked if I liked pigeons. My reply was "Yes, they are delicious." The wife was amused as this was a huge waste of money for them.

    I suspect that magpies might make a decent meal. After all, just about any bird can be eaten.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2012-05-15 18:23
    Well, first things first. That's Alfred Hitchcock!

    You might be able to trap the bird by first providing some food that is freely accessible and then adding the trap later. If it is nesting you could put the trap in the same location the nest was in and the nest in the trap as bait.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-15 18:28
    Loopy: im not down for eating wild birds from my area....ive seen the things they eat

    kwinn: trapping them isn't the issue they are getting trapped in my office when they get in I've caught them like 4 times now
  • BrowserBrowser Posts: 84
    edited 2012-05-15 18:42
    Publison wrote:
    Get some shrimp and Browser will hang out and take care of them.
    rite. bring me shrimpz first, then i will eat any birdz u bring me, too.

    -browz
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-05-15 21:47
    http://www.bird-x.com/ works.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-15 22:19
    erco: the coyote cracks me up...however the bird spikes actually looks promising....and I think I found out where they are coming in at. The shop used to be a tanning salon....which also did spray tans, they never closed that vent off properly. Some expanding foam and this bird spikes wire stuff and im good to go! I think for what we have ill just make the spikes its like 8 inches wide from corner to corner.
  • Mark_TMark_T Posts: 1,981
    edited 2012-05-16 07:45
    tobdec wrote: »
    Mark_t: Not birds of prey...magpies...and the whole statue bird thing has never worked for anybody I know...just something for them to land on.

    Then an _animatronic_ cat or bird of prey would be my next suggestion - perhaps an eagle owl - they are huge, cute but deadly - I've seen a B.o.Prey display where they flew everything from perigrines to merlins, but the eagle owls had to stay on a leash because there were pets in the vicinity and they can easily take small dogs!!

    Or more realistically a bird-song sensor and a recording of various bird alram-calls might work. Then again magpies are pretty bold. Google tells me crows and magpies have a special emnity so perhaps an animatronic crow?
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-05-16 09:01
    By cooking with tomato sauce, any gamey flavor would be subdued. In fact, with enough tomato sauce any meat becomes rather unidentifiable.

    Has anyone else ever tried peacock for Thanksgiving dinner?
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2012-05-16 09:52
    Just think how much fun these would be in an office setting...
    Fun with Birds...
    These are used at Fish Hatcheries to battle the Herons(birds that like fish)...

    Just $75 bucks for the Fed License, and you and your coworkers can have lots of fun in the office..

    -Tommy
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-16 10:08
    Mark_T: I actualy thought about just a moving plastic owl might do the trick...allthough it seems my expanding foam in their (gateway to heaven) is keeping them out just fine now so I think the issue is resolved!

    Loopy: I know exactly what you mean! My father and I fed our whole family (mystery stew) after hunting for 3 days with no catch at all.....turns out the mystery meat was a oposssum I nailed with the car on the way home rofl! We put it in chilli...wasn't half bad actually.

    Ttailspin: I swear to God as soon as my manager gets here im gona try to talk him into it! BTW do criminal records (none felony of course) affect getting that license? Both the owner and I had a colorful youth lol
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2012-05-17 07:49
    This is what they did in Tokyo to repel the (non-existent) homeless people from camping in front of sheltered department store entrances in the fancy Ginza shopping district. They put ultrasonic emitters in a cross coverage pattern at the entrance. They tuned it just above normal hearing range, and cranked it up. If one was accustomed to the high pitched ringing from CRT monitors one could sure detect it and figure out what was going on. The two ultra sonic signals varied by a few cycles at different rates, so the it generated subsonic beat frequencies. The combination built to something like hammer and a nail in the middle of your head. After a few minutes, folks just didn't want tot stay there anymore. Everybody I talked to claimed they couldn't hear anything, but it really worked, nobody hung around those doors anymore.

    I think you could get those piezo tweeters from radio shack, and a quickstart, and maybe a an LM386 or what ever and be good to go. I guess the frequencies for birds would be much higher, and less likely to bother humans, but it may be gratifying to know that any birds in the area will feel like their heads are going to explode. Just have to determine the right set of frequencies and volume...
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-05-17 08:03
    Toyko has homeless people. Have you ever been to Ueno Park and seen them living in tents?

    General rules with all critters are to get rid of the food, the water, and the shelter - they will not hang around.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-18 00:36
    The "homeless" here crack me up. I had one women come up to my car....would you please blahblahblah...my response "First off you have one roughly $350 dollars of designer cloths on....much of which is better than what I had on and in better condition....2 you can't possibly be homeless....your perfume has got to be at least $60 a bottle!" This is the kind of Smile we have here....I just want to know what possess these people to call themselves homeless...gimme a break. braino: That may just work I can hook a few op-amps up to a signal generator up outside and just watch til the birds get the heck outa dodge....and use that one lol.
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2012-05-18 06:59
    Hope it works. I've been meaning to try it for years, but always have too many irons in the fire.

    Incidentally, the Toyko homeless were "non-existent" in the eyes of the non-homeless. I used to trip over them daily in Shinjuku station. When I asked about this obvious contradiction to public policy, folks said (and seemed to believe) that those folks all simply wanted to live that way, and all had homes and families they could return to anytime. It was very Reagan-esque eerie. Crime was similarly non-existent, since they didn't count the yakuza, domestic violence, political corruption, or unsolved cases. This was my formative real-life experience with "applied statistics".
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-05-18 08:32
    The "homeless" can be a strange bunch. In Helsinki I have heard social workers explain that there is a "hard core" of homeless that really seem to want to be. Find them a place to live in a cheap apartment or in case of emergency a hostel and they will soon leave preferring to be independent and "free" out on the streets.
    Now considering that they will do this in winter when the temperatures of -20C are normal and down to -40C is frequent enough and you start to realize how "hard core" they are. My hat off to them. Some of them have been the politest people I have ever met after giving them a cigarette or such.
  • tobdectobdec Posts: 267
    edited 2012-05-18 11:17
    I can appreciate and relate to a fellow who is down and out on his luck if he is polite and such...however one day (mind you this way the very last time this ever happened)a homeless man was sittin out by the road beside the Panera bread me and my gf were at. Me being the generous guy I am asked him why he was sitting there and if he was ok. He simply said I ned a ride to such and such place. I said well I cant help you directly but here is $20 for a cab.....he told me to eff off.....I ws like um I want th money back.....not athankyou...or even a smile...eff off? At that rate you will and deserve to stay homeless. People here in the states don't know what its like to want or need...or even starve. They're all a bunch of spoiled brats that think the whole world revolves around them...and deservingly so. This is turning more into a rant lol....ill leave it at this though...ive lived through and seen true poverty...as well as my fiance who is from a pretty poor part of china....this iphone generation doen't know what the word suffer means....rant over! back to birds in office lol
  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,983
    edited 2012-05-18 21:25
    I seldom give the guys beggin at the lights any money. If it is near a fast food place, I will sometimes get the guy a meal combo, (no, NOT a happy meal!!!). You can generally tell who is really way down by how they accept this small thing, and lots of little cues. Of course I noticed one once putting a donation into a pocket, and his pants looked as though he had lot of paper stuffed in them. Not insulation, I would bet money. Y'never know........

    Frank
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