Wind-Powered Device Scares Deer Away

Wind-Powered Device Scares Deer Away ENERGY Wind Power 27-5-16 Garold Brunken had trouble keeping deer away from six new fruit trees his daughter planted until he hit on the idea of a wind-powered device to scare them away. "I took the idea from an anemometer like the ones on weather sites," Brunken says. "I thought a bigger one would turn constantly to keep the deer out. The motion of the large barrels frightens the deer away." Instead of the small cups used on regular wind measuring instruments, he used large plastic barrels. "The barrels are bright colored which makes them easy for the deer to see. And because they're lightweight, they really move fast with just a little wind," he says. The barrel-halves are held in place by thin steel plates bolted to the ends of the barrels. The device mounts on a greaseable roller bearing so that it turns easily. The whole thing stands on a large steel "X" that keeps the barrels stable even in high winds. "It is light enough to carry by hand if we need to move it to a different part of the farm," he notes. One of these devices is effective enough for a small orchard. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Garold Brunken, RR 2, Box 33, Tower Hill, Ill. 62571 (ph 217 567-3355).

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