I was reading somewhere awhile back about the effects of shadows and silhouettes of birds of prey on mice and other small rodents. Basically, what the study did is cast shadows and show silhouettes of eagles, hawks, buzzards and other different birds of prey onto a large, closed cage of different types of rodents. The reactions of the rodents were noted over time to arrive at the results of the study.

The findings of the study showed that even though the shadows and silhouettes weren't moving very much, that the rodents were constantly terrified of them. This shows that the fear they feel for the birds of prey is an instinctive reaction.

The same group of people did a similar study using sound. In this second study they used the sounds of the birds of prey instead of their silhouettes and shadows. Using sounds proved to be less effective, and the rodents became used to hearing them all the time and eventually lost their fear.

I thought that this would be a good idea to try to utilize as a deterrent for small rodents on my property. A lot of the small rodents are very destructive and my plants pay a dear price when they are left unprotected.

I'm going to create some silhouettes of birds of prey and hang them around the trees I have. If you want to do this project too - you can probably use the Dremel Tool that you bought a long time ago but can never find a suitable project for to help you get this one done.

I've attached a couple of files at the bottom of this post that you can download for the project if you'd like to try it. The files come from Wikipedia's Birds of Prey Entry. Print these out or transfer them however you see fit to a piece of thin plywood and cut them out. It doesn't have to be perfect and the size is not very critical.

Once you have these shapes cut out drill 3 or 4 small holes through the plywood. Paint them black and attach some string to them so you can hang them from trees or something high. They should be hung so that any light breeze will allow the wooden bird shapes to move.

Hopefully, when rodents see these silhouettes all the time, they'll be scared enough to move on to bug a neighbor rather than yourself.

If you have good water pressure where you are, another all natural solution is using a water sprinkler that's hooked up to a motion detector. The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler is a great product that will blast any small animals it senses on your lawn or near your trees.

This electronic, motion detecting sprinkler detects and sprays animals in a 1,000 square foot area and works both day and night. It uses just 1 9-volt battery so there's no fussing with wires. It's a great natural, alternative product that sells for less than $50 so it's not going to make a big dent in your wallet.