Do you think scarecrows are useless?

Question

Do you think they actually work or are they useless? They also kinda make you feel uneasy...

WindAtMyBack · Accepted Answer

Useless. Birds are too smart to be fooled by that. Crows especially are smart. They will send out scouts to check the area for danger, like humans with rifles, then call in the rest of the gang if everything is safe. They do know the difference between a human with a rifle and one without. They'll ignore humans without a rifle, but stay clear if they have one.

I've heard that recorded owls hooting works somewhat, but I don't know if that's true or not.

I've seen fake snakes in gardens. They are useless with most animals, but cats totally freak out when they see a big fake snake.

RebelinSteel · Accepted Answer

As @purplepoppy says they are fairly useless, however we have Scarecrow festivals and competitions here in Cambridgeshire / Fenland. A good laugh

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

Farmers only make them for a bit fun. If you see a lot in an area there's usually a local competition on. The reality is virtually all bird scarerers are useless. They'll work for a day or two then the birds just laugh at them.

electromagnetic · Accepted Answer

They’re decoration pieces more than meant to scare bird away

RavVid · Answer

Useless other than for providing a convenient place for birds to rest up between snacks.

Some birds aren't smart enough to be scared. Doves aren't smart enough to be scared of my cat. He has managed to talk them down into his maw.

When I was a school kid it was one of my jobs to patrol the almond trees and shoot the galahs. Galahs are dumb parrots. In Australia we will call a notably dumb person a galah.

Anyway, one day there were three galahs on a branch. Closed the shotgun and shot the first. The other two screeched and flew around and landed on the same branch just after I had reloaded. The remaining galah did the same, screeched flew around and landed on the same branch after I had reloaded again.

Now really if galahs aren't smart enough to recognise a person with a shotgun is a hazard how well do you think a scarecrow is going to work?

Static_In_The_Attic · Answer

I’m not a farmer but if truth be told it probably depends on the scarecrow as well but on the other hand if it didn’t work they wouldn’t be in fields.

Leapfrog00 · Answer

I've never seen them work. Birds can tell the difference between a scarecrow and a human. When the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz was upset about the crows coming from miles around to eat his corn and laugh in his face, I am almost 100 percent positive whoever wrote that knew how ineffective scarecrows are.

My grandfather was a farmer. Farmers do have trucks for things like that. Then they pass off their advice to other farmers. I love in Ohio and there are a lot of corn fields here!

PointlessNonsenseGuy · Answer

Scarecrows are absolutely NOT useless.

If you keep one around, and don't pull its stuffing out or try to have sex with it or anything weird or gross, the scarecrow will be grateful. And if you ever get murdered, the scarecrow will come to life and avenge you.

You can't put a price on something like that.

KostasKouvalis · Answer

Reminds me of this commercial... I haven't spent time on a farm nor read any research so I don't know if they actually work for how the tradition even came about and I'm not all that interested in finding out. But now that I think about it, I've driven past many farms and don't recall ever seeing a scarecrow. I've only even seen them in movies and books

DJB72 · Answer

Originally they'd hang a corpse of an executed criminal in a corner of the field. The crows prefer carrion so they'd eat the corpse and leave the crop alone.

Perhaps this could be a use for pedophiles?

Sevenpointfive · Answer

my coworker put up a ghost to scare me the other day. it might as well have been casper missing an eye. it was so cute. i don't think scarecrows work. i've never seen a movie where the crows weren't nesting on them

NaultD · Answer

You have to move them around every week. If you dont move them they figure out it's fake.  You can do the same thing with fakes owls for small pest like pigeons or squirrels.

Bricealan · Answer

I'm always afraid they may come alive and take my eyes, and leave my body in a huge hole in the ground dropping me down through a drain pipe.  Jeepers Creepers, they scare me!!!

katiesmuff · Answer

Have never actually seen one being used for it's real reason. Only seen the ones in plays or for Halloween.

NamerOfStars · Answer

I don't think they make normal people uneasy; I think you're just a crow in a clever disguise, trying to get us to let our guard down...

Siri137 · Answer

Where would the 'Wizard of Oz' be without the scarecrow? Why do they make you feel uneasy?

TommyMountainFigure · Answer

Judging by one or two of the views I've read today, I'd have to say scarecrows make more sense lol

Lynx122 · Answer

They're not useless, they're outstanding in their field!!

Chazmatazz269 · Answer

They don’t work on actual crows. Crows are extremely intelligent.

LaurenM1997 · Answer

I don’t know if it works or not but I find it cute

Dargil · Answer

They are often made with shiny metal items on them that move with the wind. They have use.

Sober_Irishman · Answer

More than useless. Birds aren't that stupid.

VV3ZZY123 · Answer

I love scarecrows. Someone should make mechanical scarecrows that move. I think that would be more effective

Jennz6 · Answer

@siri137  Siri said it best, where would the Wizard of Oz be without a Scarecrow

Do you think scarecrows are useless?

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