I put one of those little plastic deer whistles on my bike - ziptied it to my front turn signal stalk. My husband says they're just a gimic, not a real deterant to a deer. Any one have any opinions or experience on this?

I was riding past an elk preserve this past Friday with a friend, and as we came around the corner, saw a small herd (25 or so) of batchelor elk, horns in velvet, very close to the road. They stared at us for a bit, then wheeled as one and fell into a gallop in the field 30 feet off to our side, ran with us about 100 yards, then veered off and away. It was SO COOL! Didn't know if my deer whistle had anything to do with that or not - have never seen anything like it.

Susan
'04CBRF4i

 

Hell ya they work, I had them installed before riding up into the canadian rockies where there are LOTS of Elk. Everytime I rode up on some they turned to look and ran the other way!

 

Deer whistles not only don't work as advertised, they can't work. Why? Because the standard claim by "Save-A-Deer" and other deer whistle manufactures is that the deer whistles emit an ultrasonic or high frequency sound wave that stops deer in their tracks. "Although the theory sounds good, tests show that the whistles do not work. Information published by both Washington and Oregon State University, Cooperative Extension Services, tests by state police in Utah, Georgia, and Wisconsin, and testing in Europe all confirm the ineffectiveness of these devices."

A second study from Switzerland concludes the whistling sound, which is well within the human hearing range, is so weak that it is overlaid by the sound of the moving vehicle.

After months of testing, the Ohio State Police found no significant decrease in patrol car vs. deer accidents after the warning devices were installed. In fact, MORE accidents were reported the officers after the whistles were installed at the same period a year before along the same sections of highway. "Tests conducted in Utah, Georgia and Wisconsin also concluded that deer whistles don't work."

Deer whistle manufacturers standard claims that the whistles emit ultrasonic sounds as the vehicle travels over 30 miles per hour and that these sounds (not audible to humans) are effective in frightening deer away from the roadway. "While manufacturers contend deer can hear the whistle up to a quarter mile away, no published research verifies the device's effectiveness.

"Georgia's Game and Fish Department, for example, found that in hundreds of observations from vehicles equipped with deer whistles, deer didn't respond. Whistles on vehicles going 25-30 mph produced no ultrasonic sound, although some ultrasonic sound was produced when the whistles were blown by mouth. According to wildlife biologists at the University of Georgia, NEITHER DEER NOR HUMANS CAN HEAR ULTRASONIC SOUND (emphasis added). Whistles blown by mouth near captive deer produce no response."

And finally, another great article on deer whistles and their ineffectiveness is "Deer Whistles - Do They Work" that reprints an article from Motorcycle Consumer News" and can be found at www.tfb.com/sdmc/deer-whistle.html
The highlights of this article include:

Several years ago when I began researching deer whistles and their claims, I telephoned "Save-a-Deer" whistle company in Iowa and spoke with the owner Mike. I asked Mike about the Save-a-Deer claims and the only information he was able to provide was the "Test Report - Deer Alarm Whistle" compiled by Business Research Group, Bellevue, Iowa, the report that is often sited as the only study supporting the effectiveness of deer whistles. Mike explained that he just purchased the company from the founder and former owner of "Save-a-Deer", Don Yeager (sp?).

Wanting to learn more about the Business Research Group report, I attempted contacting them but could not find a company listed anywhere in Iowa under that name in the telephone book or with the Iowa Secretary of State office. I then contacted Don Yeager via telephone to discuss the "Business Research Group" and their findings. When I contacted Don and asked where I could find the Business Research Group, his response was "That's me. I am Business Research Group."

Don continued to tell me that a group of his buddies and him made the whistle recordings on small, inexpensive tape recorders, loaded the recorders on snowmobiles and rode through the forest playing the tapes. The result ????? The deer ran away !!!!!! When I asked Don if he thought that running snowmobiles with lights storming through the forest had any effect on the test results, Don's response was he had not considered that factor but that the deer did run away and snowmobiles were the same as cars and motorcycles. Don knew of no other study or evidence that documented that deer whistles actually work an

 

ive heard the research about the ohio police, and i thought wherever i read it at it said there was a dramatic increase in accidents. dunno....maybe im thinking back asswards.

 

when we go hunting, we equip our trucks with deer whistles, it seems to attract them. i know fo sho they'll be more scared of a rifle than the whistle mang! i'd install a 12 gauge up front instead of the whistle.

 

Thanks for all the info guys - this forum's great.

This past weekend's ride was the first in a while that I didn't see deer, only the one batch of elk. So I'm thinking at least none were attracted! That'd be a bummer. I'm going to leave it on for a while, do my own study of one I guess - if I have anything dramatic happen I'll let you know.

-Susan
'04CBRF4i

 

Think of it like Praying "Won't help but it can't hurt"

 

How would we know if they work we can't hear them wheres the proof?

 

just get a D&D exhaust

 

yo...there are religious people here...i think you should be sensitive of that and not make comments as these.
maybe prayer doesn't work for you because you lack faith?!?!