Contech Electronics Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler #CRO101 Reviews

• It Works

  
  By A122CUKYZ3QLGT on 2004-08-15
  A couple thoughts on this very useful product which I feel slightly guilty about downgrading to four stars:
  
  First, the thing works perfectly, at least for me. Before the Scarecrow, my neighbor's (big) dog left a (big) present on my lawn, every night. Since the Scarecow, never, not once.
  
  Well, okay, once, but that leads to comment two:
  
  The trouble is that the Scarecrow cannot distinguish between me, enjoying my garden on a fine Summer's day, and the dog, doing his thing in the middle of the night. This means that I need to be very careful to set up access to the Scarecrow from behind, so I can turn it off and not get soaked every time I walk across the lawn. Once, I forgot to turn it back on, and, sure enough, that night the dog had done its thing.
  
  Of course this is both a critique and a compliment: the Scarecrow really works. It's just not entirely convenient. Still, I wouldn't be without it and Amazon has it for a great price and free shipping. Can't beat that.
  
  

• A Great Product That Really Works!

  
  By AW94DP3S32TU9 on 2003-06-22
  My husband and I were very disappointed to see that neighborhood rabbits had eaten our bean and pea plants to the stem after only two days of being in the ground. We wanted to keep the rabbits out of the garden area without chemicals, unsightly chicken wire, or traps. We purchased the scarecrow and absolutely love it! After replanting, our bean and pea plants are healthy and growing. The scarecrow seems to be doing its job of letting the rabbits know they are not welcome in the garden area. I have told friends and family about our happy results. I would recommend this item to anyone looking for a solution to unwanted intruders.
  
  

• A good, if expensive solution

  
  By A15G70V9OBTOVO on 2006-06-07
  Before I bought my house I thought cats went in a litterbox. Well some do, but my yard is apparently more appealing to Leo, my neighbor's cat, who is old and incontinent.
  
  If you are reading this you know that none of the sprays, repellants, etc do anything at all and should be removed from the market. But dog-gonnit, the Scarecrow works.
  
  There are a few minor things you should know, however. First, if you care about the Scarecrow leaking, be sure to assemble the unit with Teflon tape. Second, the Scarecrow is entirely plastic, right down to the spike that you drive into the ground. Not a big deal perhaps, but if your ground is hard you won't be hammering the Scarecrow into the dirt. Finally, if your yard is good sized you'll probably need two so crap avoidance has its price.
  
  --And don't forget to run your hose in such a way that you can turn the water off before you approach the Scarecrow, because it will spray anything in its path; birds, the mailman, anything. This raises some interesting possibilities if you are plagued by door to door salesmen.
  
  

• This product works -deer go away

  
  By AYRTM59C3A387 on 2004-06-22
  (Update: 4 years after original review: This product continues to keep the deer away. Four years of 6 month a year daily use and the original one is still going strong, plus my Mom bought another herself for another part of the yard. -Excellent product)
  
  I bought this for my Mom in Michigan for Mother's Day. For the past five years she'd tried everything to keep the deer out of her flower garden - netting on the ground, fishing wire placed on posts about 3 feet off the ground... no matter what, some of the deer got in the garden. I'd told her about this product for several years, but she figured it didn't really work, I figured, let's give it a try. It has been installed for 3 weeks now, and the deer have yet to go into her garden (and they live on their property, so they are around). She just told me that some bulbs she planted 5 years ago are blooming for the first time ever - every year before they'd been eaten before they bloomed.
  
  We'd highly recommend this product and she's about to order another.
  
  One hint, get a good hose to go with this product, since the water pressure remains constant, you want a newer hose that can handle that pressure.
  
  

• Worth the investment!

  
  By A1Z8JLU20UQISU on 2004-06-12
  Our problem is the neighborhood cats who are allowed to roam. They were ruining our garden, lawn, etc. We tried so many different things to keep them away, without any lasting success. The Scarecrow is fantastic! The cats (as well as other bothersome 'strays') stay away and they are not harmed in any way (except perhaps their pride)!

  The Scarecrow is very well made--quite sturdy. Also, I had the Scarecrow on daily and the battery lasted for nearly two months.

  I highly recommend this product--it is effective on more than just deer or rabbits!

  Our flower beds and lawn are recovered.
  
  

• It Actually Works!
  By A2B277MLV0BP5O on 2005-06-29
  We bought the Scarecrow because of the problems we had with our neighbors cats. The cats would come into our yard and use it as their litterbox. We live in Arizona and have a gravel backyard, so it could easily be mistaken for a litterbox by a cat.
  
  We had tried many remedies prior to purchasing this device. The internet was a wealth of knowledge on what to do for cat problems. Most of them had some degree of effectivness but none of the solutions were long lasting. The pepper would blow away in the wind, the tabasco would wash off in the rain.
  
  We ordered the Scarecrow from the Amazon approved dealer because we have had very positive results when ordering from Amazon and their affiliated partners. The cost was a bit higher but the piece of mind was worth it.
  
  When the device arrived we immediately set it up in the backyard. Remember that you need one 9 volt battery for the sensor to work. The device works by reading a range of almost 180 degrees with a sensitivity knob so it won't fire and shoot a stream of water if a leaf blows by. The sprinkler head is adjustable both to horizontal range as well as vertical range. I set the device to fire just at the about the top level of our brick fence so as not to soak my neighbors yard. She was told about the sprinkler also so if her cats came home wet, she would know why.
  
  The Scarecrow did a great job of keeping the cats out of our yard. I was very impressed with it. I never heard it fire but left the hose attached and the device on all the time for the first week. The connections were tight and did not leak. The spike on the bottom of the device was strong enough and sturdy enough to survive being pounded into the tough Arizona ground. I didn't put the funky stickers on though. I figured if it was that easy to scare the cats, I could just put a drawing outside; besides the strong Arizona sun would just bake them off.
  
  In very short order the problems we had in that section of our yard were gone. The problem though, is cats are not as stupid as one would hope. The cats just cut through the front yard and hopped the fence on the other side of the yard and did their business there which would necessitate the purchase of a second Scarecrow. We moved away from Arizona prior to purchasing a second Scarecrow but I am sure that it would have proven as successful as the first.
  
  Our water bill remained the same since the Scarecrow only fires for short bursts and the cats won't stay in range that long.
  
  Overall, very worth the cost. This is one device that works as well, if not better, than it is supposed to. I would not hesitate to recommend this device to anyone with animal or pest problems. It is safe, non-toxic and user friendly. Your neighbors who own the pests should not be upset with wet animals and it is better than neighborly discord.
  
  
• Scares animals but not kids, they love them so do I
  By A3QPCIHZKO285Z on 2004-12-10
  There's no dispute that this products works. I have three of them for a year now protecting my flower and vegetable garden. No deer or ground hogs have come near my garden in that time. I've taken the Scarecrow in for the winter, but as soon as planting season arrives they'll be back in action.
  
  The other thing to mention about the Scarecrow is that young children love them. I have two boys 3 year old and 18 months that love to play around the system. They love running back and forth shouting, "watch out for the Scarecrow." The blast of water from the Scarecrow is safe even at a very close distances (I've been hit many times). It's just a hoot. I'm not sure how many seasons it will last. But even if I have to replace them all next year, it was a worthwhile investment. Enjoy...
  
  
  
• The only thing that has worked for deer!
  By AAGXHA58LTV9C on 2005-10-19
  The installation is a bit tricky - I had to use teflon tape on the threads to keep it from leaking, and it keeps moving around on us over time. Having said that, it's the only thing that has worked for us for the voracious deer around our house.
  
  
• This one works!
  By A2VDZ62BMNK4JD on 2004-09-10
  We have tried all sorts of things to keep deer from eating our
  tomatoes and hosta (and almost everything else) and nothing works
  short of covering everything with "deer netting." And the deer
  around here are so brave (stupid) that nothing short of running
  after them would scare them away.
  
  This gadget certainly scares deer. We saw one older fawn who had
  wandered into our back yard in search of breakfast. When he
  triggered the device, not only did it bombard him with jets of
  water, but the clicking of the sprayer added a sense of emergency
  to it. The deer took off like a shot until it had found the
  cover of some nearby woods.
  
  Drawbacks: You can only cover a fairly small area, but you can
  put it across the deer's usual paths. Moving it around probably
  helps, too. And you have to keep it out of the way of the UPS
  guy or neighborhood children (unless that's your intent).
  
  
• REVENGE IS SWEET
  By AG3KUNENZK0LB on 2006-06-09
  Thank God for the Scarecrow. I have 3 cats that have access to a 100ft outdoor enclosure because I don't want them bothering anyone else and I want them to be safe so you can imagine how I feel when neighbourhood cats come into my yard at night and deficate in my veg/flower beds, howling and tormenting my cats. I have tried everything on earth and when I found myself thinking about buying 100 mousetraps laced with chicken to give them a nasty surprise in the flowerbed I found this item. From the minute I hooked it up I rid my yard of these devils completely. One of them paces the other side of the hedge and howls he's so mad at not being able to hunt and deficate in my yard. I cannot live without this item. The amount of anger and stress these horrible intruders can cause is awful. Note:Turn the hose on the tiniest amount possible, it works as well as if you turned the hose full on and I found the dial at 12'0'clock works best.
  
  
• Awesome Product
  By ANEDXRFDZDL18 on 2006-07-03
  We purchased one of these to take care of our hell-spawn (raccoon) problem. The coons were digging up the yard, eating new plants, and searching for grubs. They left piles of dirt on the walkway and destruction in their wake. We purchased a battery of these scarcrow things and lined them up to create a critter-free zone and voila! No more eviscerated plants, no more dirt piles, no more coons! Its expensive, but worth it.
  
  The crow even works on dumb humans, like me! =-) I came home late at night from the movies and found quite a surprise when my sister turned this thing on forgetting I was still out. The scarecrow got me. Repeatedly. And I deserved it.
  
  Whatever you do, don't forget to turn it off or the UPS man won't like you very much.
  
  Awesome. Worth every penny.
  
  
  
• it's so delicate, it's useless
  By A2NXXBRE60YV9D on 2007-04-06
  The scarecrow sprinkler's watering mechanism is made of thin, delicate plastic. I broke it during testing, so now it is useless to me.
  I do not recommend this product.
  Why don't manufacturers use metal parts?
  
  
• What a waste of money!
  By A2U6RXPNU0VSWH on 2006-12-25
  I eagerly anticipated scaring off the critters that made a nightly (and daily) smorgasboard of our garden. Instead, what I got was a flooded garden. Just about anything moving will set this device off, and our garden is fairly close to the edge of the woods. When there is a breeze, plants move around... and the sprinkler is set off.
  
  I adjusted the senstivity to the point where it didn't work any more, and the bottom line is I was unable to get any decent performance.
  
  Save your money. I assume all the other people who bought this and used it successfuly use it in a very sheltered environment.
  
  
• Experts agree, this product can't be beat!
  By A1W96CMAWEIFOZ on 2007-04-16
  I heard about this product while working the state's horticultural advice hotline so I gave it a try. I have an average size suburban garden and since the neighbors have pine trees and grass, my home is a buffet for various animals, especially groundhogs. It is a good product, survived three years now and the plastic is sturdy.
  I'm surprised by complaints that it squirts the user - how could anyone invent a product under $70 that can recognize a deer vs. a human? Isn't it nice to know it can also keep out the neighborhood kids? Just kidding. Sort of.
  It adjusts the strength of the spray so it is very versatile. I find that you should move it every so often so the animals don't get used to it. It is way more effective than outdoor spray deterrents, etc.
  An update: I'm on my second scarecrow, its fantastic! One thing to consider, as my plants grew very tall (cannas) the scarecrow could not see around them so I found the mounting bracket put the scarecrow on the outside of my deck and works wonders! I would advise purchasing an easy on/off connector so you can remove the hose quickly if needed.
  finally, for those folks that say it keeps squirting everything I would advise to read the directions carefully and you will find you can adjust the knob to make it squirt everything or just BIG moving objects.
  Our neighbors groundhogs still come in the yard but they are so jumpy, they take off quickly.
  Hey, it even works at night and can spray unwanted visitors (animal and human!)
  
  
  
  
• Good idea
  By A3JGIXQPX65TGJ on 2007-10-08
  This is a good way to chase off the wandering cats from the neighborhood. My only complaint is that there is not enough vertical control of the height of the spray. I have mine near the bird feeders and it was hard to adjust it so that it sprayed the cat, but didn't hit the feeders above. I had to tilt the whole unit down, which then affected the distance that the IR beam reached. So I won't give it 5 stars, but I will give it 4.
  
  
• I have 4 of them!!
  By A3Z3XJLHRVN9X on 2005-06-14
  I have tried everything to keep the deer from eating my plants. Our house is next to a huge forest and seemed to be the first course on their trip through our neighborhood. Well I have 4 strategically placed Scarecrows and they don't touch anything. Everyone else on our street now have their plants mowed down by the deer. I even have on in my front yard that is also triggered when someone walks by. Fun to see them jump ;-) It's also fun to watch the deer approach the Scarecrow and then jump 6 feet in the air when it goes off. Of course I forget about once a month and walk into one. It looks like I wet myself and is good for a laugh at myself.
  
  
• So effective, we bought 2 more!
  By AJFG5393BJHGS on 2006-06-30
  We now have 3 of these sprinklers and I'm 100% convinced they work. I now have them on a timer so they only come on at night, and I can tell you, anytime we forget to turn the one that isn't timed on, we can expect the deer to get in and have some snacks.
  
  It is a great product. The only feature I'd like to see is a built in timer system.
  
  
• Worth every penny
  By AISF4WSV2ZTRR on 2006-07-24
  My neighbors 14 stray cats that she decides to feed everyday turned my yard and my back yard into a cesspool. it smelled so bad that my 7 year old refused to play in the back yard.
  
  After I installed this thing (a month ago), no more cat poop. I never had the patience to stare at the window to see how it works but yesterday I was lucky to see it in action. I just wish I had a camera to snap a few shots.
  
  This cat was about 15 feet away trying to get a peek around the garage corner. Scarecrow was about 45 degrees from that corner.
  
  () [GARAGE----]
  *cat [GARAGE----]
  
  ################
  ##### YARD #####
  ################
  ################
  
  #### ^^
  #### ^^
  #### ^^ SCARECROW
  
  This cat tried 4 times to get a peek from the garage corner and the scarecrow managed to detect it and turned on the sprinkler every single time. (scarecrow setting was in 7)
  
  It loooks like the 8 sec delay totally in sync with the cat as the damn thing took almost that long to decide to try again. This thing really works !
  
  Finally one thing about pet owners. On the outside you people look like you are so nice that you care for the animal. But those of you who feed animal and let them defacate on other people's property are the scum of the world. These are the same people who probably do not shower or brush their teeth. Disgusting !
  
  
  
• Really keeps the little critters away.
  By A2XAECONHF4Y26 on 2006-11-07
  After setting up the unit, I got a kick out of seeing the little buggers get a taste of this.
  This is a much better alternative in pest control than what my wife had in mind.
  After a month of continue use it seems to use 1 to 2 batteries. I wish the battery life was alittle longer.
  Also, I'm using a 3/4 diameter garden hose that in my epinion is only as good as your water pressure, it doesn't seem to be as effective as the smaller hoses. Stay with the 5/8 - 1/2.
  You'll like the results.
  
  
• Scarecrow works!
  By A1T6ZS5CNCA1RG on 2007-01-16
  This is the best squirrel deterrent so far. We tried pepper spray, blood powder (?), and other stinky spray but our Brooklyn squirrels weren't deterred from digging up our expensive ground cover. We put off buying the Contech Scarecrow because of the price but it's the only thing that works. Simple to set up but you have to play with the direction of spray and it's scope to get the best effect (it may be good to change this every few weeks to keep the critters on their toes). It doesn't hurt them (I read somewhere that pepper spray can blind them) and it's FUN to watch them try to avoid the spray or get zapped by it. One problem is that they can still dig right under the Scarecrow where the spray doesn't reach but their little brains don't remember that from day to day. I wish I had bought it sooner. Great product--wish it was $20 cheaper.
  
  
• works, but not on smart racoons
  By A22DX2NXY3QZOE on 2007-01-26
  This works as advertised - sensor is good, detects animals as small as a squirrel and sprays water for 8 seconds.
  
  My racoon problem, however, still remains. At least the one in my neighbourhood doesn't seem to be too bothered by splashing water!
  
  Subbu
  
  
• Poor Quality?
  By A46QIG91I7KXQ on 2007-09-30
  The first unit I received worked for about 2 days then it would not motion sense anything smaller than a car and the sensitivity adjustment did not seem to make a difference. I sent that one back and the second one I received seem to work fine but then it quit sensing all together. I tried changing batteries, resetting the unit and it would work for a day or two then quit again. By the way, I tested the batteries I removed and they were still charged. Some times if you would shake the unit it would start working again, for a while. I sent this unit back as well, This time for a refund. I have noticed on other Items I purchased recently with motion sensors, that they to would work intermittently. Maybe China has a problem with electronics?
  
  
• Terrible for raccoons!
  By ADT3EUR4141WK on 2007-11-30
  I had tried everything to deter raccoons from digging up my new sod lawn. I had heard that this product might do the trick because raccoons do not like to get soaked. However, after several nights of having the motion detector on the raccoons still consistently showed up and dug up my lawn. The lawn was soaked in the morning so I knew that the motion detector was working, but the raccoons just didn't seem to care. When they are hungry, nothing stops them. I cannot recommend this product for raccoons.
  
  
• Awesome product **Read this if your problem is Deer!!!!**
  By A190XF21L1VKTW on 2008-05-15
  First off I would tell anyone that this product truly works. If you have any hesitation, my review along with all the others should be proof enough.
  
  I purchased the Scarecrow Sprinkler last year after coming back from vacation to find a brand new shade garden I had planted completely decimated by local deer. We have a family of about 8 deer that I try to keep away, but my neighbors have other agendas. They "feed" the deer with corn which attracts them and frustrates me more and more [if Contech invents a neighbor deterrent, please let me know ;) ]
  
  After mourning the $500+ I lost in plants and shrubs, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I started with "deer-b-gone" or some sort of "organic" deer repellant. It washes away, isn't cheap, smells bad and flat out doesn't work.
  
  I then came across the Scarecrow and decided to give it the old "college try". Well folks, IT WORKS. No more deer, but uh-oh a flaw. Just like others, you have to remember that the Scarecrow is there or "BAM" YOU WILL GET HIT WITH A BLAST OF WATER. It has gotten me, my kids, my wife, a landscaper, our exterminator and one of our neighbors.
  
  LADIES and GENTS..I have the solution to this problem!!!!!
  What I realized is that the deer only do their dirty work from dusk to dawn. I thought what if I can get my sprinkler to only work during those hours and shut off during the day. Then I researched to see if there was a water timer that allowed for extended watering times. Say hello to this Orbit timer from Amazon.com Orbit Lawn & Garden Hose Digital Watering Timer And Valve #62001to use in conjunction with the sprinkler. It has completely flexible functions that allow the water to only turn on from say 8 pm to 8 am. It only turns on the water flow to the sprinkler. It will only use the water if the sprinkler motion sensor is set off so no wasted water. At 8 am, the timer turns off the water flow and NO ACCIDENTAL MIDDAY SHOWERS!! Then it kicks back on at 8 pm for another night of protection. These are the times I used but I may need to adjust a bit since I do sometimes make early or late strolls through my garden. You can set to whatever times you need to have it on and off based on your own situation.
  
  So there you have it. Use this product in conjunction with a flexible timer and you get the benefit of excellent deer/pest protection while avoiding many of the minor flaws mentioned in other reviews.
  
  
  
• keeps stray animals away without harm
  By A12DYU0JINMRLW on 2005-08-26
  Well, it really hurt to have to pay this much money just to keep my yard poop-free thanks to neighborhood cats and small children(just joking about the kids). I tried the hava-hart pepper(good for 3 days until rain came), I tried a hava-hart humane trap/cage(got 4 raccoons that would poop in my yard after eating my neighbor's cat food!) but those darn cats wouldn't fall for the trap, SO it was time for a different plan of attack- THE SCARECROW SPRINKLER. I love this think, sensativity can be adjusted, very solid and built in USA, no foreign junk! 9 volt battery powered. Very easy to use and has an outlet to piggy-back another Scarecrow Sprinkler for the "other 180 degrees" if needed. This keeps my yard from smelling like a zoo and I can actually enjoy it once again. Worth the price, when you are ready for results- the buck stops here!!!
  
  
• Works great
  By A1QEOFID06X5Y3 on 2005-09-06
  This thing works great. The sudden burst of water is really startling and keeps the deer out of our rose garden. We also tried it one night to keep raccoons from harrassing our duck pen and it worked for that, too. It's been completely reliable so far. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 is that I wish I could get a little more control over the water trajectory to make it easier to aim for close-range applications, and I would prefer that the sprinkler mechanism on top be made out of sturdy metal instead of plastic. But it's been holding up fine so far. I've found that you don't need to give it much water; you can get away with barely turning the water faucet on at all, because the pressure buildup in the hose seems adequate to sustain the burst for the short time that it squirts (a few seconds). The reason I prefer to not turn on the faucet more than necessary is because a broken hose could cause damage to your yard if left unattended at full blast, so I like the fact that I can get away with partially turning it on.
  
  
• unreliable
  By A5IYD6U6SMUMV on 2005-09-15
  I have tried all settings and it goes off without any reason, if I set it at the lowest sensitivity, it won't go off at all. I have replaced the batteries twice, after only 9 days of use. A rip-off product in my opinion.
  
  
• Does not work with Raccoons
  By A37Z3GEZP4CNCB on 2007-07-18
  I tried this product for several weeks to keep Raccoons from digging up our yard to look for grubs and no luck.
  
  They trip the spray mechanism, but do not really care if they get squirted or not.
  
  We have seen a reduction in pot holes in our yard as a result of this device, but not an eradication of potholes.
  
  May work for other types of animals, but cannot recommend it for Raccoons.
  
  
• Great but not perfect
  By A37PP6Y8654ENU on 2005-06-15
  We have used one of these scarecrows for 2 seasons and will say it works 90% of the time. It especially works when we forget it's there and walk into the middle of the garden and get blasted. But today I went out and saw my row of squash nibbled to nubs, so obviously it didn't catch that critter. We've had problems in the past with ants building a colony in front of the sensor, so it's important to open the housing and check it once in a while, especially if it doesn't seem to be working as well as it used to. Since we have a lot of animal problems (ground hogs and deer), it's on alert 24/7 so it's much better than having nothing. We've decided to buy another one for the other side of the garden. 2 sensors have to be better than 1.
  
  
• Contech Electronic CR0101 Motion Sprinkler
  By A1RGPLQQS1LNGF on 2006-07-08
  It may be a little early to comment but so far so good. I have not lost a fish from the fish pond since I got the motion sprinkler. Before I purchased the sprinkler I was losing a couple of fish a week to a Great Blue Herron.
  
  

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