Wildlife, such as birds and bees, can significantly contribute to a healthy garden ecosystem, but larger animals may pose problems.
One of the solutions homeowners resort to is the use of yard lights. Although lights left on continuously may not effectively keep animals away, lights with motion detection features could potentially scare off intruders like raccoons and deer. However, savvy predators such as coyotes may require more sophisticated deterrents like predator lights that simulate the eyes of bigger predatory threats.
This article examines the efficiency of yard lights in stopping unwanted visits by raccoons, deer, and coyotes, and further explores the effectiveness of specialized predator deterrent lights.
Do Yard Lights Really Bounce Raccoons Off?
Raccoons, known for their nocturnal habits and inclination towards bright lights, can be kept at bay with the proper outdoor lights. While they can eventually acclimatize to permanently lit areas, their reaction to fluctuating lights can play to your advantage. Equipping your garden with motion detected yard lights can frighten raccoons away, ensuring your garden remains undisturbed.
Can Outdoor Lighting Keep Deer Away?
On the topic of deer, homeowners know too well that their seemingly harmless nature disguises destructive feeding habits. Apart from causing accidents on roads and being carriers of Lyme disease infested ticks, deer can lay waste to plants and trees in your garden. Using yard lights with a motion sensor could potentially scare them off from your garden, given their easily spooked disposition. Capturing their movements in different parts of your garden requires having an extensive sensor coverage.
Deter Coyotes with Landscape Lights – Does It Work?
Coyotes, known as clever predators, can become quite aggressive when they get comfortable around humans. Their cognitive capacities allow them to quickly acclimatize to varying situations including bright lights. Therefore, the only viable way to deter them from your garden is by making it unappealing— by removing pet food, picking fallen fruits, and keeping your pets indoors at night.
The Efficiency of Predator Deterrent Lights
Predator deterrent lights, designed to mimic eyes of larger predators, have produced positive reviews in keeping predators like coyotes and foxes at bay. However, these lights seem to have little to no effect on raccoons and possums. It’s recommended moving these lights around the garden to deceive smarter animals who might have figured out the trick.
Conclusion
To shield your garden from unwanted wildlife, combining motion detected lighting with tactics to make the garden less appealing can be effective. On the other hand, stubborn and smart animals may necessitate further steps such as improving your perimeter fence.
Feel free to share your experiences with wildlife encounters in your garden and the strategies you utilized to keep them away in the comments below.