avoiding Acclimatization effects
Avoid habituation effects with acoustic bird repeller:
Habituation effects are learning effects. (see also wikipedia: Habituation) The intelligence of birds and wild animals is generally greatly underestimated, in reality they learn quite quickly. Therefore, we paid special attention to avoiding habituation effects when designing the RAPTOR.
However, it is necessary to distinguish 3 effects that are often confused:
1) classic habituation effect with acoustic bird repeller / game repeller.
The effect of a repellent device decreases strongly with time if the bird pressure remains the same.
Here a distinction must be made between:
a) Devices that generate unknown sounds.
b) Devices which imitate known sounds which mean danger. (RAPTOR principle)
ad a) The startle effect of unknown startle sounds (e.g. siren-like, sinusoidal sounds with changing frequency, so-called "ultrasonic devices") is based on their unfamiliarity. The animals have never heard such a sound before and flee for safety. This sound could mean danger. After some time, however, they will realize that there is no real danger associated with this sound and they will classify it as "unusual but harmless". This is the actual classical habituation effect of acoustic bird defense. This effect is reinforced if a device always reproduces the same sound.
ad b) Exactly this effect we avoided during the construction of the RAPTOR and invested a lot of development time.
- The RAPTOR uses largely known sounds that the animals already know and that are already associated with a flight reaction (e.g. sounds of natural enemies).
- Thus the RAPTOR appeals to the animals on the instinct level or imprinting level.
- The animals associate the sounds of the RAPTOR instinctively with an already known danger, the resulting flight reaction is not / hardly to be habituted.
- Only natural sounds mixed with machine sounds are used, but no artificial, synthetic sounds.
- 8 different sounds change automatically and randomly. In the DSC variants, the 2x8 sounds can be switched by a switch.
- The sound chip of the RAPTOR is changeable - sound sets can be purchased later.
- With the RAPTOR remote, clever demand control via radio virtually eliminates habituation.
- The automatic interval varies by +/-30%. The average interval duration is adjustable in a wide range - set the controller according to your needs and bird pressure. Please avoid unnecessary short interval then there is almost no habituation.
- in persistent cases, accompanying measures are recommended so that there is a reasonable ratio between "real danger" and "imitated danger".
Conclusion 1: with classical bird repeller applications (vineyards, orchards, etc.) and correct use, there are no / hardly any habituation effects with the RAPTOR.
2) Changing conditions / undersizing.
If a bird/deer repeller is installed at a time of lower bird pressure, it may well cover a considerable area. However, the pressure is not constant over the course of the year and also from one year to the next, but can change significantly. (e.g. due to the presence of migratory birds, the ripening of fruits, the harvesting of fields and thus the loss of alternative food, or other seasonal conditions).
For example, if a single device was sufficient for a huge area when game or bird pressure was low, animals will venture much closer to the device when game/bird pressure is higher.
This is often erroneously referred to as the "habituation effect": (the animals would have "gotten used" to the now undersized device on the huge area).
Correctly one speaks in this case of undersizing after changing conditions.
The device density must be adapted to the changing conditions to ensure that the effect is maintained.
It may be necessary to have 2 or 3 devices and/or adjusted interval settings for sufficient coverage of the same area.
More animals, more hunger = more equipment needed!
For more information on correct sizing, please contact us.
Conclusion 2: the RAPTOR is effective with correct dimensioning and adjustment even with strong bird pressure.
3) Animals / birds that have been acclimated for a long time and do not know any danger.
Often animals/birds have been present in an area for an extended period of time, sometimes several years, before a repellent device is installed.
In most cases, these are the same individuals that return again and again, sometimes even generations of animals that visit this area again and again and know the conditions very well. They know that they are not in danger or how to avoid possible dangers (e.g. a hunter). In the worst case a nesting situation has already occurred.
If now an acoustic defense device is installed, sometimes the following happens:
a) ideally, the birds easily find another alternative and do not come back.
b) very often one observes (e.g. with accustomed crows) that the birds disappear immediately with the installation of the repellent device, but then come back sporadically after a few days/weeks. Sometimes single individuals even sit demonstratively very close to the bird repellent device. These are usually the bravest of the group, the alpha animals, or scouts.
These want to try out how dangerous this new, simulated danger really is.
Until now, this area was safe for them, they could handle possible dangers well, they do not want to give up this area so easily.
The return of individual animals to check how dangerous the known area really is now is not habituation to the device itself. Rather, the animals are accustomed to their known environment long before the defense device is installed; they know that there is normally no danger here. There is no reasonable relation between "real danger" and "imitated danger".
In such cases, at the same time as the installation of the repellent device or from the moment the animals test the dangerousness of the repellent device, consistent, accompanying measures are urgently recommended! The automatically generated, simulated danger of the RAPTOR must be supplemented by a real danger of an accompanying measure.
For more info, please contact us or request our accompanying measures brochure.
Conclusion 3: for animals that have been acclimated for a long time, the RAPTOR should be combined with initial accompanying measures