Use scaring devices (eg. gas guns) and other deterrents to reduce persecution of native species

Overall effectiveness category Evidence not assessed
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Native wildlife can have a significant impact on agricultural crops or features of the farmed landscape through grazing, browsing and uprooting. This intervention involves using scaring devices to discourage native wildlife from areas susceptible to damage.

Study locations

Key messages

One replicated, controlled trial in Germany found phosphorescent tape was more effective than normal yellow tape at deterring deer from an area, but had no effect on wild boar or European hare.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated, controlled study from May to November 1997 of four grassland fields and one cultivated field with willow Salix spp. stools (coppiced willow stumps) in central Germany (Wölfel 1981) found that phosphorescent tape was more effective than normal yellow tape in deterring deer (Cervidae), but had no effect on wild boar Sus scrofa or brown hare Lepus europaeus. At the four grazing sites, areas surrounded by phosphorescent tape were avoided by red deer Cervus elaphus for four months and roe deer Capreolus capreolus for three weeks. Red deer entered areas fenced with yellow non-phosphorescent tape after one week and roe deer after just one day. All deer species kept out of an area of willow fenced with phosphorescent strips for three weeks, after that roe deer (but no red deer) tracks were found within the area. Soft PVC tape (40 cm-wide) was attached to 1.3 m iron posts at a height of 1 m. Four game grazing fields each had two 300 m² areas fenced off using phosphorescent strips and two with non-phosphorescent tape. After two months, all four areas were mowed and control and experimental fields swapped. Mammal presence was assessed using droppings and tracks.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Wölfel H. (1981) Test trials on the effectiveness of strips of film with phosphorescent pigments in the prevention of damage by game. Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft, 27, 168-174.

Please cite as:

Dicks, L.V., Ashpole, J.E., Dänhardt, J., James, K., Jönsson, A., Randall, N., Showler, D.A., Smith, R.K., Turpie, S., Williams, D.R. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Farmland Conservation. Pages 283-321 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Farmland Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Enforce legislation to protect birds against persecution Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Use scaring devices (eg. gas guns) and other deterrents to reduce persecution of native species Action Link	Evidence not assessed	1	Synopsis Link
Provide 'sacrificial' grasslands to reduce the impact of wild geese on crops Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	6	Synopsis Link