How can I make them Duck Off.

[audioguru]

Yeah, our only failure was Canadians!

I'm a Canadian and am not a failure. You must be talking about another Canadian who isn't here anymore.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I'm a Canadian and am not a failure. You must be talking about another Canadian who isn't here anymore.

I think you need to read the quote from the original post!.

 

[audioguru]

In Canada we don't drive on the wrong side of the road like Brits do.
Our 1st TV transmitters had black as nearly full modulation unlike the 1st transmitters from Brits.
Our TV antennas started with horizontal polarization unlike Brits.
So There!

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

In Canada we don't drive on the wrong side of the road like Brits do.

Why do you drive on the right, no one has ever been able to give me an explanation? - there are sound reasons for driving on the left, as much of the world do.

Our 1st TV transmitters had black as nearly full modulation unlike the 1st transmitters from Brits.

When you're first, later imitations are likely to be better, like the poor colour system you use

Our TV antennas started with horizontal polarization unlike Brits.

Sorry?, what's the relevence of that?, and the UK uses both.

Anyway, as I said before - READ THE ORIGINAL QUOTE!

 

[HarveyH42]

Yeah, our only failure was Canadians!

Did you for get about getting your ass kick in America?

How about a little duck hunting? Cooks like chicken, really not bad. Could use a pellet gun or slingshot, so the neighbors aren't disturbed.

How about a robot-boat, could be solar charged, makes some noise and flash some lights when it bumps into the edge of the pool or ducks... Shouldn't be a difficult project, even without a PIC (save them for your nose). The ducks use the pool, because its a quiet, safe place to sleep. If you keep disturbing them, they'll eventually move on. But, it could take a couple of years, as they tend to return to the same places, after they get comfortable.

 

[dknguyen]

I thought the side the road you drive on had something to do with when knights carried swords on the left side of their body (I assume most knights were also right-handed) and when they passed each other travelling in opposite directions you wanted the sword to be in plain sight for the other as a courtesy and gesture of non-hostility? (I guess they were suspicous of each other?). But then again, you'd think it'd be in Britain where they would do that more than in North America. I don't know the urban legend behind driving on the left side of the road. I have heard there are more right turns than left turns, and it seems to be true when I am driving, and driving on the right-side of the road would accomodate this more (but it could be caused from actually driving on the right side of the road in the first place).

Maybe you should make a motion detector buoy that just sits there and maybe just runs at motion when it detects any (or some kind of heat detection sensor that detects body heat rather than changes in heat). You could probably buy an electric RC boat and retrofit it to do that. I wouldn't go with a nitro boat because I guess you don't want to deal with the maintenance of a fuel engine. Also watch out for the propeller.

If you did use solar power to charge it during the day (let's assume that the robot must most around to chase away things VERY intrequently so that it can charge it's batteries). Make sure you have something to stop the batteries from getting overcharged and use some safe batteries (not LiPos that can explode and catch fire with mischarged). For a speedboat, the power used in the motors is just too great for any solar panels that can be carried by the boat to charge faster than they are used.

You could try an RC sailboat which has more room for solar panels and doesn't require battery power to move (they are much cheaper too, around $100 rather than $400 and up). You can attach some solar panels to the sails to charge the electronic batteries during the day and use those to control the sails to chase off stuff at night. But I don't know if the panels would charge up fast enough (remember that you have to have servo motors to hold the sails in order to sail). Plus you gotta experiment on how to properly sense the wind and control the sails automatically to move in the direction you want.

Maybe you can make a small fleet of buoys with lightly friction-held rotating sails that will move randomly around and chase the ducks off. Possibly, you could also stick small solar panels on those to charge up some super caps or batteries or something and use a photo sensor so that they would light one or two LEDs when it was dark to make the moving boats visible (perhaps threatingly so) to the ducks. Do what those surface-dwelling jellyfish do- the Portugese Man of War. Maybe stick a few not too sharp points on the boats or something so it's unpleasant if it bumps into the duck.

Or...you could just have some bright blinding spotlights on timers that turn on in the middle of the night for a few minutes to annoy the ducks.

Or like someone else suggested, you can just throw some floating rubber snakes in the water or use a poolcover.

 

[HarveyH42]

I was thinking about a speedboat, just enough to move around the pool. Maybe make it sound seeking, play follow the splashing. Ducks always groom theirselves before retiring.

Spikes... How about stunguns, roast duck for breakfast...

I remember seeing an advertisement a year or two ago, about some battery operateed pool toys, fish. Maybe there are other types like boats or something. If you have kids, how about mounting a wireless video camera on an RC boat, let the kids chase ducks like a video game....

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I thought the side the road you drive on had something to do with when knights carried swords on the left side of their body (I assume most knights were also right-handed) and when they passed each other travelling in opposite directions you wanted the sword to be in plain sight for the other as a courtesy and gesture of non-hostility? (I guess they were suspicous of each other?). But then again, you'd think it'd be in Britain where they would do that more than in North America.

That's why we drive on the left, so when riding your horse you could defend yourself against another horseman coming the other way - not particularly knights on horseback though, that's going back a bit too far.

I don't think America had too many knights on horseback?, no horses until introduced by Europeans, and native americans didn't dress in tin cans

 

[dknguyen]

That's why we drive on the left, so when riding your horse you could defend yourself against another horseman coming the other way - not particularly knights on horseback though, that's going back a bit too far.

I don't think America had too many knights on horseback?, no horses until introduced by Europeans, and native americans didn't dress in tin cans

Right handed knights carry swords on their left side while right handed cowboys carry guns on their right, correct? Maybe it has more to do with cowboys than knights. And maybe it has to do more with defending yourself than to seem non-threatening. Cowboys in North America, knights in Britain. It is intuitively satisfying.

Anyways, yeah. I can't think of anything useful to add to the original question right now.

 

[HarveyH42]

Yeah, get a couple of brits dress in armor to hang out all night by the pool. All that metalic clanking should scare off the ducks, not to mention the constant, insane arguements...

 

[audioguru]

not to mention the constant, insane arguements...

A black American cowboy and a white Brit?

 

[bryan1]

Eh Pommie,
Whynot makeup a trap as roasted duck is YUMMYYYY

 

[ParkingLotLust]

Peter: Don't worry, I got it all worked out. We'll move to England, huh? Worst they got there is, you know, drive-by... arguments...
[Meanwhile, in England.]
Englishman: I say, Jeremy, isn't that Reginald B. Stifworth, the young upstart chap who's been touting the merits of a united European commonwealth?
Jeremy: Why yes, I daresay it is.
Englishman: Oh, let's get him.
[They drive up.]
Englishman: Oh Reginald... I disagree!
[drives off]

Ahh good ol' Family Guy. And speaking of Canadians kicking ass... Who won the War of 1812? Thats what I thought

 

[dknguyen]

lol...I disagree! I can so picture that part in my head even though I've never seen it with that stereotyped British accent. lol

 

[kchriste]

A very common device sold here is a motion activated sprinkler used for scaring deer from gardens. Maybe a few of those planted around the pool would do the trick. Ducks like water but I don't think they'll like a stream of it shooting at them.

 

[Pommie]

Well, the good news is that since I posted here they haven’t been back. Maybe they heard what I had in mind!!

A few comments on some of the ideas mention and things we have tried.
The shotgun would be my preferred method if it wasn't for the neighbours.
Tried the plastic snakes - they walk over them in the dark.
Also tried blow up dragon (didn't have a croc) - it got ignored.
Tried 2" wide Mylar streamers stretched across the pool - they just swam underneath them.

We (myself + son + son's mates) combined with a slingshot maybe the reason they’re staying away at the moment.

I’m still going to have a go at an electronic version. So, back to the 2 ideas I originally proposed.

The IR activated noise maker. Anyone any suggestions for a noise maker. Maybe discharge a large capacitor through some sort of horn speaker. Servo activated clapper sticks? BTW, sprinklers are banned at the moment due to lack of rain.

The electric shocker.
I couldn’t try anything over the weekend as it rained. I’m still guessing that it won’t work due to the water having too low a resistance, but maybe due to the high frequency of the pulse and skin effect it may work a little bit (yes, grasping.). I don’t think electrolysis will be a problem due to the low energies involved. I did think of suspending the hot tape over the pool as someone suggested – I’m sure this will work and I may try this if they return.

Mike.
P.S. British Policemen shout "STOP or I'll ermm shout stop again"

 

[HarveyH42]

I would think IR a weak choice, short range and reflections off the water. Sound would be a much better choice. Find an underwater microphone, figure out how much you gain you need to detect the splashing of the ducks. Then decide how you want to scare them.

I had a problem with the neighbors cats (population 17+ until about 2 months ago, now only 5). Tried ultrasound, with some results, allthough had two very stubborn ones (both male, and intact). Maybe some sort of underwater noise or vibration would make the ducks relocate. Wonder if you can get waterproof subwoofers, and get one of those stupid punks that drive around rattling peoples windows, to burn you a copy of his CD of annoying crap. Why do they wear earplugs, volume control busted? Anyway, the point is you could really crank the volume, and not hear a thing in your house, or disturb your neighbors (have asked if they were into duck hunting?).

 

[Hayato]

Well,
I've got a simple and efficient solution:
A big vinyl/plastic sail-cloth.

Cover your pool with a sail-cloth, like those ones that cover trucks.

 

[Optikon]

Well,
I've got a simple and efficient solution:
A big vinyl/plastic sail-cloth.

Cover your pool with a sail-cloth, like those ones that cover trucks.

Pool cover seems the most logical choice. AS far as I can tell, the OP hasn't tried a real cover (streamers dont count). The OP seems hell-bent on shocking or startling the ducks.

Startling the ducks seems next best idea - they will just stay away from area. Shotgun, slingshots and electrocution have the downside of
1) dead bodies to constantly clean up - who has time for this nonsense?
2) oh yeah, could be fatal / dangerous to humans also. Not very smart.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

P.S. British Policemen shout "STOP or I'll ermm shout stop again"

Try telling that to the Brazilian who got shot dead last year!