Contech Electronics Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler #CRO101

Side view of spray radius. Click to enlarge.

Top view of spray radius. Click to enlarge.

How does it work?
The ScareCrow uses a combination of sudden noise, unexpected movement, and a startling blast of water to create a memorable and unpleasant experience for the trespasser.
The animal immediately associates this unpleasant experience with the location, and to avoid similar surprises, learns to avoid the area. If an animal chooses to return, the ScareCrow will be waiting.
While a human may flee several steps after activating a ScareCrow, animals are typically affected to a much greater degree. In most cases they run much farther, and stay away longer. Because the unit only triggers when the animal moves, its behavior is difficult for animals to anticipate, making it a very effective deterrent.

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!   June 29, 2005
Darren Slater
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

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.


This one works!   September 10, 2004
Shoaler (Yorktown Heights, NY)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

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).