Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler

Since I have rather a large garden, which I put a lot of care, attention and time into, I’ve gotten rather sick and tired of the neighbors Cat leaving me presents on my flower bed. It’s always in the same flower bed too and now it doesn’t smell as sweet as it should.

I finally decided it was time to take a look at whatever pest deterrents were available in order to protect my garden from Tobias.

Now Tobias is a sweet Cat, I really didn’t want to hurt him so I had to find something that did the job, didn’t hurt him and that got the message across once and for all that he should by no means ever empty his little bowels on my prized flowers ever again. My extensive research brought me to the Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler!

What Is The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler And How Does It Work?

Well it’s a humane animal deterrent that works simply by means of a motion activated sprinkler. It works within a 1000 square foot area day or night and within a 180 degree radius. Simply hook up to the hose, push the spike into the ground and sit and wait with pop corn if necessary. When your pest arrives the sensor is activated and a short burst of water is aimed directly at the unfortunate creature. In addition, an awful clicking sound is omitted, thus scaring the pest also.

What To Look For When Buying A Pest Deterrent?

I soon realized there are a few important things to keep in mind when buying a pest deterrent. These are:

-Which pests will be deterred?
-Is it humane?
-Will it harm my garden?
-Ongoing Cost

Which Pests Will Be Deterred?

One thing I’ve found on my quest to deter little Tobias is that there are many many kinds of pest deterrents available. There seems to be one for birds, a different one for Squirrels, pellets for slugs, pesticides for insects etc, electric wire for dogs, cats or any larger mammal type pest. The kind of deterrent will largely depend upon what you are deterring!

The Scarecrow works superbly against birds, dogs, cats (goodbye Tobias), deer and any humanoid pests such as door to door salesmen, local kids or Jehovas Witnesses! If you’re problem is geese, then they will probably be too slow to move out of the way when the jet of water hits them. The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow admittedly doesn’t work against Squirrels however for some strange reason.

The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler will stop deer or anything else eating your plants. It will also stop Dogs, Cats or any other animal from leaving gifts on your garden.

Is It Humane?

This was very important for me as I have no desire to hurt or poison any animal or creature. I remember when I was a kid, my Father used to cut up thorns and put them in the soil where the neighbors Cat used to go. It was funny watching Snuggles leap up in pain, but I don’t think I could do that now as I don’t want any angry neighbors complaining I’ve hurt their Cat.

Thankfully the only thing the Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler hurts is the animal’s pride. It now knows not to come back!

Will It Harm My Garden?

There will be instances where you’re not allowed to erect fences to protect your garden. Cats would simply leap over them anyway. Also barbed wire is unsightly and could harm children. Any pesticides go against principles of organic gardening, are expensive and quite often don’t work due to being washed away in the rain or blown away by the wind. There is also a risk of children picking up any pellets and eating them. It’s not worth the risk.

The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler does nothing to harm your garden, it simply shoots out a burst of water. Your water bill will not increase as the burst is small and shuts down straight afterwards until when needed again.

Ongoing Costs

Clearly with pesticides, they need to be replenished as and when required, this can be expensive particularly if you have a large garden.

After the initial purchase of The Scarecrow, all you have to do is replace the one 9 volt battery when necessary.

How Much Should You Expect To Pay?

The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler is available on the manufacturer website for $54.95. However you should not have to pay more than $49.95 for it. However, the cheapest place I’ve managed to find it is on Amazon!

Whats Included?

Scarcrow Motion Activated Sprinkler (battery not included)

Does It Include A Warranty?

Yes the Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler includes a 2 year warranty.

What Others Are Saying

The Scarecrow has received rave reviews from most consumers on the net with an average review of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Here are some of the comments to date:

- If you are reading this you know that none of the sprays, repellants, etc do anything at all and should be removed from the market. But dog-gonnit, the Scarecrow works.
- The scarecrow seems to be doing its job of letting the rabbits know they are not welcome in the garden area.
- Four years of 6 month a year daily use and the original one is still going strong, plus my Mom bought another herself for another part of the yard.
- The Scarecrow is fantastic! The cats stay away and they are not harmed in any way.
- For the first time the buds on my Summersweet shrubs are not eaten to the bone and we have been enjoying the flowers.

Any Complaints?

The main complaint seems to be that as well as deterring any kind of pest, it will also spray the mailman, paperboy or yourself while you go for a morning stroll. The easy way to stop this is to angle it away from the source of the hose so you can turn it off via the mains when needed. As most pests come at night time, one clever customer bought the Orbit 62001 Lawn and Garden Digital Watering Timer to automatically turn the Scarecrow off in the morning only to switch itself back on at night.

Another complaint was that some Cats are just too smart and once they’re sprayed once, they’ll simply go round the other side of the Scarecrow and do their business in another part of your garden. The only answer for this (which many people have done) is to purchase a second Scarecrow. This way you’ll have full 360 degree coverage.

Where Can You Buy The Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler?

You can buy the Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler from Amazon. At the moment they include free shipping and from what I can tell when comparing to other online retailers, they really do have the best deal especially when considering the free shipping option. Click Here To View On Amazon!