It is absolutely illegal to hurt or kill a bird of prey, which includes owls. Try applying some of the following natural repellents around your house to keep cats away from your property. Get Under Cover. Add spikes. Fortunately, birders have many easy, effective techniques to discourage feral, stray, and lost cats from invading the property they've made friendly for birds. The sudden mist of water startles the cat out of your yard. Water as a Repellent A natural repellent to keep cats away from birds is water. You’ll also have a good chance of getting rid of owls if you put an owl or hawk decoy near your coop or yard. To learn how to use noise to keep owls away, keep reading! Since owls are nocturnal predators, lights and bright flashes at night will deter them from your yard/coop. Cats are also likely to see your rabbit as food. Mice, rats and other vermin are temptations for cats, so by getting rid of them, you can help stop cats wanting to enter. PO Box 274, Princeton, MN 55371. Roosters are not allowed in some urban areas; check with your city or county animal control office about local regulations regarding roosters. Another way to work with camouflage is to create plenty of options for easy hiding. By using our site, you agree to our. Here are 8 helpful tips to keep cats away from your garden or property: Avoid leaving garbage bags with open access and keep them in a closed container. Another way to keep owls away is by securely covering your chicken run with bird netting (assuming, of course, you have a chicken run — netting won’t make a difference for free-range chickens). Another trick using water is to fill bottles of water halfway up. It is illegal to kill any type of owl in the U.S. Do not attempt to trap an owl without professional animal control or wildlife authority guidance. A Brown Leghorn chicken, on the other hand, may be less of a beacon for hungry birds. Rooster at the Ready. Fortunately, you can keep owls away with certain frightening techniques or by changing the habitat to make hunting more difficult for them. While not the most always the most imminent threat to chickens and household pets, owls are best kept away. Also, clear out any areas the prey animals might find attractive, like windfalls, woodpiles, overgrowth, groundcover, standing water, and storage or clutter. By playing predator noises, you can scare rats away! If a rooster notices an owl or other prey, he’ll emit a sharp and shrill warning whistle to tell the chickens to take cover until danger has passed. If they see it, they may get nervous, and that instability could make your rooster aggressive. But most likely, the real danger is outdoors. One of cats' natural enemies is water.These animals hate water, so if you want to keep cats away from your garden, a good option is to have a hose or to install an automatic sprinkler in your garden.Water won't harm cats but will scare them off. If there isn’t anything in your yard to attract birds they will be less likely to … Startling the owls may be the only legal recourse for removing them. Trapping or hunting squirrels, rabbits, and other rodents to manage their populations may encourage the birds of prey to move on to another area. Take a Pass on Perches. Mix one part oil to three parts water in a spray bottle and spray liberally in areas where cats visit. Check to be sure that the water pressure is not lethal to an owl if it gets hit before using this option. If predatory animals lurk near your home, you can take action. Cats don't especially enjoy the smell of lavender, peppermint or lemon. With an increasing number of house cats hunting outside, it becomes more and more difficult to keep birds nesting in your garden safe. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. or something highly reflective that moves in the wind like reflective anti … Even a short fence can thwart a predator's attack. By time spring is sprung, your cat could be a full-on convert to indoor living! The strobing light confuses owls and is actually used in products like this (which is also a solution). Just make sure to move your decoy every few days so the owls think it's real. Tips on how to keep wildlife away… If you see an owl lurking around your property, be as loud as you can to chase it off. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. One way to keep your chickens and pets safe is to move them inside at night while owls are actively hunting. Get rid of any trees, poles, or other observatories. Nylon netting (poultry wire can also be used) is both inexpensive and effective; its presence will prevent owls from making any diving attempts. Birds of prey are federally protected in the US, and they therefore cannot be touched or harmed without serious fines and legal repercussions. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. You can also get rid of owls by shocking them, literally. In general, creating conditions preventing a cat from digging soil is the best way to make it … Sometimes permits will be required, depending on the circumstances. If you don’t want to put in the effort of moving a scarecrow around, consider an “electric scarecrow.” This is actually just a high-powered water hose with a movement sensor that blasts water toward an animal. Put roosting spikes wherever you see owls trying to perch. The best action you can take is to remove any possible landing surfaces where owls could land to watch their prey and prepare to strike. Our tips could save your cat's life. Avoid going near a great horned owl nest, or take precautions like wearing a helmet or using an umbrella if you must walk near one. Puppies and kittens are at a greater risk because of their size and their lack of experience with predators. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/94\/Keep-Owls-Away-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Keep-Owls-Away-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/94\/Keep-Owls-Away-Step-1.jpg\/aid9965256-v4-728px-Keep-Owls-Away-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"