Keeping birds off a satellite dish

[ronan]

The signal on my free to air dish disappears from time to time, usually during during a good programme , the cause is normally some big fat crow or magpie sitting on the bar between dish and lnb, so i have to go out and shout at the git to continue watching my show.

I thought if i put a dozen cable ties along the bar and didn't cut them, but left them sticking up so the bird couldn't sit on it, but would they interfere with the signal ?

 

[johnakay]

this'll sort the cretins out!

 

[stef1]

I was also going to suggest cable ties but im not sure about the signal?

 

[wheresmejumper]

fake hawk?

 

[brewdexta]

Possibly put some fine netting over the dish? About 10mm to 20mm squares, the missus fishnet stockings would do it

 

[stef1]

Possibly put some fine netting over the dish? About 10mm to 20mm squares, the missus fishnet stockings would do it

wondering what the missus would think...'can I put your fishnets over my dish?'

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Would have thought it would block the signal a bit. Air rifle is the most effective...

 

[brightspark]

get a larson trap and catch the maggies then pop em with a bit of lead

 

[normspanners]

bare 240v wire just above and parallel to the bar, they wont stay on there for long !! just dont forget to switch it off before you adjust it.
but seriously a stainless wire from just before the lmb to the dish at an angle up to the holes in the dish that would not interfere with the signal but stop them perching on the bar they cant perch on a thin stainless wire.

 

[the snooper]

just put some ties on as you were going to do and if they stick up too far trim them, I doubt it would cause a problem with signal even a light dusting of snow doesn't stop the signal

 

[wristpin]

Some thick claggy grease on the bar!
or
Glue bits of broken glass onto it
or
glue a thin srtip of metal or plastic along the length sticking up at right angles to it.
or
glue inverted drawing pins along the top.

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

Some thick claggy grease on the bar!
or
Glue bits of broken glass onto it
or
glue a thin srtip of metal or plastic along the length sticking up at right angles to it.
or
glue inverted drawing pins along the top.

Methinks Wristpin has shares in 'Bostik'

 

[Pete.]

Teach your cat to sit on the dish - the birds won't come near it

 

[voipio]

Take a piece of wood about 1/2 in square, roughly the same length as the horizontal bar, drill some regularly-spaced 1/16 holes in a line along it, every inch or so, then stuff a couple of inches of 1.6mm ali welding wire into each hole and stick he whole assembly onto the bar - cable ties, no more nails, or whatever. Works a treat. It's kept the pigeons off my (in)security light for several years now!! :-)

Just make sure the welding wire doesn't interfere with the ability of feedhorn on the LNB to "see" the dish.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Your cable ties idea will be fine. Plastic is generally RF transparent.

 

[brightspark]

heres the answer http://www.birdspikesonline.co.uk/B...ikes-Plastic?gclid=CMy97tbxjLkCFebJtAodiD0ASQ

 

[wristpin]

Methinks Wristpin has shares in 'Bostik'

Forgotten that name do they still make it? Was watching a repeat of a repeat of Foyles War the other evening and the lady driver was trying to stick a vase together with what looked like Secotine - that horrible "fish glue" from the 50s!
Mind you nothing like a good snort of OH-My Balsa Cement!

 

[ronan]

Thanks for the replies, I might just go with the cable ties, much as i would love to shoot or trap the horrible barstewards our garden is overlooked from every angle, and some old cow would surely cause trouble. When we moved here first 30 years ago the place was full of songbirds which i feed every winter and love to see, but the magpies and crows have really taken over.

 

[tlovatt]

You could always try the anti climb fence spikes - they are alot shorter than cable ties and so would not cause any problem

 

[zx9]

Thanks for the replies, I might just go with the cable ties........

thats your best bet costs almost nothing and won't take much time to do, if it don't work move on to some of the more exotic ideas.

, much as i would love to shoot or trap the horrible barstewards our garden is overlooked from every angle, and some old cow would surely cause trouble. When we moved here first 30 years ago the place was full of songbirds which i feed every winter and love to see, but the magpies and crows have really taken over.

If we were not overlooked from all sides I would be culling both the flying and bushy tailed rats, but as you say the neighbours would not like it. Having said that recently there has been a family of five foxes wrecking the garden, I think they have been attracted to the pond during the recent dry weather, don't know what I would need to shoot them.