CROW shares humane tips to keep monkeys away
Once you have established a routine that works in deterring the troop, it is advisable to be consistent with your methods.
THE Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife’s (CROW) Chandre De Bruyn said – For those who don’t want the monkeys to pass through their gardens, she recommends these safe and humane ways to discourage them:
- Deny them access to food. Securing your vegetable garden can be done by putting up a fence and roof or by spraying monkeys with water whenever they come into your property or near your vegetable garden.
“A member of public from the Howick area once told us how he converted a normal alarm sensor connected to a sprinkler into a water alarm. Every time the monkeys came near his vegetable garden, it would trigger the sensor and turn the sprinklers on and wet the monkeys. After trying and getting wet every time, they eventually stopped trying – this took three months.”
- Hang reflective items like old CDs from tree branches or at points where they access your garden. They don’t like the reflection and it can be a deterrent.
- Use a variety of different looking rubber snakes and move them to different locations in the garden each day. If they see the same snake in the same spot they will investigate and realise it is not a real threat.
- Spray them with water. Use the same pressure you would use on a small child – a fire hose may be too powerful and could injure an animal – water guns work well.
- Keep your windows on the smallest gap to ensure they can’t climb through the windows.
Once you have established a routine that works in deterring the troop, it is advisable to be consistent with your methods until they eventually deem your property as undesirable.
Call CROW on 031-462-1127 for information on this and other topics.
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