Pros and Cons of Scarecrows

advantages and disadvantages of scarecrows at home

You grow many plants in your garden and fear that birds or other animals will feed on your plants and consequently lower your yield?

Then you might also think about getting a scarecrow for your backyard since it can deter unwanted animals.

While having a scarecrow in your garden can have many advantages, there are still some downsides related to it.

Hence, make sure to check out all the pros and cons of getting a scarecrow in the following chapters.

Advantages of Having a Scarecrow in Your Backyard

  1. Scarecrows can keep away birds
  2. Keep away other animals that may want to feed on your plants
  3. Scarecrows may deter burglars
  4. You can make your own scarecrow
  5. Your kids may play with your scarecrow
  6. You can make scarecrows out of eco-friendly materials
  7. Installing a scarecrow as nice home improvement project
  8. Variety of different scarecrows to choose from
  9. More insects and pollinators will be around in your garden
  10. Especially useful in regions where birds can be annoying

Scarecrows can keep away birds

One advantage of getting a scarecrow for your garden is that you can keep away many unwanted bird species that might feed on your plants.

Especially if you grow plants and want to self-sustain yourself without having to buy fruits or vegetables from the store, it will be crucial for you to deter birds that may consume your crops and lower your yields.

In fact, scarecrows can be really effective in keeping away many bird species, at least if you build them in a realistic manner and you could also use some flavors to make them even more realistic to birds.

Consequently, chances are that you will be able to lower the number of birds in your yard and that you can increase your harvest substantially in the long run.

Keep away other animals that may want to feed on your plants

Not only birds can be a problem for your yields, but also other animals may try to feed on your crops.

For instance, martens and foxes are quite common in many regions.

Sure, you will likely not see those animals at daytime since they are pretty good at hiding from you.

Yet, once it gets darker, those animals become active and will be around in your yard quite often.

However, if you install a scarecrow, chances are that they will be confused and may stay away from your garden and your plants.

Scarecrows may deter burglars

Scarecrows can not only be helpful to keep away unwanted animals, but they can also do a great job in scaring away burglars and other unwanted people who might enter your yard, especially at nighttime when it is dark outside and burglars may confuse your scarecrow for a real person.

Of course, this will not always work and smart burglars will know pretty quickly that your scarecrow is not an actual person, especially if they observe your home for a longer period of time.

Nevertheless, scarecrows may still help to deter rather dumb burglars and you may at least want to give it a try.

You can also use other safety measures like fake security cameras together with a scarecrow in your garden to make your home safer and to deter burglars in a more effective manner.

You can make your own scarecrow

You also don’t have to rely on third parties for getting a scarecrow.

If you have a little bit of talent, you can also build your own scarecrow.

In most cases, you can just use spare parts from other home improvement projects and can use those things to build a unique scarecrow that nobody else will have in their garden.

Not only will you save some money, but it can also be quite nice to work on your scarecrow project after work since it can also help you relax from your demanding job a little bit before you get back to it the next day.

Your kids may play with your scarecrow

Having a scarecrow at home can also be pretty nice in case you have kids.

They will often really like to play with your scarecrow and may also try to alter its appearance in one way or the other.

In turn, this means that your kids will likely spend more time outdoors and you will be able to get them away from their computers and smartphones in a completely natural manner.

If your kids spend more time in the fresh air, they will also be more likely to stay healthy and vital in the long run.

Thus, you can also indirectly improve the quality of life of your children by getting a scarecrow for your garden.

You can make scarecrows out of eco-friendly materials

If you really want to have a scarecrow in your garden, make sure that you get an eco-friendly one.

In fact, there is no need to rely on plastics for scarecrows since you can also make them out of straw, wood or other natural materials.

Not only will those materials be better for our planet since they will be compostable in a natural manner, but you can also learn a lot about building things with natural materials.

In turn, your scarecrow project may only be the beginning of many other things you might want to build for your home out of natural materials.

Consequently, also your kids will learn that relying on natural materials is generally better for our planet and will be more likely to behave eco-friendly as well once they become older.

Installing a scarecrow as nice home improvement project

Another benefit of getting a scarecrow for your yard is that you can also make it a nice home improvement project.

For example, you can just invite your friends over to your home and work with them on your scarecrow.

This means that you can hang out with your favorite people while doing something useful at the same time.

You could also let your kids help you and teach them some home improvement skills that could greatly benefit them later on in their lives.

Variety of different scarecrows to choose from

If you don’t want to build a scarecrow yourself, you can also just get one from certain home improvement stores or from an internet vendor.

Thanks to our advanced state of the world, there are many different scarecrow models to choose from.

In fact, you can choose between various different shapes and sizes and I am sure that you find the right scarecrow for your home if you search for a little bit online.

More insects and pollinators will be around in your garden

Another upside of having a scarecrow in your garden is that you will also attract more pollinators and other helpful insects.

If there are too many birds in your yard, they will eat all the pollinators around and there will often not be enough insects left that could pollinate your crops.

By installing a scarecrow in your yard, you can mitigate this problem since it will keep away birds and other animals to a certain extent and therefore, insect populations will likely increase significantly, which can have a positive impact on the growth behavior of your plants as well as your yields in general.

Especially useful in regions where birds can be annoying

While a certain number of birds in your garden may be nice, too many of them can just be annoying.

This is especially true if you have many bigger birds like doves in your yard since they can be quite noisy.

In such a case, scarecrows are especially helpful since they can reduce the number of those unwanted birds in your garden and may therefore greatly improve your quality of life in general.

As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages of scarecrows.

Yet, there are also many problems related to them which I want to discuss in the following chapter.

Disadvantages of Getting a Scarecrow for Your Garden

  1. Scarecrows can be spooky
  2. You have to invest some money
  3. Building a scarecrow can be time-consuming
  4. Your pets may destroy your scarecrow
  5. Animals may not fall for it in the long run
  6. Scarecrows can make your garden look odd
  7. May also deter helpful birds
  8. Squirrels may no longer play in your garden
  9. Your neighbors may think a burglar is in your yard
  10. Some of your neighbors will not like the visual appearance
  11. Burglars will not be fooled in the long run
  12. Your children may be afraid to play in your garden

Scarecrows can be spooky

One disadvantage of having a scarecrow in your garden is that it can just look pretty spooky.

Especially at nighttime, you may not be able to sleep well since you may always think that there is a person in your garden when you have a look at your scarecrow.

In fact, many people just don’t like the aura that comes along with scarecrows at all.

Hence, if you are one of those people who are afraid of scarecrows, you should definitely not get one since your sleep may greatly suffer from it.

You have to invest some money

If you don’t want to make your own scarecrow, you will have to buy one and this means that you will have to invest some money in it.

Sure, scarecrows don’t cost a fortune.

Yet, if you are on a tight budget right now and basically need every penny, chances are that you may want to avoid buying a scarecrow at the moment.

Building a scarecrow can be time-consuming

If you don’t want to buy a scarecrow but rather want to build one yourself, you should also make sure that you are willing to invest some time in it.

Especially if you are not that skilled and used to home improvement, chances are that you will make some mistakes and those mistakes will imply additional time you have to invest in your scarecrow project.

Thus, it may take you several days or even weeks to build big and nice-looking scarecrows and you should make sure that you are willing to make this time commitment so that you don’t quit before you actually finish your scarecrow.

Your pets may destroy your scarecrow

Having a scarecrow at home can also be problematic in case you have pets.

If your dogs or cats play around in your garden, they will also often try to play with your scarecrow.

Hence, if you don’t install it in a proper manner and also protect it somehow, chances are that your pets will even destroy your scarecrow sooner or later.

They may not even have bad intentions but your dog may think that the scarecrow is an intruder that has to be stopped 😉.

Animals may not fall for it in the long run

Another problem with scarecrows in your garden is that they will also not work in some cases.

Some animals are pretty smart and will not be deterred by your scarecrow in the long run.

While they may show some respect and may stay away in the beginning, those animals may soon learn that there is nothing to worry about in the long run and will therefore visit your yard, even if you install a scarecrow.

Scarecrows can make your garden look odd

Many people also just don’t like the visual appearance of scarecrows at all.

While some people think that scarecrows look nice and interesting, others just find them disgusting and not appropriate for their homes.

Thus, if you belong to the second category of people, you may also not want to get a scarecrow but rather rely on alternative methods to keep away unwanted animals from your yard.

May also deter helpful birds

Not all birds are bad for your garden and birds can also make the overall appearance of your yard much nicer.

If you are a bird enthusiast, you may also want to have as many birds as possible at your home.

In such a case, installing a scarecrow can do more harm than good since you will also deter many birds that you might actually want to attract to your garden.

Squirrels may no longer play in your garden

Not only will you deter many birds, but chances are that you will also keep away many squirrels from your garden.

Those small friends can really make your day better and many people even feed squirrels since they want to attract as many of those furry friends as possible.

Therefore, if you are a squirrel enthusiast and also want to feed squirrels in your garden, you should also not install a scarecrow in your garden.

Your neighbors may think a burglar is in your yard

You should also clearly communicate to your neighbors that you get a scarecrow before you actually install it in your garden.

Otherwise, they might think that there is a burglar in your yard and may call the police at nighttime, which can lead to plenty of unnecessary trouble.

Some of your neighbors will not like the visual appearance

Another downside of installing a scarecrow in your garden is that your neighbors may just not like the visual appearance of your scarecrow at all.

As mentioned before, not all people like scarecrows and some people are even afraid of them.

Hence, you may also put your good relationship with your neighbors at risk by getting a scarecrow and you should make sure that your scarecrow project is really worth it before getting one.

Burglars will not be fooled in the long run

While scarecrows may be able to deter burglars in the short run, they will likely not be working in the long run.

Many burglars are smart and will soon realize that your scarecrow is not moving at all.

They may also observe your house before they finally break into it and will realize that your scarecrow is not an actual person.

Consequently, make sure to also take additional safety measures to keep away burglars instead of just relying on scarecrows which will likely not do a good job.

Your children may be afraid to play in your garden

Not only adults are often scared about the spooky appearance of scarecrows, especially children don’t like those strange-looking dudes at all.

Hence, especially if you have small children at home, you may not want to install a scarecrow since you might just scare them otherwise.

Top 10 Scarecrows Pros & Cons – Summary List

Scarecrows ProsScarecrows Cons
Scarecrows may deter birdsYou have to invest some money
May keep away other unwanted animalsScarecrows can be scary
Scarecrows can look funnyNeighbors may not like it
Many different models out thereMay not deter all birds in the long run
You can build your own scarecrowBurglars may not fall for it
You can use eco-friendly materialsScarecrows may deter helpful birds
You can teach your kidsYour children may be afraid
More helpful insects in your gardenYou may not sleep well at night
Nice project to relax from your day jobPets may destroy your scarecrow
May keep away burglarsYour neighbors may call the police

Should You Get A Scarecrow For Your Home?

Now that you know all the advantages and disadvantages of scarecrows, it is on you to decide whether you still want to get a scarecrow for your garden.

If you are not sure yet, you could just build a simple one and try how it works.

If it is efficient and everybody is happy with your scarecrow, you could just leave it in your garden.

If not, you can just remove it anyway.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow

https://www.sowanddipity.com/33-cool-scarecrow-ideas/

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.

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