Hydro Critter Blaster Animal Sprinkler Repeller Scarecrow Motion Activated Solar Powered

This was up and attempted to be used for about three days before I took it down. Its very poorly constructed and engineered. First off the plastic is low grade and rather brittle. The included spike is not long enough to support a device of this height and even the hose attachments are made of that same low quality plastic. The screws that are included to hold the battery compartment closed require a very small Philips which I had, however they were not cut good and any screwdriver I had slips on the screws. Taking them back out when needed to replace the solar rechargeable batteries they included will require a lot of finesse and or a drill. Every time the wind would blow it would spray so I found it worthless to me and discontinued its use.

My kids LOVE this sprinkler! I pitched the idea that they can be detectives and super-spies and figure out how to get through without getting hit with water. It goes on for five seconds, then has a five second “blackout” period (spy-stuff right there) and then it’s rearmed. They are having a blast, and my water bill is not suffering from the typical sprinkler play in the yard, where the sprinkler is left on even after they’re done playing and then I get home and notice the water going—oof, that hurts sometimes. As a kids toy, I give this 5 out of 5 stars. As a tool to keep birds away, it gets 3 because it would work with some modifications to keep the sensor head from moving, but the leak is a real bummer. I set it up to keep the birds off that side of the yard—our garden is there and I’m trying to get a dead spot in our clay soil to sprout, this time with a cover-crop just to loosen the soil and get some life into the ground. For the birds to set off the motion detector while they’re in the garden I need to use the included extension tube, but it’s so floppy when it’s running for five seconds that it moves the non-locking swivel union all over, and within 10 minutes the motion detector is facing the wrong way. A few stakes on either side would fix this, but I just took it out and figured the garden will have to fend for itself another week until the cover crop sprouts. That swivel union also leaks quite a bit. That is my biggest disappointment, and is an issue that really must be addressed. If that swivel union was eliminated, the set up would be a little more intentional when staking the unit into the ground, but the upright pipe wobbling back and forth would not make any difference—it would actually be more fun for the kids since the pattern isn’t as predictable. We are, however, thoroughly enjoying the Bird X motion detection sprinkler, and the entire summer I can see moving it around to keep the kids guessing new routes, having more fun than I would have even anticipated.

The concept for this BIRD-X hydro critter blaster is absolutely brilliant. An environmentally friendly humane way to keep unwanted pests like raccoons skunks rabbits rodents and even pets out of the areas they aren’t welcomed. In fact, I got this to try to keep stray cats and my dogs out of my flower garden. Upon opening the box to begin installation, I was pretty disappointed to find that everything is plastic. I also had a hard time tightening the tiny screws that hold the battery compartment on. One screw was really hard to turn and kept wanting to strip out. The rest of the installation went pretty smoothly until I turned the water on and every connection leaked. I had to tighten them with pliers to get them to stop leaking. First test with my dogs and I already knew this wasn’t going to work for them. They loved the critter blaster and kept setting it off to play in the water. It worked great for the stray cats though! The sprinkler head has all the adjustments a normal sprinkler head has. You can adjust where it sprays and the spray pattern. The pir sensor detects motion 120’. The distance detection is adjustable up to 32.8 feet. This unit really needs a longer ground spike because the thing rocks back and forth while it sprays.

Bird-X solar Powered Hydro Critter Blaster - need sun and a long garden hose or you are out of luck! The Bird-X Critter Blaster is a great idea but in all practicality it is not that practical. First, you would need to live in an area where you have a good bit of sun in order to power this contraption on a daily basis and second, you may need a very, very long hose to connect to the blaster depending on where your outdoor water faucet is. I ordered this product with the impression that I could attach it to my sprinkler system, I guess I didn't read the description very well but I had no idea that it had to be attached to a garden hose. This could be a big problem and it was for me because my water faucet is not near the area where I would like to install the Rain-X critter blaster. As a result I would need > 75 foot hose to attach to this device. Another issue is you have to keep the water faucet on all the time so if you have any type of leak or if something or someone frequently triggers the blaster. ( a dog, kids etc..) you could be wasting quite a bit of water. In California, where water is quite expensive, it could be very costly if this is going off all the time just to scare away a few critters. Installation seems fairly easy, you insert the batteries, attach the solar battery pack and the repellar to the ground post and attach a hose. The blaster covers up to 1200 sq ft. and the radius for activation is about 30-35 feet so you need to consider this when installing. You do not want to activate it every time somebody walks by or if you have kids playing or a pet running in the area. This unit is solar powered and activates for 5 mins. It will repeat as long as it detects motion. This blaster is to be effective against deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, cats and dogs. I was hoping to use it to keep neighbors from using my yard as a doggie toilet but I would have to run a hose more than 75 feet from one side of my house to the front yard which really wouldn't go over well with my neighbor so this device wasn't very practical for me. This may work great for people that have a faucet nearby or they are installing it near the back of a yard where it is not triggered frequently . Overall, the Bird-X Critter Blaster is a great idea but since it could not be adapted to a sprinkler system and required a garden hose it wasn't very practical for me. It may be the perfect solution for someone who wants to install it in an area where the hose isn't noticeable and where its out of the way so it is not activated frequently.

This critter blaster is an innovative design. I tested it on maximum sensitivity and it properly senses me moving in front of it about 20 feet way. It measured almost 18 inches tall above the ground, when I fully pressed it into the ground. I was wondering if it would sense birds, so I flew my 15 inch drone in front of it, but I could not trigger the sprinkler to activate with the drone. I like the AA rechargeable batteries that come with it, and the O-ring battery compartment seal, but I had a heck of a time finding just the right Philips bit tip for the 4 very small screws that hold the battery cover on. A #1 Philips tip bit worked for this. When the sprinkler is activated the whole thing wobbles over an inch side to side. I plan on attaching it to something to give it more support.

I have been having problems with my cats and dogs using our plant beds for bathrooms. This product took care of the problem by activating with motion and delivery a sprinkler blast and scaring the animals away. The Critter Blaster came in a box in pieces and the instructions were not that great to put it together. There are no pictures that show you how to put it together. All in all a good product to protest my gardens.

BIRD-X Has created a Hydro critter blaster. This sprinkler/repeller/scarecrow is motion activated and solar powered. its purpose is to Repel animals from your garden and keep them from eating or destroying your crops. It has a 120 degree field of vision depending on weather and will spray approx. 32.8 feet for 5 seconds . If the animal has not left the area , it will spray again . It also makes a clicking noise that aids in scaring the animal way . The sensor is solar activated so no wires need to be run . It has a solar collector on the top of the sprinkler and uses 4 rechargeable solar batteries, which are included. Once staked in the ground it stands approx 15.7 inches tall. There are several adjustments points on the sprinkler that can be used to control field of spray , distance etc. All covered in the instruction manual

This device was intended to supplement the two similar tripod-mounted motion-activated sprinklers that we use in our attempts to deter wildlife from destroying flower beds. It fails to meet the challenge. A label attached to the main body directs customers outside the USA to attach this adapter prior to installation. Presumably, the label was intending to be attached to a plastic bag containing a hose adapter. During assembly, one of the tiny, tiny screws that hold the battery cover would not go in straight and could not be completely screwed in after a number of attempts. These screws require use of the tiniest Philips screwdriver. The ground spike, at six inches, is too short to properly support the device, and being plastic, is likely to break off in harder ground. Pooling of water around the sprinkler, of which there was a lot during testing, will quickly soften the ground and cause the top-heavy sprinkler to fall over. During testing, the sprinkler triggered quickly upon movement, but then triggered up to five times in succession without any further movement. The body rotates too easily on the spike, leading me to believe that the body could be moved by a gust of wind.

I really had hopes that the Critter Blaster would take care of my raccoon problem, it didn't. The premise is good, a motion detector that turns on a jet of water to deter unwanted animals and best of all it has rechargeable batteries that use a solar panel. Well the batteries lasted less than two weeks and are evidently no longer taking a charge. The animals I was trying to scare weren't even phased by the blast of water but it did scare our cats which is not the outcome I wanted, I was trying to keep the raccoon out of the cat food. The whole unit is light weight plastic, you have to be careful not to over tighten the screw connections. In our sandy soil the unit tends to lean back when the water is activated so it needs a longer stiffer stake for the ground anchor. Wish it had worked better in my application.

Works great, really pleased with how this works. The range / sensitivity is adjustable. I got this to keep the cats away from the bird feeder. After finding two piles of feathers I did not think it was fair to lure the birds in to make it easy for the cats. The downside is this is a bit flimsy and I needed to dig the hole with a screwdriver ( we do have hard clay soil under the new sod). Also I think I wi add a support rod to keep it from kicking back when the water turns in. Word of advise and learn from my mistakes. Do not turn the water on when setting it up. I bent over and set the sensor off and got a face full of water. Also, I think I am going to set this up to get my kids when they do not expect it. Also not something I was pleased with, the screws t hold the batteries in are very small and soft, stopped them out even with the correct screwdriver.