Deer Whistles

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smellody (Online)
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Deer Whistles

Post by smellody » October 25th 2025, 7:31am

On my 74.5 mile each way drive through the mountains everyday I see many, many unlucky (perhaps dumb) deer 🦌 at ambient temperature. Probably four a week. I had a close call coming around a corner at speed last week and started thinking about deer whistles.

I read some online and not sure if they really work.

Do any of you have any experience?

I don't want to kill Bambi.
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Mark1
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Re: Deer Whistles

Post by Mark1 » October 25th 2025, 11:23pm

Have never used them so no idea if they work or not. Deer and Elk on the road are why I keep and drive my old car to golf in the mornings. I frequently have to stop or slow to avoid the critters. Only insurance claim in 45+ years of driving was a deer hit just west of Kalispell 15 years ago.
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Re: Deer Whistles

Post by codguy » October 26th 2025, 7:35am

smellody wrote: ↑
October 25th 2025, 7:31am
 Do any of you have any experience?
I don't want to kill Bambi.
No experience with vehicle mounted whistles and nobody I know up here use them.

The only crossing preventers I've used were something like these,
Image

they almost always prevents deer/elk from ever crossing the road again, and------ we wait for Bambi to mature enough to legally change her name to Venison

Mark1 wrote: ↑
October 25th 2025, 11:23pm
 I frequently have to stop or slow to avoid the critters.
Yep, this is what its like trying to navigate Mark1's driveway

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Re: Deer Whistles

Post by WISenheimer » October 26th 2025, 9:57am

No experience with them and no idea if they work.

Did hit a deer once. Night time, 45mph, tree line came close to the road, deer was apparently just galloping along some path through the woods that crossed the road.

Caught him (antlers) full broadside, did an amazing amount of damage to my car, was a tow away. When the police showed up, he asked if the deer, lying motionless on roadside, was dead. I said I certainly think so. But no, as the officer, a MP, this was on Camp Lejeune, approached him, the deer actually got up and went crashing off through the woods.

Only car (not motorcycle) accident in 50 years of driving, knock on wood.

TLDR: Deer can do a number on your car.

Edit: Got curious and did a bit of googling. The internet consensus is no, deer whistles do not work and this is backed up by some controlled studies. The quality of the studies is unknown to me but it is significant that there are few people swearing by the things.
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Re: Deer Whistles

Post by smellody » October 26th 2025, 12:21pm

WISenheimer wrote: ↑
October 26th 2025, 9:57am
 No experience with them and no idea if they work.

Did hit a deer once. Night time, 45mph, tree line came close to the road, deer was apparently just galloping along some path through the woods that crossed the road.

Caught him (antlers) full broadside, did an amazing amount of damage to my car, was a tow away. When the police showed up, he asked if the deer, lying motionless on roadside, was dead. I said I certainly think so. But no, as the officer, a MP, this was on Camp Lejeune, approached him, the deer actually got up and went crashing off through the woods.

Only car (not motorcycle) accident in 50 years of driving, knock on wood.

TLDR: Deer can do a number on your car.

Edit: Got curious and did a bit of googling. The internet consensus is no, deer whistles do not work and this is backed up by some controlled studies. The quality of the studies is unknown to me but it is significant that there are few people swearing by the things.
Perhaps Cod's approach is the right one.
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Re: Deer Whistles

Post by WISenheimer » October 26th 2025, 3:20pm

smellody wrote: ↑
October 26th 2025, 12:21pm
WISenheimer wrote: ↑
October 26th 2025, 9:57am
 No experience with them and no idea if they work.

Did hit a deer once. Night time, 45mph, tree line came close to the road, deer was apparently just galloping along some path through the woods that crossed the road.

Caught him (antlers) full broadside, did an amazing amount of damage to my car, was a tow away. When the police showed up, he asked if the deer, lying motionless on roadside, was dead. I said I certainly think so. But no, as the officer, a MP, this was on Camp Lejeune, approached him, the deer actually got up and went crashing off through the woods.

Only car (not motorcycle) accident in 50 years of driving, knock on wood.

TLDR: Deer can do a number on your car.

Edit: Got curious and did a bit of googling. The internet consensus is no, deer whistles do not work and this is backed up by some controlled studies. The quality of the studies is unknown to me but it is significant that there are few people swearing by the things.
Perhaps Cod's approach is the right one.
Not sure how that would work. If you can spot a deer early enough to shoot it, probably enough time to avoid it.

If you really are worried about it and have an appropriate vehicle, some type of grille guard, stout and solidly mounted. Maybe mounted at some angle to prevent the deer from coming through the windshield which is a not unheard of occurrence with sometimes fatal results.

Like I said, I was amazed at how much the deer caved in the front of my vehicle. An elk would be even worse.


Edit: Oregon DOT removes 6000 deer carcasses a year from state roads and that is considered an undercount of incidents. Way more than I would have guessed. The worst season is October/November
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