Yesterday my granddaughter and I were walking by a firehouse in Marshall. The guys were cleaning and working on the trucks and saw us and invited her to sit in the truck and run the sirens and lights. As I was looking around the equipment bay I noticed five bikes in the back. It turns out that everyone stationed there are avid riders. As I was checking out their rides I noticed everyone of them had deer whistles on them. Of course I asked if they believe the whistles were effective and they swore by them. I do see a lot of deer here in Western NC so I'm thinking I might stick a pair on my bike.
So do they really work or are they snake oil?

 

Ask my 3 friends with deer whistles who either hit or got hit by deer over the past 6 or 7 years... IMO, theyre useless

 

G'day Fatty.
Not many deers down here but **** loads of roos. I've hit a few of them many years ago. Since fitting the whistles to all my bikes and cars I haven't even come close. Instead of jumping every which way they just seem to stand up still. I swear by them.
Cheers

 

They seem to be effective on ‘Roos in the states too.
Haven’t hit one yet.

 

I’ve had them on bikes in the past as well as on my Semi when I was trucking. I have not had them on my bikes and Semi’s more than I had them. That said, I’ve never hit a deer but have seen plenty regardless of whether the whistles were mounted or not. They’re cheap and can’t hurt to buy a pair. I don’t think they attract deer but don’t think they deter them either.

 

They are designed to separate you from your money.

 

My brother’s semi-rural fire dept had them. Every time they inspected them, the tiny air hole was plugged with debris. They stopped using them.

Then I started looking at mine. Not always plugged, but most of the time.

IMO-worthless.

 

When I had a pretty large bike shop many years ago a local manufacturer of deer whistles came in with a couple of models, regular and electric and asked us to test them over one summer. They do not work.

 

I think the problem with deer is that they are on you before you know it !

 

I've had them on six different bikes in the last 30 years. Are they the cure all? Absolutly not. Do they work the same on different bikes? Absolutely not. Do they help? Absolutely! Are different brands better than others? Absolutely! Does location on a bike make a difference? Absolutely! Is there a formula? Absolutely not! If you are lucky enough to get the right combo you will be a believer based on what cattle, birds, horses and deer do approaching them or riding by. They stop (frequently) and (seem to) wonder what's coming. I will continue to use them no matter what the naysayers say...