Should We Start Putting Deer Whistles on Cars in Lafayette?

LAFAYETTE, La. (KMDL-FM) - Over the past week, there have been three instances of vehicles hitting deer in Lafayette. I can't ever remember a deer being hit on Ambassador Caffery. Whether it's a case of wild animals being on the move searching for food sources or being forced out of their natural habitats due to developments, deer and coyote sightings have become more frequent in Lafayette recently.

Deer sightings also increase during mating season which runs from October through January.

Are more and more deer sightings something that's going to become a common occurrence in Lafayette? If so, is there anything we can do to try and detour deer from running out into busy roadways so they don't get hit and killed, not to mention totaling our vehicles?

Ever heard of a deer whistle?

Unsplash Via Scott Carroll

What Is A Deer Whistle?

Deer whistles are small devices that mount to the front of a vehicle, usually on the bumper or grill, with the goal of helping reduce collisions with deer and other wildlife. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to install, which is why a lot of people try them as a preventative measure.

How Deer Whistles Work

The idea behind a deer whistle is pretty simple. As your vehicle reaches a certain speed usually around 30 mph, air passes through the whistle producing a high-frequency sound, often in the ultrasonic range that humans can’t hear, but deer supposedly can.

The idea is that the high pitched frequency produced by deer whistle makes the deer freeze and alert, stopping them from darting out into the road.

Unsplash Via Divide By Zero

Do Deer Whistles Actually Work?

The explanation of how and why a deer whistle should work makes sense, but do they actually keep deer from running into the road?

Research and wildlife agencies generally say that there’s no conclusive evidence that deer whistles prevent collisions.

Different species of deer hear different frequencies, so the whistle sound may not fall into an alerting range.

The sound produced may also not even be loud enough to do anything.

From progressive.com -

According to a study from 2003, deer whistles are unlikely to produce a sound loud enough for deer to hear at a sufficient distance to avoid traffic encounters. Also, some whistles produce sounds at a frequency that deer can't easily hear.