Holy Robin Trap Batman!

[Matt Meerian] introduced us to his kludge of cardboard, tape, mirrors, and electronics in the form of a clever non lethal robin trap. Whenever a pesky robin would enter the box, a sensor is triggered, the solenoid drops a lid, and the bird is contained (and we assume taken far away after that).

Of course the plan backfired; we wont spoil what happened, but you can click the link above to find out.

Related: Arduino Mouse Trap

24 thoughts on “Holy Robin Trap Batman!

  1. yuppicide,

    The trap has a special feature. It comes with a hairless ape. The ape is programmed to occasionally check the contents of the box. If it is determined that the box does not contain the offending robin but rather some other bird, the ape releases it and resets the trap until the robin is captured. I suggest that all contraptions come with a hairless ape. They’re versatile devices.

  2. other possible deterrents:
    cat or fake cat statue.
    motion activated spray can (make the robin safety orange
    mouse trap with worm
    pellet gun

    i’d personally go for the last one.

  3. @therian

    This is Hackaday, where we come up with over-the-top and not-always-useful ways of solving problems. I’d say this submission is worthy of “hack” status.

  4. Robins: Edible — were hunted for meat.

    Robins: “Disease” (probably not “good eats”)

    The American Robin is a known reservoir (carrier) for West Nile Virus. … the American Robin is suspected to be a key host and holds a larger responsibility for the transmission of the virus to humans. … the American Robin survives the virus longer, hence spreading it to more mosquitoes which then transmit the virus to humans and other species.

    Robins: Latin name: Turdus migratorius — for the first part alone, it deserves removal from the protected species list.

    Robins: An idea whose time has come.

    I vote multi-pump bb pistol. Easily concealable, low noise, accurate. Oh, and a shovel or a black plastic bag for disposal.

  5. Incidentally, joh is right; relocating robins, even from your own property, is illegal in the US. They’re not “endangered species” protected – they’re protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Yes, seriously.

  6. Am I wrong or is the resistor (R3) on the gate of the MOSFET (U3*) unnecessary? BJTs need series resistors on the base to limit base current, but I don’t believe MOSFETs do, since the gate is extremely high-impedance and operates on voltage, not current.

    * Why U3 and not T1?

  7. yah I hate it when robins…… eat worms….and then sing about it… May want to wax the cardboard… put electronics knowledge to better use… etc.

    Joe: we may also want to evacuate the earths atmosphere as to imobilize airborne pathogens…

  8. The American Robin is an iconic bird. Pretty cool invention but they aren’t pesky, they eat bugs in the grass and don’t use bird feeders. I like robins more than you.

Leave a Reply to TorvaunCancel reply

Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.