Many of us enjoy seeing the baboons in and around our gardens and are happy to have fynbos that attracts them. But if you prefer not to have them, then plant indigenous plants which aren’t so attractive to them – in particular not bitou or dune guarri! Some of us are happy to have the baboons around our houses.
However none of us want baboons in our homes. Plan your home so that you are protected from baboons:
(adapted to Rooiels conditions from the information on Baboon Matters)
The most important thing to keep in mind when you are planning your home in an area affected by baboons is to think like a baboon!
Prevent entry into your home:
Contain your waste disposal securely
Human garbage offers rich rewards to these opportunistic primates and it is humans who need to control or change our waste management systems in order to reduce baboons raiding into villages and homes.
· It is essential to baboon-proof your dustbin, wherever it is situated.
· There are a variety of methods available to baboon proof your bin, depending on the type of bin you are using.
· If you are using the wheelie bin supplied by the municipalities – remember to attach locks to both sides of the bin – a single lock in the middle of the bin is insufficient.
· If you have a fixed bin, be sure to secure your bin upright so that baboons cannot knock the bins over - you may have to do this at regular intervals as the baboons continue to test our efforts to keep them from feeding on our leftovers.
· Avoid putting your black bag in your bin until Monday morning when they are cleared.
· Reduce your waste by planning carefully and recycling. If your throw a lot of food content into your waste the baboons will soon come to view your bin as a rich reward site and make more effort to access it.
Pringle Bay has a waste station near the entrance where you can take recycling
Most Important on a day to day basis is to be aware never to let them gain access - remember to keep unbarred windows or doors closed. a day to day basis, however, it is essential to be acutely aware of never-ever-leaving access doors open, even the “scout” may be in the vicinity and will grab any opportunity to enter- incredibly quickly as well!
However none of us want baboons in our homes. Plan your home so that you are protected from baboons:
(adapted to Rooiels conditions from the information on Baboon Matters)
The most important thing to keep in mind when you are planning your home in an area affected by baboons is to think like a baboon!
Prevent entry into your home:
- Burglar-proof your home and make sure there is no more than an 7 cm gap in the bars on windows that are to be left open and also that trellidoors are properly adapted - some say a 6.5cm gap is safer!
- Remember that juvenile baboons and even some of the sub-adults can get through cat and dog flaps! There are devices that you can attach to the collar of your domestic pet so that the flaps only open as they approach and don’t remain open all the time thus allowing only your pet into the home.
- Safety gates are effective in keeping bigger baboons out, infants and some small juvenile baboons can fit through some safety gates - be sure to check that you put in the appropriate door.
- Put additional locks or stoppers onto sliding doors this will considerably reduce the baboons’ ability to force sliding doors off their runners to gain entry to your home.
- Use round door handles wherever possible as the baboons find these handles much more difficult to use.
- Plan your structure to minimise the impact of baboons:
- Place additional braces to support the lengths of drain pipes and guttering – the baboons often use drainpipes and guttering to climb up and down your home – the extra bracing will ensure that the pipes don’t fall down or break.
- Use good, washable exterior paint so that dirty baboon hand prints are easily washed away.
- Put deterrents such as additional electrification around your DSTV dish, it is costly to replace but a huge attraction for young baboons to investigate. A friend recently used the long acacia thorns to excellent effect by strapping the thorny branches around the DSTV dish – as the baboons immediately recognise the long acacia thorns, they know to avoid that area.
- If you can prepare well in advance by using longer nails and screws, extra braces, stronger material, the additional cost and effort at the beginning will pay huge dividends over time as the potential damage caused by baboons will be greatly reduced.
- Build so that you have internal access into your house directly from the garage -- this way you will not need to carry groceries in the open.
- Establish a Good Waste Disposal System (see some suggestions below). Essentially you need a baboon proof bin and you need to avoid open compost heaps
- Careful when feeding birds that you dont attract baboons
- Vegetables and fruit do not grow well so near the sea, but if you do want to try, then you need to be sure to have a very securely covered, baboon proof growing area.
- Most important is to be acutely aware of never-ever leaving access doors open - even for a few minutes. Their "scout" is often in the vicinity and will seldom be seen by you. They will grab any opportunity to enter - and they do this very quietly and quickly!
- Baboons can open doors, so keep them locked. They havent yet learned how to open the round knobs, but most others, including sliding doors are easy for them!
Contain your waste disposal securely
Human garbage offers rich rewards to these opportunistic primates and it is humans who need to control or change our waste management systems in order to reduce baboons raiding into villages and homes.
· It is essential to baboon-proof your dustbin, wherever it is situated.
· There are a variety of methods available to baboon proof your bin, depending on the type of bin you are using.
· If you are using the wheelie bin supplied by the municipalities – remember to attach locks to both sides of the bin – a single lock in the middle of the bin is insufficient.
· If you have a fixed bin, be sure to secure your bin upright so that baboons cannot knock the bins over - you may have to do this at regular intervals as the baboons continue to test our efforts to keep them from feeding on our leftovers.
· Avoid putting your black bag in your bin until Monday morning when they are cleared.
· Reduce your waste by planning carefully and recycling. If your throw a lot of food content into your waste the baboons will soon come to view your bin as a rich reward site and make more effort to access it.
Pringle Bay has a waste station near the entrance where you can take recycling
Most Important on a day to day basis is to be aware never to let them gain access - remember to keep unbarred windows or doors closed. a day to day basis, however, it is essential to be acutely aware of never-ever-leaving access doors open, even the “scout” may be in the vicinity and will grab any opportunity to enter- incredibly quickly as well!
| protect_your_home.docx |
