When was the scarecrow invented?

About 2,500 B.C., Greek farmers carved wooden scarecrows in the image of Priapus, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, creating a “scarecrow” that was supposedly ugly enough to scare the birds away from their vineyards, ensuring a good harvest.

The first scarecrow was invented by the Egyptians to protect their crops from birds and wild animals.The common form of a scarecrow is a humanoid figure dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Machinery such as windmills have been employed as scarecrows, but the effectiveness lessens as animals become familiar with the structures.

Since the creation of the humanoid scarecrow, more effective methods have been developed. On California farmland, highly reflective aluminized PET film ribbons are tied to the plants to create shimmers from the sun. Another approach is using automatic noise guns powered by propane gas. One winery in New York uses inflatable tube men or airdancers to scare away birds.

Credit:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow