N.J. firm tests deer device

A device using a flashing light and a shrill alarm is being tested on a stretch of road near Fort Dix, N.J., to see whether it can deter deer.

The devices, installed by Mount Laurel company JAFA Technologies Inc., are activated when the unit senses headlights on an approaching vehicle up to 150 yards away. Then the device emits a shrill noise and a blue strobe light is flashed. The combination of the light and the sound is designed to keep deer away from the road when a vehicle is approaching.

“What makes this device so much more effective than others is that this can detect headlights before a deer sees them and gets mesmerized,” Ed Mulka, project manager for JAFA, told the Courier-Post newspaper of Cherry Hill.

The devices are being installed on Saylors Pond Road near Fort Dix. Local officials say this stretch of road sees about 60 to 80 accidents a year involving deer.

JAFA is paying for the cost of installing the 38 devices, which usually cost about $150 a piece.

The devices are made in Austria by IPTE and are being tested for the first time in the United States, JAFA President Carol Bozarth told the newspaper.