Recently, I was fascinated to hear that for many years, the house in Clode Street where I live was well known for its burglar bars. I never really noticed the bars much myself, until one day we began removing them. First, the cage around the front door, then the windows looking out onto the road, and most recently, the last few sets have gone. Only once I realised that I had been taking the bars for granted, did I start to wonder if there were other precautions to take to help residents coexist with the local baboons without bars on the windows to keep them out.
To answer this question, I had an engaging discussion with Renée Bish, a member of the Betty’s Bay Baboon Action Group of volunteers, who hope to find ways to live without conflict in overlap with the baboons regularly visiting Betty’s Bay. Methods she shared for preventing baboons from sneaking into a house included limiting how far a window can be opened and keeping doors locked. Baboons can open doors with a push-down handle, if unlocked. If one has a round door handle that needs one to turn their wrist to open, the baboons can’t open it. If one needs to have doors open for air, then the new steel-mesh doors, added on the inside, or a locklatch are good options. This is a latch fastened with a key once in place, allowing a door to open up to seven centimetres, but the baboons can’t undo the latch to open the door enough to get in. If a baboon does enter, Bish emphasised keeping calm is the most important thing one can do. By keeping calm, a person does not stress the animal, and they will leave more quickly and cause less damage as they leave.
Of course, just because one takes the precautions mentioned above, it doesn’t mean that the baboons will never get into the house. Everyone can forget to close a door or window, especially the upstairs windows one doesn’t see all the time. There was an occasion where our glass kettle was shattered after a baboon came into the house, because one of us had forgotten to lock the back door. Unfortunately, it has a horizontal push-down handle that could open. Another time, one window was left ajar for the cat. A juvenile entered and relieved us of some fruit. According to Bish, the baboons will watch one’s pet going in and out, which can alert them to a possible access point. She explained that the smallest young baboons, which have the knowledge and initiative to climb in through the window to get food, can climb through one opened wider than seven centimetres. A restrictor can be installed to prevent a window from opening past this point. Similarly, gaps wider than seven centimetres between the ceiling and the top of a trellis security gate may also provide access.
Installing restrictors may not be the only window expense owners may need to pay for. According to local glass installation company BB Glass, older wooden window frames, which have not been maintained, are easier for the baboons to break or bite through and then enter the house. The suggested solution is, the better the quality of the aluminium window frames used to replace the rotten frames, the less additional anti-baboon proofing you require. Some residents may decide to save money by creating their own handmade baboon-proof solutions. Bish applauds this and suggests, before implementing them, discussing with others who have already implemented their own solutions, to ensure they are effective.
I never thought having burglar bars on my window would impact me, but now, with baboon-proofing products on the windows and doors of my house, I’m really enjoying the views not obscured by grey metal bars. It is possible for people to coexist with the baboons and enjoy living in Betty’s Bay without requiring burglar bars on the windows.
Tony Norton