A new method for deterring people from sleeping outside homes and businesses is being met with mixed reviews, but like it or not, it appears to be working--and selling.
After getting fed up with people camping in the underground garage space of his apartment building in Santa Monica, Blue Chirper inventor Stephan McMahon told KNX News' Emily Valdez he had to come up with a novel idea.
"You can't just blast music because that's disturbing the piece," he said. "But if it's a noise that's found in nature and it's not loud than the noise in nature, then there's nothing they can do about it."
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
So he used the sound of a chirping cricket accompanied by a flashing blue light, and he said it worked like a charm.
"Homeless guys would come in, the thing starts chirping, it'd start the blue light, they turn around and walk right out," he said.
After great success at home, he began selling the product to residents and businesses.
At $400 a piece, the motion-activated noise and light boxes are super annoying, but that's the point.
The Blue Chirper has been installed at a shopping center on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, and it's receiving mixed reviews.
"I don't think it's a bad idea," one man said. "I mean, we got an issue with homeless pretty much sleeping here nonstop."
"I don't think it's nice to the homeless people. They're humans," said another.
One woman called it "ridiculous," adding, "It does nothing but annoy everybody on the block." Still, these chirpers are selling all across the country.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
