Baboon Proofing

Guidance for living the Vision when it comes to decisions about your property and your daily lifestyle at home.

Avoid putting up walls as fences as much as you can. They limit wildlife movement, and affect the open, natural character of the Rooiels landscape. If you must create a wall or fence, keep it low, use open material and limit it to a small area of your plot. Avoid using creosote on fence posts – it’s extremely toxic to soil organisms, wildlife and waterways.

👉 Read more about regulations and best practices on the Building & Renovating page.

Outdoor lights disorient wildlife, pollute our pristine night skies and disturb other residents. Use soft, downward-facing outside lights and turn them off when not in use, or switch to motion-sensor lights.

👉 Read more about outdoor lighting on the Building & Renovating page.

Be very careful about braaiing outdoors. In fact, outdoor fires aren’t permitted at all in the fire season (typically 1 November – end May) or if the Fire Danger Index is yellow, orange or red. Always douse coals with water when your finished cooking and ensure they are completely extinguished. Dispose of coals in your own bin – never on the ground.

Make sure your doors and windows are fitted with baboon proof latches, and always use them! Even if you’re just stepping out for a moment.

Only use toxic or corrosive household cleaners, solvents and other harmful chemicals as little as possible. Ensure that you dispose of them responsibly – never wash them down the drain or thow them onto the ground. They can be disposed of at the municipality’s hazardous waste drop off points Kleinmond, Hermanus or Gansbaai.

Never use rat poison, indiscriminate traps or any pest control which could harm our wildlife.

👉 Read this Safe Pest Control booklet from UCT.

Rooiels is home to a resident baboon troop that will take every opportunity to access human food and shelter if the design of your home allows it. Baboon proofing is an essential part of designing and building your home here — it’s not an optional extra. Getting this right at the design and construction stage means far fewer problems later on.

Think Like a Baboon

Baboons are intelligent, strong, and opportunistic, especially when seeking food. They will test weaknesses in doors, windows, roofs, and screens repeatedly until they find a way in — or until they learn there is nothing to be gained.

Design & Construction Measures

Windows and Doors

Add bars or grills to windows, ensuring that the gap between bars is no more than 7 cm so even small juveniles cannot slip through.
Limit how far windows can open using commercially available catches or restrictors.
Fit sliding doors with track guards so they cannot be lifted off their rails.
Consider extra‑strength insect/mesh screens that provide airflow without compromising security.

Structural and External Vulnerabilities

Internal access from a garage makes everyday tasks like unloading groceries safer and minimises exposure to baboons.
Avoid outside sills, ledges, or easily climbable surfaces that offer baboons purchase to reach higher levels.
Antennas, satellite dishes, piping, and gutters can act as climbing frames unless designed and braced to resist use as such. Baboon‑play on gutters is common; consider concealed or tightly‑bracketed rainwater goods.
Fit round door knobs where possible; baboons have not yet learned to operate them easily.

Materials and Finishes

Where possible, choose materials (frames, doors, finishes) that resist chewing and levering. Aluminium frames are preferable to untreated timber, which baboons may gnaw.
Design with heavy‑duty fixings and extra bracing at vulnerable points to reduce damage over time.

Refuse and Food‑Related Design

Baboon proofing your waste and food access helps ensure they don’t associate homes with easy rewards.

Provide secure, baboon‑proof refuse storage as part of your house design, ideally within a lockable, indoor or sheltered area.
Consider designing waste and recycling storage so bins do not sit outside in the open where baboons can access them.

Although waste management and bins are covered more fully on other pages, incorporating secure, sheltered refuse areas into your plans from the start will avoid awkward retrofits later.

Electric Fencing and Perimeters

Electric fences around a property boundary may seem like a solution, but in practice they are not recommended for Rooiels homes:

Baboons can learn to circumvent electric wiring or leap over it, reducing effectiveness.
Electric perimeter fences can still injure native wildlife that move through your plot.

If electric elements are considered, they should be expertly designed and locally informed, ideally focusing only on the structure itself rather than a boundary fence.

Why It’s Important

Baboons in Rooiels are not naturally aggressive, but they are persistent when food or easy access is available. Eliminating the benefit (food, rubbish, or unprotected access) through good design reduces conflict for both residents and the animals.

Getting baboon proofing right as part of your design and build, rather than fixing it afterwards, saves time, money, frustration, and helps maintain harmony with the wildlife that shares this unique environment.