Friends of the scarecrow

My late father-in-law told me that the scarecrow in his garden scared him more than it scared the birds. For that reason (ha), I don't have a scarecrow, but I do have an angry-looking fake owl and slithery-looking rubber snakes. These are purported to scare away animals and birds, but I'm not buying it. Squirrels avoid the owl's stare and enjoy a smorgasbord any time they like in my garden. Maybe they know that owls aren't really out in the daytime. And come on, who has ever seen snakes in neon colors?