the desert wouldnt be good either with all that blowing sand seriously it sounds like you got a bad one. if you set it up on a good deer trail,feeding area, or salt lick generally that will be a somewhat open spot. you can certainly buy a more expensive unit but to me id rather not put a 300$ bill attached to a tree. at 59$ i would try getting yours fixed or trying some different set ups to make sure its just not in a bad location.