Is Untrasonic Electronic Pest Control, Effective? 129
tedgyz asks: "I have declared war on the pests in my house. I am tired of hearing the scurrying of mice and squirrels in my walls. Worse - I am tired of the nests littered with droppings buried in boxes in the attic. I have used standard traps, and although successful, it seems that new rodents or more than happy to replace the ones I've killed. Are ultrasonic deterrents effective?"
"I've searched the web, but I can only find marketing material from manufacturers and distributors. I'm looking for cold, hard facts.
- Do ultrasonic deterrents really keep rodents out of your house?
- What is the range?
- Do they last, or do the rodents eventually return?
- Are they truly innocuous to dogs and cats?
- How do you measure success?"
Tell me more.. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Tell me more.. (Score:2)
AND
"Frink: You've got to listen to me. Elementary chaos theory tells us that all robots will eventually turn against their masters and run amok in an orgy of blood and the kicking and the biting with the metal teeth and the hurting and shoving."
AND not to mention:
"Frink: Well it's just a prototype, with proper funding I'm confident this lit
Re:Tell me more.. (Score:4, Funny)
Well, 'un' usually implies 'not'. So it could be sub-sonic (opposite of super-sonic), but I'm pretty much inclined to believe that it is 180 degree phase-shifted 'trasonic' frequencies. Very rare, which is why they are so expensive. Insects are generally afraid of them because they don't occur naturally.
According to Webster (Score:2)
I don't know what they do to insects. (Score:5, Funny)
Whenever I get near one I get a horrible headache after a few seconds that just keeps getting worse and worse until I flee, or can disable the damned device.
My advice would be to avoid them. Never let one into your house or workplace, destroy any you find, and try to drive the companies that make them out of business, sterilize the ground on which the factories that built them once stood (after your burn the buildings, and before you salt the ashes), and force the people who invented/built them into a lonely exile in Antarctica.
Of course, I might be slightly biased.
Re:I don't know what they do to insects. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I don't know what they do to insects. (Score:2, Interesting)
Oh, and yes I am a homo-sapient.
Re:I don't know what they do to insects. (Score:2)
Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:2)
A week or two ago there was an ad in the paper for an outdoor ultrasonic insect repellant that claimed one
Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:1)
Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:3, Informative)
mosquites repellants
DEET (insect repellent)
Avon Skin-so-Soft work for some people (works for me for 2 hrs) but not for others
lemony smelling stuff
citronaella, lemon grass, try just sparying the area with plain old lemon juice.
some people swear but oraly takeing garlic and yeast tablets, I think they may have some
Cheater! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:5, Informative)
You can buy expensive CO2 generator/electrostatic killers; they work to a certain extent. By that I mean they attract mosquitoes, they kill mosquitoes, but they don't kill as many as they attract. Net result: more mosquitoes than you had before.
You can buy bug zappers. They work as well, but apparently there are serious health hazards associated with haveing microscopic bits of blown up insects landing in your food. "Zapper" is an interesting description; but the correct term is more like "vaporizing".
You can use Citronella candles, and citronella bug sprays. They work, but not so well; some lose effectiveness after as little as 15 minutes, some as long as 2 hours.
You can use Avon Skin-so-soft, which works for 15 minutes. Apparently mosquitoes hate slick skin creams of all kinds, so plain-jane lotions work as well and as long.
DEET is the only thing that actually deals with flying insects over a decent period of time. Currently the recommendation is to use no stronger than 30% DEET formulas.
Other, "envoiornmentally friendly" spray/apply lotions work, but for short periods of time. Since most should not be used more than twice a day, that doesn't help if you're really outdoors.
Mosquito coils work because they contain a pesticide. You decide if that's what you want your kids breathing.
Bug jackets work; remember that if the screen touches your skin they can bit through it.
What really works is getting rid of the breeding sites. A single coke can with an inch of rainwater can grow about ten thousand mosquitoes; you have your work cut out for you, but it does make a real difference. If you have a pond, put fish in it. They eat the larvae.
There are about 90 kinds of North American mosquitoes, and they have specific habitat preferences. Thus, in the rain, you get the kind that like humidity and lower temps. At evening, you get the kind that like the sun going down and the temps falling a bit. So, chances are that the kind that give you the reaction will either die off sometime during the season, or you're having consistent weather they like, but getting at the breeding sites is your true best option.
You may well be having an allergic reaction of some kind as well; since allergies are cumulative (ie the reaction doesn't happen until you get some personally significant number of bites, a threshold you may have exceeded). I would use DEET but it's up to you.
Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:1)
Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work? (Score:3, Insightful)
Perhaps a friendly neighborhood barbeque, some free liquor, and a catalog from The Sharper Image on the table might get the conversation in the right direction
Short Answer: (Score:3, Interesting)
Some of those ads are a bit worrying - "Drive pests away by creating a unbearable ultrasonic field plus an annoying EMP in your house wiring!"
I think that having anything in your house that causes discomfort to animals that are *still* genetically fairly close to humans is probably a bad thing. Doubly so for the EMP ones. After all, a lot of human trials start out on the humble lab rat.
I wouldn't be convinced until there was a long term and scientifically rigorous study on continuous exposure to humans (oh, and the pests you're trying to drive off too!).
Genetically similar (Score:5, Informative)
"genetically similar" means nothing - A few kilohertz can make a lot of difference.
But one has to be careful not to get TOO close to the human hearing range, as within 3-4 kHz of the human hearing range, it causes US discomfort. A bit above that and it won't cause pain for humans at all, but will sound like an unholy shriek to a small animal.
Note: I'm talking about the ultrasonic-only ones. And having multiple small units scattered around is probably better for our ears than one large super-loud unit, as one superloud unit might still have enough SPL to damage someone's ears even though we can't hear it. (Although it helps that the ear won't have any resonances at those frequencies - This is why smaller animals can hear higher freqs, smaller ear canals = higher resonant freqs.)
The most effective solution (Score:4, Interesting)
Shortly after moving in we got ourselves two kittens, just weaned. By the time they were six months old there were no more mice! Any new would-be immigrants get dealt with by the time they reach the garden. We are also free from rats, moles, voles, shrews and anything else that moves. Pretty much as you would expect!
The secret is not to overfeed them so they stay healthy, agile and a little bit hungry most of the time.
They're also very nice cats as it happens, very loyal, affectionate and playful. They're always goofing around and making us laugh. It feels like they're part of the family.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:5, Insightful)
and in my opinion
If you want a mouser get a female.
if you want a friend get a male.
oh but if its 12:30 am and you hear them scratching at the door...look out the window first and make sure they don't have a mouse, before letting them in!
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
Neutering (Score:2)
Neutering prevents straying so the hunting should be more localised with a neutered cat.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
Re:The most effective solution (Score:3, Informative)
I can personally attest to this. Something about female cats makes them much less 'social' (in my experience) but much more prone to hunt -- well -- anything. Snakes, lizards, mice, rats, bugs, miniblinds...
My male cats, on the other hand, have been very friendly (almost to the point of being puppy-ish) but can't be bothered to hunt
A poster above mentioned to keep them only slightly fed -- I'm gonna have to disagree with this one. I
Re:The most effective solution (Score:1)
But the big males are the squirrel-killers. Of course, if you like squirrels, then you probably want something that sticks to mice.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
Squirrels are too small too make much of a meal, but they are pretty tasty if you can catch enough. The secret is to make sure that you don't overcook them...
Oh, you meant if you like looking at squirrels. Uh, nevermind.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:1)
That is not how they show affection. They bring dead animals to the place that they feel safe.
It's just like how you go to the bathroom or bedroom to rub one out, rather than doing it in the living room with the blinds open.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:1)
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
If you don't believe me, just think about it and use some common sense. Cats are carnivores. Evolution designed them over millions of years to eat fresh muscle meat. Not rice or corn meal - MEAT. Most dry foods are 90% rice or corn, many of the cheaper brands contain very unhealthy levels of ash, and even
Re:The most effective solution (Score:1)
Re:The most effective solution (Score:1)
You'll have to do some research though, choosing one that fits your situation is a personal decision.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
Moggies (Score:2)
Also get a Moggie or Heinz 57 from a shelter, get it young and handle it frequently to socialise it. Dont get a pedigree most of which are useless at hunting, and couldn't hunt to save their lives.
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
Re:The most effective solution (Score:4, Interesting)
When the cat brings you a dead critter? Well, that means the cat likes you, but not the way you think. basically, that's the cat's way of saying "I've tried to teach you how to hunt, you don't seem to get it, so if I bring you thins maybe you won't starve. But get off your duff and start killing your own food!"
Re:The most effective solution (Score:2)
Unlikely, though, since they know all too well that it's me who provides most of their food.
They work, in the right cases (Score:5, Informative)
Rooms with odd geometry or many sound-absorbing obstructions don't work very well. A good rule of thumb is that these will only protect areas an IR remote would reach from the outlet they're plugged into -- in other words, line-of-sight.
One word of advice -- don't go cheap! The cheap ones audibly click, and give sensitive people headaches. The good ones are unnoticable to pets and humans.
As for range, it varies -- but usually only one room per device. See labeling!
Is correct grammar beyond you, Cliff? (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Is correct grammar beyond you, Cliff? (Score:2)
HTH, HAND.
Re:Is correct grammar beyond you, Cliff? (Score:2)
Yeah, they work I reckon. (Score:2, Informative)
I bought a pair of Ultrasonic repellers for about £80, or USD$120. At the same time I put some poison down, which certainly thinned the numbers out.
But I think it was the Ultrasonic babies that kept them away; I don't think you can rely on them to rid yourself of the pests, but they are defi
Re:Yeah, they work I reckon. (Score:2, Funny)
Then, satisfied with the final outcome (and ignoring the poison's possible role in this outcome) you proclaim the gizmo to be effective and worthwhile. Indeed, according to your account not only was it effec
Re:Yeah, they work I reckon. (Score:1)
I bet sticking those cell phone antenna boosters onto the rodent repellers makes them twice as effective!
Some low-tech ideas (Score:2)
As for ultrasonics, I think you will find a cheap radio tuned to a Talk station will probably be as effective in driving them away.
Also worth investigating would be investing in a cat or similar predator.
Music? (Score:3, Funny)
-Filik.
Low tech solution. (Score:2)
Get a Cat.
Re:Low tech solution. (Score:3, Interesting)
Best of all, the poster wouldn't have to put up with said cat clawing furniture, said cat's hair covering everything, and said cat's litter box or vet bills.
Then again, I don't know of any way to get cat urine without actually owning a cat, so..
Re:Low tech solution. (Score:5, Funny)
You mean I could have been harvesting that stuff and selling it on ebay all this time, instead of spending money on cat litter?
Now all I need to figure out how to do is get the cat to piss in a cup. He might freak out and think it was a drug test though.
Re:Low tech solution. (Score:2)
Actually, all you'd need to do is harvest the urine-soaked cat granules. Spread around the base of the house. Problem solved.
Re:Low tech solution. (Score:2)
Re:Low tech solution. (Score:2)
Re:Low tech solution. (Score:2)
Depends on rodent. (Score:2)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/850556.stm
http://www.stanleylab.org/Doc
security patch (Score:5, Insightful)
Have you tried any professional services?
IMO, the sonic thing is a total scam. Many of my old customers tried that, and eventually gave up. (I got out of the pest control business in '97 or so)
Re:security patch (Score:2, Funny)
Foam-in-a-can (Score:2)
I am taking care of a place out in the country, and to solve a squirrel problem I 1)
Re:security patch (Score:2)
Mousies yes, Roaches no. (Score:4, Informative)
The mice appear to have fled the area. We caught a mousie in the front room (glue trap), but we haven't seen any mice in the back of the house. If you can stand finding a dead mouse now and then, I recommend glue traps.
The roaches don't seem to mind the ultrasonic at all.
Surprisingly, Chrysantemum seeds work against roaches. We set some out a while back and the roaches dissapeared. Apparently there are more effective breeds (of seeds, not roaches), so do some research.
Re:Mousies yes, Roaches no. (Score:5, Informative)
Not so surprising; chrysanthemums contain pyrethrins [demon.co.uk], a natural insecticide.
Speaking as a homeowner... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Speaking as a homeowner... (Score:3, Funny)
They must work! (Score:3, Funny)
By the way, does anyone know of any other devices that use D cells these days? I have a bunch in my junk drawer...
Re:They must work! (Score:2)
Re:They must work! (Score:2)
Re:They must work! (Score:2)
go over the lawn with a verticutter, it'll cut the turf into strips so the mole burrows punch through and the cat can catch them in the meantime/
Get a Mouser (Score:4, Informative)
Do ultrasonic deterrents really keep rodents out
of your house?
No. Not at all. What they do is make the environment less attractive to the rodents. If you are in a duplex, the rodents run next door. If you own your own house, they get used to it (how long did it take you to ignore the traffic/train/plane while you are sleeping?)
What is the range?
See above "no" answer.
Do they last, or do the rodents eventually return?
See above answer.
Are they truly innocuous to dogs and cats?
The mouse chirpers bug the crap out of my dog. On a more important note, they bug the crap out of me. (my wife would say "insert obvioius pest joke here") The mosquito ones are the worst, but I can definitely hear all of the "pest control" ultrasonic gizmos. Maybe I'm just picking up on a weird harmonic, but they're more annoying than the high pitched whine of older TVs, to me.
If TVs and flourescent lights don't bother you, then this won't bother you, but be assured that your pets *will* notice.
How do you measure success?"
Decrease in mouse turds always worked for me.
If you're seriously interested in getting rid of mice, get a cat. Get a female cat (spayed!) from the humane society. Keep it outside if you don't like cats (they like to roam, anyway).
Best rodent control are mousers. Female cats make the best mousers.
Homebrew (Score:3, Informative)
555 timer - Set it to free-run somewhere in the 26-30 kHz range. You might have to experiment a bit. It will probably be most effective 1-2 kHz over the highest frequency that causes you discomfort.
Audio amplifier - LM386 audio amps are cheap and easy to use. They're a high-power op-amp for all practical purposes.
The silicon and additional passives would cost you under $10 most likely, which leaves you $20-30 for a speaker with good ultrasonic response and still be a fraction of the price of these $80-120 commerical units people talk about.
Bonus is that you can retune it down a few kHz if you want to intentionally piss someone off. This is more effective if you add circuitry that sweeps the frequency over a few kHz. (This might hold true for animals too.)
I've never used them for mice... (Score:1)
Your best bet for getting rid of mice is sealing up your house. Short of that, I'm with a lot of the other people above - get a cat. No, they don't kill the mice outright, but they tend to think of mice as the feline equivalent of sup
Re:I've never used them for mice... (Score:1)
Who really sells these things? (Score:4, Insightful)
Just look at where you can get these things. There is huge money in installation of these devices in commercial establishments if the cost would justify the results. Yet, the only ones selling these things are the people who don't have to answer to the client month after month about why it isn't working.
Worked for me against bats (Score:1)
For mice in the basement I used traps and our cat.
FTC Says 'No' (Score:5, Informative)
Get one, and test it yourself. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Get one, and test it yourself. (Score:1)
Possible mods:
+Insightfull
+Funny
+Interesting
get a ferret (Score:1)
I'm convinced that mice, rats, snakes, etc just pack up and leave the moment a ferret is about.
Please use conventional weapons. (Score:2)
Get cats or dogs. Imagine if the brain cavity of your kids were of the same resonance as the ultrasonic transmitter, or of some natural predator of those rodents.
Better yet rebuild the walls. Being geeky isnt always being smart.
these devices require 'line of sight'... (Score:4, Informative)
The sound frequency is damped right out of existence upon hitting something, so using them in a space with lots of corners, furniture, or sonic shadows will be fruitless. Though, if you knew they were all entering your house through a certain cleared-out area, it might be worth flooding that space with them. Otherwise, I think it will cost a fortune, have limited success, and, based on other another poster's comment, may give you headaches or brain damage.
Personally, having kids prevented me from putting out too many traps, and chemicals were out of the question.
First of all, you have to get rid of their entry points, clog up their traffic routes in the walls, and trap the ones that start walking through your living room as a result. I live in an old bungalow, and was surprised to find that behind my baseboards, there was enough room to roll a baseball through (just like in the cartoons, they had set up a little world back there).
The most effective thing that worked for me (outside of getting a cat) was to pull up the baseboard molding around a few rooms (especially the kitchen), and fill it with 'expanding foam spray.' The mouse superhighway was gone. I caught a couple with traps, but they never came back. It also made my house a bit less drafty. I filled in any space where I thought they may be able to enter the house, either with foam or ultra-fine steel wool (mice won't try to chew through it).
Low tech, but effective. It cost me about $10 total, compared to $5-$25 for each of the ultrasonic devices.
Re:these devices require 'line of sight'... (Score:2)
Jason
Re: (Score:2)
Re:cats, or ferrets (Score:2)
Untrasonic Electronic Pest Control is great for me (Score:1)
Don't use the word "war" use "liberate" instead (Score:3, Funny)
I have declared war on the pests in my house.
No, no, you've got it all wrong. Don't say you're declaring war. Say that you're "liberating" them from their miserable existance scurring around in the walls and such. Then you're morally justified in bombing the holy beejesus out of them and they'll be eternally grateful just like the Iraqis.
Oh wait...
GMD
I've seen it work (Score:2, Informative)
technological fault (Score:1)
Can't say, but traps sure work (Score:1)
Our house got infested this winter in a way I've never seen before. The blasted things were everywhere, chewing up food, eating the dog's food, pooping and pissing all over the basement.
I bought one of the ultrasonic things, but I can't honestly tell you if it seemed to work. By the time I bought it, we were nearly overrun, and they're only supposed to keep them out, not make them leave if they've already gotten comfortable.
I ended up setting out traps. I started with a few at a time, and ended up ha
Re:Can't say, but traps sure work (Score:1)
I have a cocker spaniel that constantly hunts opossum. Its amazing to watch him chase, corner, then yank and throw these little beasties in the air and break their backs over his nose. He will grab them at the back of the neck and shake the daylights out of them, then he will fling the bastards high in the air trying to break their necks. He also attacks moles as will the cats. He has yet to figure out how to get the armadillo
many people can hear these things (Score:1)
They are not a better mouse trap.
Forget ultrasonic deterrents: (Score:2)
What about hypersonic deterrents. Git yerself a gun... or move out and sign over the deed to the leader of the vermin.
What's wrong with the environmental way? (Score:1)
Cats. Taking out the trash since the days of the Pharaohs.
Birds?? (Score:2)
Re:Birds?? (Score:3, Informative)
Ultrasonic - BAD... Magnetic resonance - Good (Score:1)
Re:Ultrasonic - BAD... Magnetic resonance - Good (Score:2)
a better mouse trap (Score:3, Informative)
I tried to draw a diagram, but it was aborted by the lameness filter.
Re:a better mouse trap (Score:2)
Re:a better mouse trap (Score:2)
Re:a better mouse trap (Score:1)
DRACO-
Sunbeam for spiders (Score:2)
Then my wife tried another brand (Sunbeam, from Costco). Wow! We went from 4-6 spiders a day to 1 per month. Then after three months, it went up to about 1 per week (Sunbeam says they get used it) and has stayed there ever since. We have them all over (they make little 'clicking' noises, but w
Re:I know editorship isn't a phd in english, but.. (Score:1, Offtopic)
Pedant.
Re:I know editorship isn't a phd in english, but.. (Score:1, Offtopic)