Ultrasonic Pest Control

Gardening magazines, mail order companies, the Internet and mail order companies are marketing and selling devices that claim to be safer, easier, and more environmentally friendly ways of disposing of pests. Among these devices, there are the ultrasonic pest control devices that essentially come in the form of little boxes with flashing lights.

Supposedly, these ultrasonic pest repeller devices, such as the Sunbeam ultrasonic pest controller, the Black and Decker ultrasonic pest repeller, and the Riddex ultrasonic pest control device, use high frequency sound waves that irritate bats, rodents and insect pests to the point of driving them away for good or even killing them. The majority of these devices plug in to electrical outlets; many companies, however, offer battery-powered units that can be used as collars and mobile pest repellers to be placed outdoors. As for price range, an ultrasonic pest control device can cost you anywhere from $7 to $700.

Many researchers have investigated these ultrasonic pest control devices and the overwhelming majority agrees that they have absolutely no function in repelling or eliminating pests from homes. Animals located in cages next to these ultrasonic pest repellers often have absolutely no reaction to them at all. If you look at the literature, actually, you’ll see that many companies have been charged with false advertising and have been forced to return money to customers.

The claims that these high-pitched “ultrasonic pest deterrent” sounds will not bother humans and pets are also dubious. It is true that many animals hear sounds in ranges not reachable by human ears, but these inaudible ultrasonic pest control sounds are not so irritating as to drive an animal away or kill it. If the intensity of the sound is increased, however, there could be detrimental effects on pests; higher intensities could potentially harm humans and domestic pets as well, though. Indeed, pets such as hamsters or gerbils are in the same family as pests like mice or rats; anything that will drive mice or rats away or kill them will have the same effect on your pet hamster or gerbil.

As far as ultrasonic pest control effectiveness and ultrasonic pest control reliability, researchers have also observed that the high-pitched sounds emitted from these devices don’t carry far at all. Roughly half the energy produced dissipates within 15 feet; at 30 feet, all the energy is gone. Moreover, if there is an object in the path of the sound waves, the sound is blocked; this means that if a pest hides behind an object, they won’t be hit with any “offensive” high-pitched sound at all.

When it comes to pest control, ultrasonic methods seem to not be the most effective. If you’d like to try these devices for yourself, though, make sure you review ultrasonic pest control information on the various devices available so as to answer the question, “What is the best ultrasonic pest control device on the market” as best as possible.