The bottom line? They just don’t work.
For most people, the sight of mice, ants, roaches, spiders, centipedes, bedbugs, and other vermin scurrying happily through the house is a major turn-off. We'd do just about anything to send these invaders packing. We've even read stories about people setting off so many bug bombs inside homes that the fumes ignite and cause an explosion. (Lesson learned: Keep bug bombs far away from pilot lights and leave home before fogging your house). In the parlance, that's what's known as throwing the baby out with the bathwater. solar cold room
Not surprisingly, homeowners are looking for easy solutions that don't contain toxins or explosive content. I tried an ultrasonic pest repeller to get rid of unwanted guests, and here are the results.
Blowing up your house, obviously, is not an option. What else can you do? Well, if you visit a local home center or hardware store, you'll find no shortage of sprays, insect traps, poisons, sticky paper, glue boards, and other vermin-dispatch devices. You can employ professional exterminators to periodically inspect and treat the house. These methods are proven to work. What does not work, though, is a futuristic-looking device that sounds so cool and high-tech you've probably bought one already—an ultrasonic pest repeller.
Available in numerous shapes, sizes, colors, and prices, ultrasonic pest repellers are designed to plug into an electrical outlet in any room where you're having a problem. They "repel" vermin by emitting high-frequency sound waves too high for humans to hear that supposedly make pests confused, irritated, convulsive, and prone to fleeing because the disruption prevents them from gathering food, building nests, breeding, or communicating. Companies may claim their devices chase away cockroaches, birds, bats, rodents, fleas, and even spiders.
Although ants, spiders, bedbugs, and such can sense vibrations, they don't have ears. Plus, high-frequency sound waves travel short distances and are quickly absorbed by just about anything—carpets, curtains, towels, recliners, pillows, boxes, and piles of dirty clothes. Stick a piece of cardboard between the repeller and the target and the target won't notice a thing. Ultrasonic turns ultra-useless.
In addition, studies, including one published by the University of Arizona, have also found that creatures that do react to ultrasonic pest repellers seem to get over it quickly or acclimate to it and resume life as usual when they realize it isn't harmful. In other studies, vermin didn't appear to react at all.
On the flip side, people and pets can. According to the National Institutes of Health, people who are exposed to ultrasonic noise over time can suffer from nausea, headaches and migraines, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), and fatigue. Plus cats and dogs can hear frequencies twice as high as humans can and ultrasonic sounds. Some dogs and cats seem to not be bothered by them while others are, so take note if your pet seems anxious. In addition, the devices may cause distress for guinea pigs, rabbits, and hamsters. Talk to your vet before using the devices. All the more reason to think twice about using them, not to mention anecdotal reports that the devices can interfere with telephone calls, burglar systems, and hearing aids.
Full disclosure—I once bought a pair of these things to drive squirrels out of my attic. They had set up shop in a corner, so I pointed the repellers directly at the area about 6 feet away and cut on the juice. Absolutely no effect. Either they detected the sound and didn't care or they didn't hear it at all. I finally had to go retro and trap the varmints, which worked.
You'll often find posts on social media rating the top 10 ultrasonic pest repellers or turn to Amazon to look at the star ratings and read reviews. The devices with the most stars and ratings win. Because we all know every single positive review on Amazon is legitimate (wink, wink).
In your dire need, you may look past the dubious claims. Faithful readers, don't be taken in like I was. There are lots of effective ways to eliminate disgusting bugs. Your foot. A fly swatter. Boric acid. Ant trap. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ultrasonic pest repeller? Nah.
And the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said the same: During the 1980s, they charged manufacturers with false advertising because the devices were determined to not effectively repel or eliminate pests and required them to refund customers.
Other ways to keep unwanted guests out of your home involve changing habits. Here are ways to get rid of things that attract the pests into your home:
Pests can squeeze through the smallest of spaces. Inspect your home for cracks and gaps where they can potentially enter, like under cabinets, around pipes and drains, around doors and windows, and around vents in your home. Seal cracks with caulk as needed, fill gaps around pipes with steel wool, and make sure screens are installed and fit properly.
Thick mulch, wood piles, gutters filled with leaves, and shrubs planted close to the house are all areas where pests can live and potentially gain entry to your house. Trim bushes, clean gutters, and leave a barrier that doesn’t give them easy access.
Some pests are attracted to moisture, and damp crawl spaces and leaky plumbing could draw them in. Fix any issues around your home that cause standing water, and make sure crawl spaces and basements are dry.
If pests do make it inside, depending on what pest you are trying to repel, getting rid of its food source may encourage it to look elsewhere for a meal. Pests like rodents aren’t picky about what they eat, so keep floors and counters free of crumbs and spills, seal food packages in the pantry, and don’t pile up dirty dishes in the sink.
Stacks of magazines, cardboard, and trash attract all sorts of pests. Take trash and recycling out regularly and don’t keep it piled near the house or in the garage.
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Sonic Pest Repellents.
NIH National Library of Medicine. Are some people suffering as a result of increasing mass exposure of the public to ultrasound in air?
NIH National Library of Medicine. What Makes Human Hearing Special?
International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Ultrasonic Pest Repellers: Solution or Scam?
Terminix. Do Ultrasonic Pest Repellers Work?
large bug zapper Federal Trade Commission. FDC Warns Manufacturers and Retailers of Ultrasonic Pest-control Devices.