Slashdot Mirror


Using Your Computer to Repel Pests

circletimessquare writes "A Thai guy wrote a program that uses your computer speaker to repel mosquitoes, cockroaches, and rats! Just when you thought you heard it all before (pun intended for no good reason). " Thats nothing- CowboyNeal can repel all known lifeforms just by playing his massive collection of boy band MP3s.

41 of 409 comments (clear)

  1. Does it work on pointy-headed bosses? by burgburgburg · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just a thought.

    1. Re:Does it work on pointy-headed bosses? by Scrab · · Score: 2, Funny

      Only at 7 hz, which is the resonant frequeancy of your backside. But that woiuld make a mess of your office.......

      --
      RoseColor red={0, 0xffff, 0x0000, 0x0000};VioletColour blue={0, 0x0000, 0x0000, 0xffff};find / -name *mybase*|chown you
    2. Re:Does it work on pointy-headed bosses? by Boss,+Pointy+Haired · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dunno,

      It's my hair that's pointy, not my head.

  2. Works great, but...... by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hate cleaning up all those broken dishes every morning.

  3. Jokes coming? by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 2, Funny

    Millions of DEBUG and WINDOWS jokes to follow...

  4. hmm... by questionlp · · Score: 2, Funny

    About a RAID array of say 14-15 15K RPM SCSI hard drives?

  5. Mandatory congress joke. by tcd004 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cockroaches, Blood Suckers, and Rats!?!

    Better not fire up that baby in congress!

    Yeah, I know it's lame, but this is funnier.

    tcd004

  6. Re:Attract the mosquitoes by bauble · · Score: 5, Funny

    If this thing can repel them, I wonder if they have something that could be used to attract them somewhere else.

    As most geeks probably realize, it's generally much easier to repel a given organism than it is to attract it.

  7. Re:Attract the mosquitoes by Defender2000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That would make a nifty virus. When it infects a computer, it plays sound through the speakers to attract all sorts of critters. Since the victim can't hear it, they'll never know why.

    --
    ...I'll procrastinate tomorrow...
  8. Hey - stop picking on CowboyNeal! by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    We can do it in the polls, but you, his boss -- no fair! Man, if I were CowboyNeal, I'd be thinking of talking to the Labor Commissioner about workplace harassment.

  9. You cant scare rats away! by brejc8 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If I scared rats away then who would power my computer?

  10. Re:Windows bugs by stuuf · · Score: 2, Funny

    If its a real pest repellant, it will disable Windows Update and stop Internet Explorer from wanting to be a default browser, and de-integrate media player

    --

    Everyone is born right-handed; only the greatest overcome it

  11. What about my monitor by qurob · · Score: 2, Funny


    It makes this annoying, high pitched noise in certain video modes, when I'm trying to play MAME games. I know it makes the dog jump up and get the hell out of the living room.

  12. Heh by Pyrosz · · Score: 2, Funny

    I thought CmdrTaco was going to say:

    "Thats nothing- CowboyNeal can repel all known lifeforms just by standing there!

    --

    An optimist believes we live in the best world possible; a pessimist fears this is true.
  13. Ideal for Simputer by teetam · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't know about PCs in America, but the Indian Simputer definitely needs this feature!

    --
    All your favorite sites in one place!
  14. I've used such devices... by pieterh · · Score: 4, Funny

    In my house, which was overrun by mice when they demolished a run-down building beside us. Dozens of mice, everywhere. The device produces little high frequency clicks that drives mice totally crazy. They just love it! All the mice descended on my kitchen, where I put the thing, and ate my cat's food. The cat just watched. Finally I had to poison them with old editions of MSDN, which they chew and swallow but cannot digest. They explode in little blue puffs.
    Cockroaches and mosquitos are less common here in Belgium, where I'm writing from, but tomorrow I'm going to download Punyaratanabunbhu's (that's Puny for short) Anti-Mal and try it on the cat.
    This has to be one of the weirdest uses for old PCs that I can imagine, following my neighbour, who gave an old laptop (no HD, no battery) to his kids as a toy. It really hurt to see them drop it and squeal with joy.

    1. Re:I've used such devices... by doorbot.com · · Score: 5, Funny

      which was overrun by mice when they demolished a run-down building beside us

      The mice demolished a building!?! Did they hire an outside contractor or did they do it themselves? Either way, though, that's definitely an effective way to get back at the prior owners for the mousetraps and rat poison.

  15. Re:Darwin's Revenge by Etcetera · · Score: 5, Funny

    Such a trick may only work for so long. Eventually bugs and pests will evolve a tolerance to it. Being that bugs reproduce pretty quickly, it may only take a few years before it is ineffective I would guess.

    That's the joy of a software solution -- it can keep up with evolution.

    Download Bug Repellant 2004 - now combats Roach 1.1 and Ant 2.0

    (FWIW, products like these have been out for some time and still seem to work effectivly. They're *repellants*, not killers. The only place a large-than normal tolerance would develop and grow/multiply is among roaches that decided to live within the range of the repellant.)

  16. I have a better idea by tswinzig · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you are in a developed country, and you are constantly having problems with mosquitos, cockroaches, and rats around your workspace, simply MOVE YOUR FUCKING COMPUTER INDOORS!

    --

    "And like that ... he's gone."
  17. Re:Forget.. by idontneedanickname · · Score: 2, Funny

    the repelent against campers that won't leave you alone: boy band mp3's WARNING: Do not use near american teens, may have oposite effect. (Disclaimer: I cannot be help responsible for any damages caused (mental or other)

  18. Don't just repel pests... by da3dAlus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't give them a reason to get near you in the first place! Take a bath every day--it's a great excuse to get away from your computer for a while (and I promise that a little soap won't hurt you). That, and why not take a minute to clean up all the soda cans and pizza boxes lying around your desk/room/office. Unless you work outside, live in a dorm, or some other run-down dwelling, I don't see why you would need to repel anything in the first place. If you are attracting rodents, maybe you need to get a little better with the personal hygiene.

    --

    Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
    1. Re:Don't just repel pests... by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny
      Don't give them a reason to get near you in the first place! Take a bath every day--it's a great excuse to get away from your computer for a while (and I promise that a little soap won't hurt you). That, and why not take a minute to clean up all the soda cans and pizza boxes lying around your desk/room/office....If you are attracting rodents, maybe you need to get a little better with the personal hygiene.
      Revoke this dude's Geek Membership immediately! He is just not one of us.
  19. Re:I need one for ANTS. by Skyshadow · · Score: 3, Funny
    I found that a four-part solution works best for ants:

    First, clean your kitchen and bathroom with a bleach-based cleaner (Soft Scrub) -- this will erase scent trails. Put all food in plastic bags or the fridge and be sure there isn't any water left in the sink.

    Next, follow them to estalish their points of entry and spackle them up if possible.

    Now, remove all pets/young children from the house and use the RAID ant killer. Spray it into any crevices you couldn't spackle. Kill 'em all.

    Finally, douse your home with liberal amounts of gasoline and light the place on fire. If you have connections with Air Guard personnel, convince them to check out an A6 and perform a follow-up napalm strike.

    Of course, this will only stop the ants for a while, but should still be a much-welcome reprieve from the things.

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
  20. Real programmers... by GlassHeart · · Score: 3, Funny

    use gdb to get rid of bugs.

  21. Reminds me of something... by MadFarmAnimalz · · Score: 5, Funny

    In Borland compilers, there was an example in the online help demonstrating proper usage of the sound() function... There's a brief description here. And yes, this was really in the help files :)

    --
    Blearf. Blearf, I say.
  22. This program crashes Windows by gosand · · Score: 3, Funny
    I ran this program on every version of Windows, and every time I started it, Windows would crash.

    I guess because the software effectively repels bugs.

    badum-tshh. Thanks! I'll be here all week, tip your waitresses.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  23. Re:Attract the mosquitoes by GutterBunny · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's been done. My code has been attracting bugs for years.

    --
    managers...why god invented purgatory
  24. Make sure the polarity is right by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny


    I played the sounds backward and all the pests came back.

    1. Re:Make sure the polarity is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That's funny... when I played it backwards I heard a demonic voice that told me to install p2p software and swipe some mp3s.

  25. Boss-B-Gone by borgasm · · Score: 2, Funny

    As I see it, the next step for this software is to repel all co-workers and bosses who think they are smarter than you.

    Maybe you can write a script that keeps these pests away when servers go down or when somebody approaches your desk.

    At the very least they will be complaining from 2m (6 feet) or more. At that distance, you can hopefully just shut the door.

    "Yeah...Peter...I'm gonna have to go ahead and ask you to go ahead and...:::::SCREECHING HIGH FREQUENCY SOUNDS:::::

  26. Re:Attract the mosquitoes by Soko · · Score: 3, Funny

    If this thing can repel them, I wonder if they have something that could be used to attract them somewhere else.

    As most geeks probably realize, it's generally much easier to repel a given organism than it is to attract it.


    Except if that organism happens to be at the other end of the tech support phone line, asking where the "any" key is in Linux.

    *Bashes forehead on keyboard*

    Soko

    --
    "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
  27. Re:How gullible are you people by Osiris+Ani · · Score: 2, Funny
    Hey, I have one of those, and I haven't been bitten by a single mosquito while wearing it this summer.

    Then again, I also have yet to be bitten by a bear, shark, or vampire while using the device... and come to think of it, it even seems to keep those pesky meteorites at bay. Bonus!

  28. MS should license the technology by 2Bits · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hey since this thing repels bugs, I think MS should license this technology and make it part of their OS, and we would get a bug-free system, wouldn't we?

  29. hee by byrd77 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Gives whole new meaning to "RAID array"

    --
    - Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
  30. Either I'm a dog... by orthogonal · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or this isn't ultrasonic: I can definitely hear Anti-MAL's sounds for all three pests. And the sounds aren't pretty: they're enough to repel me. BZZZZZZZZ....

  31. thats nothing... by jon+doh! · · Score: 4, Funny

    i've used my computer to repel women for years...

  32. Re:High Frequencies by one9nine · · Score: 3, Funny

    So does this mean if your speakers emit the wrong frequency, instead of repeling those bastards, you will get hundreds mosquitos trying to hump your speakers?

    Mini-Me, stop humping the laser. Why don't you and the frickin laser get a room.

  33. Re:So My $1300.00 by Hayzeus · · Score: 2, Funny

    They work, you know. I have one, and I'm not dead yet .

  34. Re:Forget.. by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 2, Funny

    Camper Repellant... (tm) (Please note. This has only been tested at Renaissance Faires, ergo your milage may vary)
    1) Set up your site wherever you can find a nearby picnic table. It will soon not matter how many *other* people are near it.
    2) Place a set of bagpipes on the picnic table. Followed by a copy of "Bagpipes for beginners".
    3) In approx. 10 minutes, you will be the ONLY sentient life form in about a 1 mile radius.
    4) Enjoy your camping in peace!

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
  35. Other possible uses by anonymous_wombat · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does it only work on mosquitos and roaches, or will it debug your software as well?

  36. Re:Attract the mosquitoes by Dalcius · · Score: 2, Funny

    If this thing can repel them, I wonder if they have something that could be used to attract them somewhere else.

    Computer: Attention! This is the RIAA! We have been monitoring your downloading activities and will be flooding you off the internet.

    Cracker: Tsk.

    Later that day:
    "In other news today, the RIAA was swarmed with thousands of hungry female mosquitos. Hilary Rosen, between slapping and scratching, said, 'Well, that's 10 minutes those kids weren't downloading music. Another victory for the RIAA!'"

    --
    ~Dalcius
    Rome wasn't burnt in a day.