Is Untrasonic Electronic Pest Control, Effective?

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.

1. Do ultrasonic deterrents really keep rodents out of your house?
2. What is the range?
3. Do they last, or do the rodents eventually return?
4. Are they truly innocuous to dogs and cats?
5. How do you measure success?"

Comments

Re:The most effective solution

[hswerdfe]

I had owned 6 cats growing up 2 males 4 females.

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!

security patch

[BigBir3d]

You need to do more than kill them, or drive them out. Think of it is a security problem, and patch the holes. If you keep killing them, and they keep coming back, there are problems. For them to be living in your residence a few things have to available to them; easy entrance, food, water, and shelter. The last you can't do anything about, short of tearing / burning down your place. But you can patch holes, clean the attic, fix leaking pipes, remove pond from the back yard, etc. Overall, just make it un-appealing for the critters to live there.

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)

Who really sells these things?

[hired killer]

I was in pest control from 1974 to 2000. With the wide ranging paranoia about chemicals in pest control and the philosophy of "integrated pest management", you can be sure that Pest Control operators would be clinging to this like a wet t-shirt if there was any beneficial use.

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.

Re:Does anyone know if the insect ones work?

[gordguide]

The best option in your situation might be to talk up the CO2 attractor/bug killer machines. They can cost up to $600, maybe more. But, if you know a gadget-crazy neighbor, preferrably a lot or two away, get him (somehow) to buy one. It will attract mosquitoes from your yard to his.

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 ;-) Nature will supply the topic (a few mosquitoes). Say you heard they work great.