Slashdot Mirror
Combating Harassing Use of Mosquito Noise Device?
amicold asks: "For a while now my neighborhood has had to deal with an elderly neighbor who has displayed a slightly paranoid attitude towards myself and the fellow younger-adults of the neighborhood, believing us to be attempting to harass him in our day-to-day activities. Recently, he installed a Mosquito ultrasonic noise device as an apparent attempt to 'get back at us' for our harassment. As the Mosquito emits a sound that's well out of his hearing range, he can't hear it, while most of the rest of the neighborhood is under 40 and can; at which point it's causing everyone a great deal of discomfort. Unfortunately, because the police also can't hear it, we can't get the authorities to do anything about it, leaving us empty-handed in our attempts at getting some peace and quiet back. What can we do to either help the police realize how disturbing this device is, or counteract it so that it's no longer disturbing us? And is this the first of what may be a growing trend of civilians using high-tech discomfort weapons as a method of neighborhood warfare?"
If it is in the UK you can use the standard laws against nuisance noise for which you do not need a lawyer. Dig the relevant address of your council website, write a well written letter and off you go. Same as with security lights shining with your windows. No need for using your lawyers. This is something you pay for using your council tax.
Most other legislations around EU (and many other countries outside it) are not any different. All you need to do is find the relevant local council address and send a complaint. They will send an engineer with measuring equipment at your site ASAP. The mere appearance of the van with the measurement equipment may be enough for the idiot Meldrew clone to take his Mosquito and shovel it where sun does not shine.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
"...maybe because he can't HEAR it he doesn't know there is a problem?"
According to the products page, the purpose of the Mosquito is to drive teenagers away from an area by producing high frequency sound only they can hear. Older people cannot hear it. The device has no other purpose, and is certainly not a mosquito repellent device as some posters have assumed.