Electromagnetic/Utlrasonic Frightners?

[Griffin NoName]

I keep noticing bits of stuff - fluff, threads etc - on the floor get moved - well mostly disappear. Usually in the night. I sniff around for mouse droppings but there aren't any. Yesterday I noticed what looked like a mouse dropping but decided to check it out later. When I did it had gone. SO have concluded I have mice who clear up their droppings to delude me into thinking they don't exist. 

Thinking of getting one of those plug in repellers. There's no way I am going near a trap - I'd squeam and squeam. And poison ends up with stinking bodies.

Anyone know if they work?

[Sibling DavidH]

I dunno if the repellers work.  A cat is very effective, but pet ownership puts you to a lot of trouble and expense.

Are you sure it's not just the CIA agents under your sofa?  They do make a mess sometimes. 

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Anyone know if they work?

I was interested in one several years ago, but declined to invest in one.

After reading the many and varied reviews, I concluded the odds of your getting one that actually worked as advertised was 1 in 5 against.



It seems that since there is no objective standard governing these ultrasonic "screamers", that some brands appear to work part of the time, while others never appear to work at all.

I would guess, that since the sound emitted is too high for us to hear, there's literally no way for a casual purchaser to know if the device she/he purchased actually emits anything.

Couple with, to be effective, it has to be loud-- I'm talking about earth-moving loud-- of course, you can't hear it.... so how to tell?

Short of highly expensive test equipment (an oscilloscope would do) you simply cannot know if yours is a bust or not, without plunking down the cash and waiting to see...

... of the few successes reported (when I researched these), the majority claimed it took a minimum of 2 weeks to clear out the offending critters.... which made me ask.... WHAT?

2 weeks?

If the thing is truly howling in such a way, that the mice/roaches/whatever are distressed.... why does it take them two weeks to pack their bags and relocate?  I'd think that within 24 hours they'd vacate to quieter pastures....if it actually was doing anything.

I strongly suspect these things are based on homeopathic science-y ......



------------------------------

Edit:  I was right:  homeopathy. 

(the bold line is my emphasis...)

http://walterreeves.com/insects_animals/article.phtml?cat=21&id=267

Pouring out of my Web browser came dozens of university publications regarding the effectiveness of ultrasonic pest repellers:

"Ultrasonic pest repelling devices have repeatedly been shown to be completely useless." University of Florida

"Ultrasonic treatment devices (such as ultrasonic flea collars) claimed to rid homes of pests are completely ineffective." University of North Dakota

"Ultrasonic devices do not meet advertisers claims for their products." University of Maryland

"With proper use of rodenticide baits, there are few situations where the additional cost of ultrasonic devices is warranted." University of Saskatchewan

"Ultrasonic devices are frequently advertised as a non-toxic method of cockroach control. However, extensive research has shown that these devices neither kill nor repel cockroaches." University of Florida

Reading further, he explains why they are a bust:

The reason ultrasonic devices don't repel animals, even though they can hear sounds we can't, is that ultrasound does not pack much energy. A sofa, a kitchen cabinet or a wall block almost all of the sound waves. Just as you might quickly roll up your car window when an ambulance howls past, a mouse or rat can duck behind a solid object to hide from loud noise. When food, water and shelter are present, a rodent can easily find different pathways that avoid the ultrasonic sound waves. Insects don't have ears but they can "feel" sound. Even so, ultrasonic sound dissipates rapidly. A bug crawling more than thirty feet away from a unit can't even detect ultrasonic noise.

So I was right:  to work, they'd need to be super-, mind-numbingly loud.  Loud enough, that they'd require many amps of electricity to work-- likely as much as a toaster-oven, in fact.

Running all the time.

It'd be cheaper to higher an exterminator....

[Griffin NoName]

I read it takes up to a month because of nesting. If they're hatching a batch they stick around, then the young ones have to learn to walk.

The one I was looking at claims to clear a 4 bedroom house; I've only got a little place so if that was true it ought to work.

As you say, no way of testing the actual gadget.

By the way, the CIA are in the van parked across the road, not under the sofa.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Cross-post...

I added more info to my previous post.

[Griffin NoName]

Yes, I saw.

Looks like I have to strike that off the list.

Not sure what to do. Last time we had mice it was the other half of our semi, the mice visited us but their nests were nextdoor, they poisoned them and the stench was so bad they had to move out. So I don't want to go that route. But there's no way I can briing myself to handle a trap with a mouse caught in it, dead or alive. I am terrified of them.

[Aggie]

Catnip has a reputation for repelling mice (shares some similarities with cat urine), although I have my doubts about whether this would be enough to actually scare them off.  Catnip essential oil, if available, should be semi-reasonably priced and is perhaps worth a shot?

To avoid traps or poison pretty much leaves you with predation. No hire-a-weasel services in the area?  Maybe Patchy could lend you a badger.


Honestly if it's a mouse or two a simple mousetrap is most effective, can you arrange for someone to come pick up the beastie if you catch one?

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Yes, I saw.

Looks like I have to strike that off the list.

Not sure what to do. Last time we had mice it was the other half of our semi, the mice visited us but their nests were nextdoor, they poisoned them and the stench was so bad they had to move out. So I don't want to go that route. But there's no way I can briing myself to handle a trap with a mouse caught in it, dead or alive. I am terrified of them.

I have had moderate success with actual mouse traps-- that is, thingys that actually enclose the whole mouse, tail and all.  These are typically opaque so you cannot see inside, but have some sort of indicator letting you know the beastie is trapped.

Then, with gloves or tongs or someone else's hands, you fling the whole thing into the rubbish bin-- preferably outside.  Just in case.

No, really-- there exists such things-- and I've used'em.  They work as well as anything else.

Me?  I'm a cheap bastard, so I clean'em out with boiling water (to kill the death-stench) and reuse'em.

If you're truly soft-hearted, there are even "humane" traps that catch the critters without any harm, and you can truck them somewhere "in the wild" and release'em unharmed..... no, seriously.   ^{_{A sort of uber-vegan mousetrap I s'pose, but what is no doubt fully endorsed by those nutters over at the animals-before-people place, wot's'er'name.... PETA, yeah, that's it.   People Eating Tasty Animals?  Or some'thin like that...}} ....

[Swatopluk]

There is of course a way to test the noisemakers. Find someone with pet mice or borrow a portable generator and test the thing next to a pet shop.
I wonder, whether sound recordings of cats would do the trick.
Btw traps do not usually work on rats (or at least more than one). They are too clever.

[Griffin NoName]

Since pets in pet shops are caged, presumably it would send them all mad ?

I just might go for the totally enclosed traps. But even those scare me. Not sure I could go anywhere near them if the indicator showed they had a catch.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Since pets in pet shops are caged, presumably it would send them all mad ?

I just might go for the totally enclosed traps. But even those scare me. Not sure I could go anywhere near them if the indicator showed they had a catch.

Thus the utilization of a third pair of helpful hands. 

You set'em, a friendly neighbor toss'em inna trash for you.

[Swatopluk]

mace the mice

[Griffin NoName]

Yeh, thanks Swato.

[Aggie]

Just please do not use mousepaper!  That stuff horrifies me...    

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Just please do not use mousepaper!  That stuff horrifies me...    

?? What's that?  Never heard of 'mousepaper'....