Xref: utzoo sci.electronics:8792 sci.skeptic:1982 alt.restaurants:660 misc.consumers.house:8904 rec.audio:16892 rec.pets:9553 sci.bio:2514
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!usc!apple!mips!vaso
From: vaso@mips.COM (Vaso Bovan)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.skeptic,alt.restaurants,misc.consumers.house,rec.audio,rec.pets,sci.bio
Subject: Re: Ultrasonic Pest Repellers
Keywords: pest,fraud
Message-ID: <32279@buckaroo.mips.COM>
Date: 28 Nov 89 03:30:42 GMT
References: <31929@buckaroo.mips.COM> <128@b8.INGR.COM>
Reply-To: vaso@mips.COM (Vaso Bovan)
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 28

In article <128@b8.INGR.COM> gammb@b8.INGR.COM (Bob Gammage) writes:
>In article <31929@buckaroo.mips.COM>, vaso@mips.COM (Vaso Bovan) writes:
>> This is about cockroaches, fleas, mice, and assorted pests founds on pets
>> and in restaurants.
>> 
>> There has been a lot of advertisement lately of "ultrasonic pest repellers."
>> these are devices which emit ultrasonic sound which is supposed to annoy
>> pests into leaving the pet/premises.
>> 
>
>I am unaware of any "US Army Testing" (which IMHO would be of dubious value),
>but wish to point out that other countries (like Japan; where pesticides were
>long-ago legislated out of use) use these things exclusively.  Alas, there is
>a kicker!

??  About two years ago, a Japanese television commercial for a roach
insecticide won several international awards.

>Ultrasonic emitters ARE very irritating to rodents and insects BUT.....
>only if they feature randomly waivering frequencies (very important).  The
>el-cheapo models featured in so many ads, typically have a mono-tone output
>which the undesireables "grow accustomed to" and return to normal operations.
>The constantly changing frequency of the expensive units prevents the
>undesireables from adapting to it.  They go away, and none come to take their
>place (as long as you're "playing that awful music!").

Evidence, please. There are many anecdotes, but so far, zero legitimate
confirming studies.


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