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Pest Brain Scramblers

Wheezebucket

Master Cylinder
Wheezebucket
Joined
Jan 14, 2006
Messages
1,491
http://www.totalvac.com/parts/EX900-A-TP1.html?zmam=6843742&zmas=1&zmac=7&zmap=EX900-A-TP1

My friend picked up a few of these to fend off spiders, but I can't for the life of me see how it could actually work. How does it scramble spider, roach and rat brains, but not a dog or a cat? It seems like a hunk-a-woo to me, but I couldn't find much about them online and I wanted to be sure, just in case there was something to 'em and I was just ill informed.

So - anyone know anything about these bad boys?
 
And why can't it be shipped to Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma or Wyoming. What sort of EPA regs would prevent shipment and why only to those states? :confused:

Years ago I bought some hand-held versions of these just to try them out. They were "designed" to repel mosquitoes. Being the kind soul I am I gave them to my friends. They kept claiming to get "bit" but I didn't notice many "bites" on myself and I wasn't using the device.

Hauteden
 
Sounds like a bunch of hooey. Check out this link. According to the article, the FTC has actually charged some of these companies with false advertising and has made them give money back to consumers. (Maybe that's why they can't sell them in those certain states? That's where some of the trouble for those companies started?)

Anecdotal evidence here - but I have known several people who tried these to keep birds out of their barns. We always commented on what nice perches these devices made..... as there were always plenty of birds sitting right on them. I'm not surprised to hear that some of the makers of these devices have been charged with false advertising.
 
My parents' TV produces a squeal that, from their perspective, is ultrasonic. It repels pretty much anyone below retirement age.
 
I got something similar to that (two, actually) just to see if they'd make a dent in our boxelder bug problem. Didn't make a squat of difference. So then I stuck them both on the end of an extension cord and threw them up into the attic to see if they'd repell bats. Again, made no difference. They didn't even sell at my last garage sale at $1 for the pair. I was thinking of plugging one in by the door and telling the kids it was a security device so I know when they come home at night.
 
Hauteden said:
And why can't it be shipped to Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma or Wyoming. What sort of EPA regs would prevent shipment and why only to those states? :confused:
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The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the law that EPA enforces to regulate pesticides and pesticidal devices, dictates that EPA can only clear pesticidal chemicals and devices. These products must still be registered with each state where it will be traded, stored or used. My guess is that these states haver refused to register these products and, therefore, can't even be used there even if bought elsewhere.
 
Do ultrasonic pest repellers drive away pests?

No. Controlled studies have shown that ultrasonic pest repellers are ineffective at driving away wild rats and other pests. Specifically, ultrasound is no more effective than audible sound (Bomford and O'Brien 1990).

Ultrasonic collars do not drive fleas off of cats and dogs. Ultrasound does not drive away fleas or cause any change in flea activity patterns (Brown and Lewis 1991, Koehler et al. 1989). Ultrasonic cat collars have no effect on flea egg-laying, development of larvae, or flea mortality (Hinkel et al. 1990). Ultrasonic collars made no difference to the number of fleas on cats (Dryden et al. 1989).

Ultrasound does not keep wild animals away from roads. Ultrasonic devices did nothing to alter the behavior of moose (Muzzi and Bisset 1990), mule deer (Romin and Dalton 1992), or kangaroos (Bender 2001).

Ultrasonic devices are ineffective at repelling pests. Ultrasonic pest repellers do not repel cockroaches (Gold et al. 1984, Ballard et al. 1984), mosquitoes (Sylla and Kremsner 2000, Foster and Lutes 1985), white-tailed deer (Belant et al. 1998, Curtis et al. 1997), bats (Hurley and Fenton 1980), cats (Mills et al. 2000), starlings (Bomford 1990), pigeons (Griffiths 1988, Woronecki 1988), and many other bird species (Hamershock 1992).

Ultrasonic pest repellers do little to repel unwanted rodents. Rodents may be driven away for a few minutes or a few days, but they tend to return to their nesting and feeding areas even in the presence of ultrasound (Pierce 1993, Timm 1994). Ultrasound has not been shown to drive rodents out of buildings or to cause above-normal levels of mortality (Timm 1994).

http://www.ratbehavior.org/rathearing.htm#UltrasonicPestRepellers
 
Here's one of the FTC court decisions.

As usual, the thing is a scam, it's been ruled a scam, and yet not only are they still marketed, they are even produced by a well known brand name, Black and Decker. And people are still buying them because they are under the impression claims made for products are generally true.
 
MaxHardcore said:
Some guy in Wales came up with this to scre away local layabouts
Click to expand...

Hmm, I just checked and my hearing range goes to just over 18kHz, so these things will probably drive me nuts if they get too popular. The wife topped out at about 16kHz.
 
robinson said:
Do ultrasonic pest repellers drive away pests?

No. Controlled studies have shown that ultrasonic pest repellers are ineffective at driving away wild rats and other pests. Specifically, ultrasound is no more effective than audible sound (Bomford and O'Brien 1990).

Ultrasonic collars do not drive fleas off of cats and dogs. Ultrasound does not drive away fleas or cause any change in flea activity patterns (Brown and Lewis 1991, Koehler et al. 1989). Ultrasonic cat collars have no effect on flea egg-laying, development of larvae, or flea mortality (Hinkel et al. 1990). Ultrasonic collars made no difference to the number of fleas on cats (Dryden et al. 1989).

Ultrasound does not keep wild animals away from roads. Ultrasonic devices did nothing to alter the behavior of moose (Muzzi and Bisset 1990), mule deer (Romin and Dalton 1992), or kangaroos (Bender 2001).

Ultrasonic devices are ineffective at repelling pests. Ultrasonic pest repellers do not repel cockroaches (Gold et al. 1984, Ballard et al. 1984), mosquitoes (Sylla and Kremsner 2000, Foster and Lutes 1985), white-tailed deer (Belant et al. 1998, Curtis et al. 1997), bats (Hurley and Fenton 1980), cats (Mills et al. 2000), starlings (Bomford 1990), pigeons (Griffiths 1988, Woronecki 1988), and many other bird species (Hamershock 1992).

Ultrasonic pest repellers do little to repel unwanted rodents. Rodents may be driven away for a few minutes or a few days, but they tend to return to their nesting and feeding areas even in the presence of ultrasound (Pierce 1993, Timm 1994). Ultrasound has not been shown to drive rodents out of buildings or to cause above-normal levels of mortality (Timm 1994).

http://www.ratbehavior.org/rathearing.htm#UltrasonicPestRepellers
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But, other than that, they work pretty well? :D
 
This often gets advertised on morning television.

http://www.jmldirect.com/Pest-Shield-PP1020/

Pest Shield uses a specially designed microchip which emanates a harmless signal that interferes with the nervous system of pests such as rats, mice and cockroaches. It will keep them well away from your home and most importantly, protect your family!
# Completely safe to use around children

# Safe to use around cats and dogs

# Uses no harmful chemicals

# Works instantly and brings peace of mind for you and your family

# It works inside walls
Click to expand...

Every time I see it advertised I think - Woo!:boxedin:
 
Thanks people, I knew they seemed like woo, and now I can show him some actual reasons why. Too bad he already bought like 8 of them, heh.
 
I tried a simple experiment years ago with a big linear amp good to about 500khz, and a signal generator. Hooked it up to a pair of Ultrasonic transducers and aimed it at a variety of bugs in a lexan jar- I tried roaches, spiders, fleas, a tick, a beetle, and a earthworm (I lived in FL where bugs are pretty easy to come by)- my experiment was simple- did the buggies jump more or become more excited when the sound was hitting them- it seemed not. Admittedly, I was doing this on my kitchen table drinking a beer, and fending off the laughter of my roommate-so it might not be a truly scientific experiemnt, but it was convincin genough to me-- I would guess my setup was at least 200 times more powerful than anything one of these commercial widgets could manage, and it seemed pretty uninteresting to the subjects.
 
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