Do Ultrasonic Pest Repellers Work?

Various companies have sold ultrasonic pest repellers devices for more than 30 years. These companies claim these products can control pests without pesticides and with little or no effort. Yet scientists have been testing these electronic devices since they first appeared and have not been able to validate these claims.

The testimonials for these repellers seem to fall into one of two camps. Many say “I plugged it in and the pests just disappeared. It’s a miracle.” Yet many others are frustrated and say “I tried these devices and they don’t work.” I finally decided to look into this discrepancy in depth and find out the truth.

Access to the Internet allowed me to find a lot of research on these ultrasonic products that went back 25 years or more. The research covered many different types of electronic repellers, used under a wide variety of conditions against a number of different pests. As a current pest control business owner, I was highly interested in the results of these studies.

My intent was to simply find the research and present the facts for everyone to read. I avoided any research that was not done at a university. I did not pick and choose the research based on the results. I simply found what was available, summarized it and listed my resources. A link to the full article is below.

What I found is that manufacturers rarely sponsor testing of their own devices. Not surprising because quality research can be costly. I also found out that there are a number of different types of devices. Humans hear in the 20-20,000Hz range. Ultrasonic pest repellers devices broadcast frequencies above what humans can hear. Subsonic devices broad cast below the normal hearing of humans. Some electronic pest control devices plug into the electric circuit of the house and claim to use the wiring to deter pests.

In 2001 the manufacturers of ultrasonic pest repellers were put on notice by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They warned that any claims of performance of these electronic devices should be supported by scientific evidence. By 2003 they required the manufacturers to provide such evidence.

If these pest repellers were effective, common sense would say these ultrasonic devices should have some impact on the pest control industry. There’s no evidence of any such effect even though these devices have been around for 30+ years. If they were effective, it would be a fair assumption that that a number of people would be using these products consistently and recommending them to their friends. Do you know anyone personally that has used these electronic devices and recommended them to you? Me neither.

I can find no credible evidence that ultrasonic pest control devices work. Nor is there any such evidence for any electronic pest control device. As the complete article clearly shows, 25 years of credible research says these devices don’t work for pest control. Any popularity is based on marketing rather than performance. If you’ve been considering these devices, save your money or prepare to be seriously disappointed.

For complete details on the ultrasonic pest control research Russ found, go here: http://www.pest-control-tampa.com/ultrasonic-pest-repellers.html. Included are links to each study. Russ Frank has worked in the pest control industry for over 25 years.