🚀 go-pugleaf

On Tue, 31 May 2005 18:08:47 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote:

>
>I don't understand my cat, really I don't..! I always thought cats were 
>supposed to catch mice in the house and dispatch them, but Missy seems to 
>think it's her role in life to catch the things outside and bring them in 
>to run around the living room and kitchen..! She seems to lose all 
>interest in them once she's done this and sits watching me chasing the 
>things round trying vainly to catch them..!
>
>I've recently seen some plug-in devices that are supposed to deter mice by 
>means of ultrasonic sound waves, does anyone have any experience of these 
>and are they any good..? They aren't cheap so I don't want to waste my 
>money.
>
>Ivor
>
You would be wasting your money.

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1663/eb1663.html

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

quote:
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

With these testimonials before me, I could give Clark and his
listeners a definitive answer. You might wonder, though, why the
scientists came to their conclusions.

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.

end quote 

BarB