Insects and rodents invading homes is more than just a nuisance; they can carry diseases. When they track around your house, those germs are spread. If they find some of your stored food, it can become contaminated. Of recent entries to the market of pest management tools, electronic pest repellents have gotten a lot of attention. If you&'ve thought about buying one, you might have wondered what effect, if any, it will have on your dog.
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Understanding Electronic Pest Repellents
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The two main types of electronic pest control devices are ultrasonic and subsonic. Ultrasonic pest control devices create sounds that are higher than the upper limit for human hearing. Subsonic units produces sounds (or vibrations) that are below the level of human hearing. Manufacturers of these devices say that these sound patterns will cause pests to stay away. They also maintain that the sound waves won&'t harm pets.
Range
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Physicists understand the range of sound waves. They have solid equations that are based on the laws of physics. According to those physicists, one half of the energy of ultrasonic waves is gone at a range of 15 feet. All the energy dissipates by 30 feet. So, ultrasonic devices have a maximum effective range of 30 feet. That range is greatly diminished by items like furniture and walls in the sound wave&'s path. Subsonic vibrations will carry much further. In fact, the distance through the ground can be several miles.
Pet Hearing Versus Pest Hearing
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Many animals do have a hearing range that is greater than the human hearing range. Animals like rodents hear essentially the same range of sound as dogs and cats do. Pet rodents hear in exactly the same range as mice and rats. Many insects "feel" sound rather than "hear" sound. Therefore, your pets will hear the same sounds that unwanted pests hear.
Effectiveness
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Numerous scientific studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of both ultrasonic and subsonic pest control devices. The results have been quite uniform. Science has shown no effective repellent properties from ultrasonic or subsonic electronic pest repellents. For rodents, the sounds have a short-term effect, but the animals quickly become accustomed to the sound and act as if it&'s not present at all. These devices have shown no reduction in pest activity in controlled testing.
Dog Safety
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Even though the testing has shown no effectiveness at pest reduction, perhaps you&'ve heard success stories from others and still want to try electronic pest repellents. You still wonder about the potential for harm to your pets. The good news is, testing has also been conducted on the effects on dogs and cats. The sounds seem to be harmless, at least in the short term. No long-term testing has been done, though.
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