Have any of you successfully used these, if so what brand? See details.

I tried them and it didn’t work for me. I don’t know if they maybe vary in quality.

@JLeslie Do you remember what brand you tried that didn’t work?

I don’t. I remember they were not expensive. What finally worked for us was we figured out where the mice were getting in and we sealed it up.

The sonic repellers I bought were small plug in things, and I had plugged one of them in the correct room where the mice were getting in, but it was about 12 feet from where they came in. Possibly, if it had been closer it would have worked better? I am just guessing.

If I remember correctly, I had purchased three total. One in the family room (where the mice happen to be getting in) one in my bedroom, and one near the garage. I figured I didn’t want to wake up to a mouse, but I have never seen a mouse in my bedroom anyway. We actually almost always saw a mouse in the room where they were coming in. I don’t know mouse behavior, but maybe they tend to stay close to their own homes and where you find them might be a clue. Again, I am just guessing.

I also wanted to mention that at first I called a pest control person, and they priced sealing up my house for over a thousand dollars, and I feel pretty sure he would not have found or sealed where the mice were getting in my house. We wound up paying a handyman $125 when we figured out where they came in, which was through a space in the fireplace.

Yeah, I’ve used them for gophers outside. They suck.

@Caravanfan Do you remember the brand that sucked?

I put Bell Howell in my basement when I moved into a house that had been vacant for a year. I got a cat (who eats mice and bugs) soon after so it’s kind of hard to evaluate, but I think they helped. Don’t know brand. They seem not to bother the cat. They appear to be functioning now, five years later.

@canidmajor Sadly, no. It was years ago. It was something you stuck in the garden and spiked in the ground. It made an irritating buzzing sound that just served to piss me off but not the gophers. They may be better now. The good news is that they’re pretty cheap.

In summary, it seems to not be the brand, but the concept that is failing everyone.

I bought some from Amazon but still had mice coming in. I determined it was because I had bird seed in my garage. Cleaned the garage and haven’t had any since. I think it wasn’t the sonic repellent, but the removal of the food source.
It was called Ultrasonic Pest Repeller, came in a 6 pack and cost 29.99. They plug in. I’ve kept them just in case they deter other things.

@Smashley I have people IRL that have used these with success, they just don’t remember the brands, I had hoped that the fine folks here might be still using them and know.
Hoping that @kruger_d’s post is helpful.

There is an excellent research paper discussing Vocal Communication in Mice in the NIH National Library of Medicine, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
A female mouse will come to the aid of a neonatal mouse emitting a distress signal. They will approach a synthetically produced signal. That characteristic can be used in certain traps.
While they communicate in the ultrasonic range that does not mean they are repelled by it.
A loud 100db signal in the 40kHz range will dissipate in about 50 ft. Higher frequencies eg. 80 kHz, dissipate in a few feet.

I have a frequency shifter that can help visualize bat sonar and the presence of a mouse caught in a trap. I also use various wavelengths of UV light to detect mouse urine trails they leave behind when walking on surfaces. They are constantly dribbling as well as leaving droppings as they move through your world.

Ultrasonics can be used for ranging devices and excellent motion detectors for secure areas. I’ve worked with ultrasonics most of my career and never noticed any effect on mosquitos or mice.

I have never had any luck with sonic critter repellers.

The best device I found for trapping mice is a humane mousetrap. I was not particularly concerned about keeping the mouse alive, but I did not have much luck with tratiional mousetraps. The mice were able to take the food and avoid being captured.

What is nice about the humane traps is that very little force is required. The trap is made entirely of cardboad, When the mouse enters the trap and moves toward the food in front, a trap door drops to cover the rear entrance. To release the mouse (which should be at a location at least 1.5 miles away) just put the trap on the ground and remove the trap door in the front of the trap.

I will tell you a story of when my sister used these many years ago, although I don’t know the brand. It was when she was living with her boyfriend in his apartment which was just slightly below ground level. Apparently they got a lot of spiders, etc, and I don’t know if that had anything to do with the fact that they were on the ground level.

At any rate, she said that what they don’t tell you on these devices is that before they drive the critters out of your place, it drives them out of the walls and they all come into the center of the room. So my sister, who is no more fond of spiders than I am, was standing in the middle of the room and all these spiders and bugs started coming out of the walls and heading the furthest away they could get which was towards her! Apparently it did eventually work, but in the meanwhile she was pretty traumatized! :-D

Thanks for the input, guys.

We had a rat or maybe a squirrel in our attic, and it was in a spot that was hard to get to. However, we did manage to put one of those sonic repellants that emit a noise that the critter cannot stand. The animal was gone almost immediately. We still have it up there, humming away, with an extension cord running up into the crawl space. It’s not pretty, but it’s effective. I’ll see if I can find the brand.

@snowberry Thanks so much!

@canidmajor – you can want it to be real all you want, but it doesn’t make it so. I think @LuckyGuy laid out a case well, and almost everyone else’s experience is either neutral or negative. One positive review is to be statistically expected. Everything about this product screams “scam” to me. Just understand you’ve been properly and directly warned, as I understand that you will ultimately do what you want.

As far as brands go, recognize that brand quality is constantly changing, and usually degrading. A brand that made quality products 5 years ago may not do so anymore. Researching ownership, manufacturing and current reviews is the only way to assess quality.

Ours are from Menards and we use them for moles primarily. We havent had moles in two years. My husband also smoke bombed tunnels. When I just asked he said he’s not convinced they are working but they are still there.
My cats keep mice, snake and other critters away, except one possum they allow over.

Well then, @Smashley, by all means don’t use them. <eyeroll>
Choose to disbelieve the positive all you want, your experience (or not) in this area is duly noted.

About the brand we use. All I know is that hubby bought it at Lowe’s. He had 2 options, and he says for situations like this, he always buys the more expensive one.

@canidmajor – well, I’d be happy to hear your anecdotes whenever you do buy one of these machines, as it seems inevitable you will. Even though you don’t take me seriously, I’m actually trying to help with your problem, specifically without suggesting alternatives, because it’s specifically what you requested.

It’s possible that ultrasonics really do work in this way, and it’s also possible that anything that buzzes will move some vermin off. I believe you are experiencing a confirmation bias. You have a rodent problem you believe you have found a good solution to, and the consumerist in you tells you that you simply need to spend the appropriate amount of money on the brand that will work, never questioning whether the underlying scientific proposition is sound. It’s in a store, right? People buy it, right? Unfortunately, these are not reliable indicators of a product’s effectiveness. It is very easy to picture a product like this getting traction merely from the fact that it sells itself as a plug and play humane alternative to traps and poisons, and not because it has any real, ultrasonic, rodent repelling properties. Searching will only get you unfavorable literature about the concept. There is no scientific body that finds ultrasonics effective in rodent repellence, and believe me, they’ve all done a few tests on rodents here and there. Again, I’m not saying it for sure doesn’t work, but you sound too certain for a person eager to spend a buck.

I can save you $, they don’t really work long-term for squirrels if that’s what you want gone. It may scare off critters briefly but, they eventually come back and get what they’re after. For mice, a Yorkshire terrier is the best! They’re also cuddly!

@Smashley, please tell me of your experience with these devices, as the question asks, instead of indulging in a rambling explanation of why you think I am unable to differentiate between commercial hype and some basic reality. This is not a difficult question. So far you have offered no cogent response at all.

@canidmajor – my point is, even if I had a personal experience with this product, you should take only as an anecdote. My experience is far more likely to be incongruent with the truth than a body of scientific knowledge.

In the end, some people, you will never really be able to help. They will hear what they want to. The purpose of anyone continuing here would only be to prevent others from making a similar mistake to the one OP is about to.

Here’s a thought. These devices are not that expensive. Regardless of whatever evidence @Smashley provides, you should be able to afford to buy a decent one and try it out. If it doesn’t work, then you have a more definitive answer than what he’s offered so far, and you’re not any worse off than you were before.

You’ll know they don’t work within the return window, especially if you get them on Amazon.

Yup! Whatever you believe YOu MUST BUy ONE!! iTs the ONNLy WAY yo’Lll kNNOOwW!

Why does one even bother fighting consumerism? Enjoy your cheap garbage. If you upgrade, you’ll get some lithium and other rare metals you can bin too!

Oh, ffs, @Smashley, did your partner cheat on you with the sonic repeller salesman? This is a General Q asking for opinions on a product type, which you are not willing to give. This was not a difficult, complex, or even controversial question. What a waste of energy to denigrate me for asking.
And now I’ll flag all of your posts, and mine responding because they are unhelpful, and, frankly, just dumb.

@canidmajor – yes you asked about these products. Yes, you asked about peoples speficic experiences with this product. I’m telling you I have specific experience with being scammed, and I believe anyone who buys these products is likely being scammed.

I feel like you didn’t want to hear this at all. You started with the eye rolls and dismissal, calling me indulgent, rambling and not cogent. I only continued bluntly until it became clear you would never hear, at which point I indulged, I’ll admit, in some sarcasm, not entirely directed toward you, that will only be helpful to other people.

If you feel this interaction warrants “not helpful” and the admins agree, then I really have something to think about.

@Smashley, you are waaay overthinking this. The question is the question, nothing more.