It doesn’t matter if you live in the country, the city, or the suburbs, chances are you’ve had to battle pests of all stripes over your living space. I’ve tried just about every pest control trick in the book, and so far the easiest and simplest tool to keep mice away has been this electromagnetic and ultrasonic plug-in device.
This is the first post in a new series entitled Lifehacker Reviews Anything. We asked you what you wanted us to review, and you came back with lots of ideas—including a product I’ve already been trying out myself: the Hoont Indoor Pest Repeller.
I’ve had pigeons make their love nests in my gutters, squirrels dig behind my siding, and ants make their annual invasion into my kitchen. For me, though, no pest has been as wily, resilient, and as disgusting as mice. Exterminators set out traps and patched up holes around my home with steel wool. I tried humane traps that let you capture and release mice somewhere else, sprayed peppermint oil (a supposed natural mouse deterrent) around my kitchen, and even, in desperation, resorted to creating “pee-rimeters” around my house with coyote urine and bobcat urine (my dog was not a big fan of that. Great way to start a pissing contest, by the way). Somehow the mice evaded all these tricks—even taking the peanut butter and cheese bits off of the traps—and continued to gnaw through our pantry goods.
Three months ago, I decided to try the Hoont Indoor Pest Repeller and we haven’t had a problem with mice since—no more droppings to clean up, dead mice to dispose of, or need to hide all food in mouse-proof glass containers. It’s been an enormous relief.
I wish I hadn’t waited so long, but I had had bad experiences with a similar product in the past. In my old apartment years ago, I had tried one of these gadgets and it was almost laughable to see mice actually hanging around the device. But since every other option wasn’t working, I decided to give this another try.
I chose the Hoont repeller because of the combination of low price ($30), good reviews (4.2 stars on Amazon), and features. Unlike similar devices (including category bestseller Rid Tech repeller, the one suggested by a Lifehacker commenter), the Hoont uses both ultrasonic sound to deter pests and electromagnetic technology that sends electronic pulse signals through in-wall wiring, supposedly disturbing existing nests and stopping pests from passing through walls. It also has blinking lights that lets you know it’s working, and the option to vary frequency waves so pests don’t get used to the high frequency sounds. That’s probably its most important feature, since one of the biggest criticisms of these devices is that they only work for a short time (a few days) before the pests get accustomed to the noise. The multiple frequencies make this more of a permanent, cruelty-free, and invisible barrier between my family and these pests.
I set up three of these devices in the areas we had seen mice the most: the kitchen, dining room, and basement. According to the manufacturer, the repeller is effective for up to 5,000 square feet, but the ultrasonic sound doesn’t penetrate hard surfaces like furniture, cabinets, and ceilings, so you’ll need one for each room.
The instructions that come with the device are short on details, but basically you just have to plug the thing in and wait for it to work, which could take up to a week. (The instructions do warn that you might notice more pest activity at first as the pests start to get disturbed and scramble to get out of your home. For us, the mice were gone in about four days after plugging the Hoont Pest Repellers in.)
So far, we’re three months into mice-free living! A couple of weeks ago, however, I was afraid the repeller had stopped working. We found the dreaded mice droppings again in our kitchen. There had been a big storm that week and we were having construction done on our house, so I think perhaps those two factors drove new mice (or a lone mouse) in. My faith in the device was revived, though: After that one day, we’ve had no signs of mice since. I think the new mice (or mouse) came in, got irritated by the ultrasonic waves, and promptly left. That, to me, is how a pest repellent should work: Not only drive out existing pests but keep new ones from settling in.
The Hoont Pest Repeller is supposed to also work against rats, ants, roaches, fleas, bats, and other pests. I thankfully haven’t had to test those out, although it doesn’t seem like it works against fruit flies, since those buggers still occasionally show up uninvited to my house. I’ll take fruit flies, which are easy to get rid of, over mice any day, though.
While the Hoont Pest Repeller is a success story for me, I have to warn you that your mileage might vary. Studies and others’ personal experiences with electronic pest control devices have mixed results and none of these devices can claim 100% effectiveness (although the Hoont does have a satisfaction guarantee). In particular, when it comes to deterring bugs, like mosquitos, studies on the electronic repellents show they don’t work (perhaps because there are over a million species of insects and some might respond to ultrasound but others are oblivious to it, Sonic Technology points out).
It doesn’t help that the short range of these devices and their inability to work around corners or furniture are limiting. Today’s Homeowner offers this test to see if you have a good location for one of these:
To test out the location of your device, place a lamp next to the device, turn off all the other lights, and note the beams and shadows from the lamp. The repellent sound waves will pretty much only be active where the light reaches.
Most of the negative reviews on Amazon for this involve insects, although some reviewers do say it worked for their bug problems. For $30 a room, it’s really worth a try if you’re tired of dealing with pests (especially mice) and just want to drive them out of your home the cleanest and most humane way possible. It’s a lot more pleasant to use than coyote urine, at least.
via Lifehacker
The Hoont Indoor Pest Repeller Drives Pests Out of Your Home (and Keeps Them Out)