Ultrasonic pest control in domestic settings: evidence, efficacy, and limitations

With the growing demand from consumers seeking alternative solutions to pest management, ultrasonic pest repellents are becoming more commonplace in households. This review reports the performance of ultrasonic technology against 14 common pests based on peer-reviewed experimental and field studies. The reported effects are species specific, such as high larval mortality rates (85%–100%) for aquatic mosquitoes or transient spatial repellency for rodents. These responses are limited to controlled laboratory studies. For mammalian pests, behavioural interference is nullified by rapid cognitive habituation for 3–7 days. For insects, commercially available devices (20–100 kHz) fall well below (>160 dB) behavioural threshold intensities known to evoke avoidance in even the most susceptible pests such as cockroaches. This lack of effect was further demonstrated in field studies, which showed no ability to measurably decrease pest populations. The production of these devices contributes to the growing issue of electronic waste. Instead of considering a circular economy, ultimately, regulators should advocate for a Minimum Evidence Standard for Market Approval. Finally, repelling pests with ultrasonic devices should not be performed as a standalone solution. Avenues for potentially useful, narrowly targeted, stage-specific applications may exist as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.