Myths and DIY
Do ultrasonic pest repellers work?
Not as a stand-alone method. Plug-in ultrasonic gadgets do not close a ¼-inch mouse gap or a rat burrow. Furniture and walls block sound. CDC rodent guidance is sanitation, exclusion, and targeted trapping. If a device claims to kill or repel as a pesticide, it needs an EPA registration for that use — a night-light with a speaker usually does not.
Why people think they worked
You also cleaned, or the season changed, or the mouse moved one room over. Then the gadget gets the credit. When numbers rebound, you buy a second plug. That is a subscription. Spend the money on a door sweep and a 12-pack of snap traps.
Species pages
The question is only the field note. Control sequence, legal notes, and identification live on the species article.
House mouse
Mus musculus
House mice succeed because they need almost no water beyond the moisture in food, they fit through a 6 mm…
Norway rat
Rattus norvegicus
The Norway rat is the heavy, ground-dwelling commensal rat of US cities. It does not “decide” to live in…
German cockroach
Blattella germanica
German cockroaches are small, tan, and indoor-only in the United States. Two dark stripes on the pronotum…
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