With the advent of the decade of electronics, equipment and machinery can now be found in almost any field. Along with the traditional repellents used for pest control, there are a number of electronically powered devices that are also available in the marketplace today for repelling and eliminating all kinds of insects, pests and rodents. The electronic pest control devices can now be found easily in almost all parts of the world. With their effective and ease of use they are garnering a lot of popularity in recent years. These electronics can be easily found in a number of different hardware stores along with garden centers and advertise to provide some of the best and most efficient way to repel a variety of insects. One can also find about these various tools on the internet. Because of their environmentally friendly impact on the environment, these tools have only started gaining considerable prominence although they have been around for a long time nearly 20 years.
The consumers are provided with a large number of options with the use of the various types of equipment. For the majority they have shown miraculous effects while for others they are extremely ineffective. Since most of the electronic pest Control equipment is not regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) they are generally not tested under the same conditions other repellents.
Electronic Pest Control Devices- Types available
The two types of devices most commonly used can be categorized into two basic classifications. These involve the Electromagnetic and the Ultrasonic category. The ultrasonic category operates by giving high frequency sound waves, emitted by a short wavelength. But the sound waves that are generated by the device are too pitchy to be heard safely by human hearing. They are basically the frequencies that are over 20,000 Hertz. The limitations of the human ear are basically to accrue to this fact. The ultrasound cannot be easily heard by humans because the vibration level of the human being is not strong enough.
In contrast this level of sound is just clear enough to be heard by all kinds of rodents and animals. Majority of the small-scale insects like the grasshoppers and locusts can detect very high frequencies of around 50,000 to 100,000 hertz. Similarly, most of the bats, lace wigs and the moths can also hear the sound as their detection level is extremely high at around 240,000 hertz. This sound can easily be detected by the variety of different insects basically because of the sensilla or special hair that is located on them especially the antennae of the mosquitos and the genitalia of the cockroaches or the most diverse and complex organs of numerous other types of insects and roaches like the moths, locusts, butterflies and the grasshoppers.
In contrast the Electromagnetic devices for pest control basically alter or modify the EM or Electromagnetic field of household wiring and cause significant vibrations to the EM field that is usually present around the walls of your entire house.
The effects of the Electronic Pest Control Devices
A recent study was conducted which showed just how ultrasonic pest control devices have an impact on the mating and reproduction of the insects. It was seen that these devices had a considerable impact on the crickets but a less effective repellent effect on cockroaches. The results of the study conducted were also highly mixed and showed around some device giving the most positive effects whilst others giving no significant affect at all. Ants and spiders were also unaffected by the use of these electronic pest control devices. Thus, there was a need to carry out even further and a more extensive kind of research to see the most concrete impacts.
In 2002, another study was conducted to see if some of these electronic repellent devices had an impact on insects in controlled environments. This study was conducted on mice and gave positive effects on eliminating the rodent problem. It was effectively carried out by one of the leading pest control device companies namely Global Instruments. Another study again showed favorable results in which these devices were able to alleviate pests from the desired locations of around 13 in number. This shows a success rate of 81.3 percent.
Is Electronic Pest Control Device safe to use?
There has been considerable concern over the growth of electronic pest control products recently and the harmful effects of the ultrasound waves that they emit. It is seen that the frequencies of sounds generated are in the audible hearing range of pests but for humans these sounds can basically be potentially dangerous as have very unpleasant subjective effects and lead to various shifts in the hearing threshold. Thus, there is a need for greater measurement levels of these generated sounds and a greater understanding for the use of these mechanisms in a secure fashion.