Pest Me No More

I love those “smile” boxes that arrive in the mail, don’t you? Amazon.com rocks!

Today, my new shipment of Black&Decker “Ultrasonic Pest Repellers” arrived in the mail. I’m using an earlier version of these plug-in repellers at present, and I figured I was due for an upgrade. Fact is that I’ve had to resort to killing a few spiders that had made their way indoors recently, and I seem to remember something in the product manual about decreasing effectiveness over time, and so I’ve reinvested (less than $12 for a pack of 3).

Now admittedly, I don’t quite understand how these gadgets work exactly. I’m not an engineer or a scientist. I just work with brilliant people like that in an attempt to absorb their knowledge. HA! But somehow, these small devices emit ultrasonic “noise” that continually fluctuates and disrupts pests (such as large bugs, spiders, mice, etc.) and drives them out. The Black&Decker theory is that, “Pests are repelled because they cannot adapt to the constantly changing array of complex ultrasonic and sonic sounds.” In essence, the pests go crazy, and so they move out or choose to set up residence elsewhere. Sounds great, right?

Well, since my first purchase of this product more than 2 years ago, I’ve read the online reviews, most of which are not positive. Apparently this product does not work for everyone or every pest situation, but it has suited my needs just fine. OK, so it is not 100% effective at keeping the invading arachnids from entering my domain, but I have encountered fewer spiders since I installed the gadgets, and this is a clear case where less is more, in my world.

Truthfully, I don’t care about actual percentages or how the device may or may not keep elephant-sized rats at bay. This is rather unscientific of me, I realize. But somehow I feel better having the little white boxes plugged into my wall outlets, and that, my friends, makes it worthwhile to me. Sure, I recognize that I am relying on my feelings vs. actual scientific data, and perhaps this peace of mind I am feeling is all just in my head. I know that, but it doesn’t matter. I FEEL BETTER with my little friends plugged into my walls, and that is all the proof I need.