If I had a pound for every home I attend where I find the homeowner has invested money in electric ‘sonic’ deterrents or time and effort in all types of DIY attempts to rid themselves of certain pest species. One of the most common attempted deterrents are ‘sonic’ mole scarers. I always put sonic in inverted comers as they are not sonic at all, most just vibrate every now and again! These vary in price but are often £15-£20 each and its not unusual to see 3-4 stuck in a lawn so the cost is not insignificant. Especially when they don’t work and they then have to get the job done properly!
A sonic mole repellent in a Bolton lawn.
I can honestly say I have never, ever, seen one of these that have worked. Even if by some miracle it did work, where would the mole go to? The garden next door? Dig a load more tunnels and hill as it makes its way to another part of the garden? I have said it before if a mole can set up home next to a mortorway then it surely wont be bothered by the noise made by a vibrating spike or the noise from a kids windmill or any other of the mad cap ideas some people come up with!
I’m at this moment trying to film the reactions of mice to some of these sonic pest deterrents, I have a motion activated night vision camera, so watch this space for some videos of these things in action!
Another old wives tale I have recently read is that peppermint oil will repel both mice and ants! Again, where will these pest go once repelled???? The house next door??? Ant given that ants will have a nest nearby, what will happen? The worker ants walk into the nest…”come on all of you, pack up home, we are all moving next door, they have peppermint here” yeah ok! Now I don’t really have a problem with people trying these things, its when their attempts either make a problem for someone else nearby ie. not killing mice and therefore creating an infestation for the neighbours, or they make the job more difficult and expensive to clear up in the long run. Remember some species of ants for example will ‘bud’ off and create more nests if they sense any attack on their colony.
