Product review: Hoont Plug-in Electronic Total Pest Eliminator

Between 1985 and 1997 FTC brought a law suit against six companies making false and unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of ultrasonic devices in controlling rodent and insect infestations. In 2001 FTC sent warning to more than 60 manufacturers stating that their claims are not supported by scientific evidence.

FCC commission document states that ultrasonic pest control devices cause radio frequency interference to television reception in the 20-470 MHz range.

The instructional booklet or packaging do not state what the level of ultrasonic sound the Hoonts device produces. It only states that it is safe for pets. I contacted the manufacturer 2 weeks ago but did not receive this information thus far.

UPDATE 11/14/14: The day after this review was published I received an update from the manufacturer. "The unit works on 35-45KHZ with up to 130dB." He also stated that "Ants might be deterred not by ultrasonic waves, but by electromagnetic waves use the wiring of the house."

I was able to test two things:

1) Does the device emit anything?
I own a sound meter which measures sound decibel levels (it is not a sound analyzer so it does not Hz). I was able to measure that if I turn on the device I can see that decibel level change, so at least I was able to measure that Hoonts device produces ultrasound waves.

2) Do the pests react to it?
I am interested in getting rid of ants which I occasionally see trotting around in my basement. Outside, in my rock garden, I have a small ant colony. I decided to test if my local ant colony will react to the device. In this test I did not expect to get rid the ants, I just wanted to see if they had any reaction. If they did not like the sound, I expected them to change their normal speed and path. I plugged the pest repeller into an extension cord and took it outside to point at the ant colony. The ants had absolutely no reaction. They continued walking slowly at the speed and in he same direction.

I was puzzled that my ants did not react to the device and did a bit of research on insects and ultra sound. I found that some insects use ultra sound as part of their mating behavior. So it is possible that my worker ants just don't have receptors for ultra sound and the device will only work on the queen and her drones during the mating period.

There is a great range of opinions on whether ultrasound repellers work. One needs to read the reports carefully to screen out biased opinions. Pest Control companies often say it does not work and a pest control company provides better results. Studies sponsored by ultrasonic repeller manufacturers state they are effective. Studies from universities which appear to have less bias report mixed results. They show that some pests are effected for a period of time but then return. They also report different results from different products, which is also not surprising since they maybe producing different frequencies.

Here are some references from people which appear not to have a bias one way or the other because they are doing university studies and the last is from a retired entomologist.
1. Askham, Leonard R. "Ultrasonic and Subsonic Pest Control Devices." Washington State University.
2. "Electronic Mosquito Repellents Don't Work, Say Researchers." ScienceDaily
3. Ogg, Barb. "Considering Ultrasonic Pest Control Devices? Save Your Money." University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
4. DeAngelis, Jack. "Electronic/Ultrasonic Pest Repellers." LivingWithBugs.

So what's the bottom line? Based on unbiased experiments this device might work for some pests but only temporarily. The same is echoed in the FTC statement. FTC complaints alleges that any reaction by rodents to ultrasound would be temporary at best because rodents become accustomed to ultrasound and will return to their nesting or feeding areas even in the presence of an ultrasonic device.

I received this repeller from Hoonts for an honest review, be it positive or negative.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


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