Do Mice Alarms Work? Here’s the Truth

If you have a mice problem in or around your home and are looking into ways to repel or rid your property of the mice you may have heard of mice alarms.

Or ultrasonic rodent-repelling devices as they are also called.

So, do mice alarms work? Are they effective at keeping your home, garden, and anywhere else you put them free of rodents?

If you want a quick answer, not really – no. Not in my experience anyway.

They are not the best or most effective way to repel mice. Ultrasonic alarms might be the easiest and most humane way however, so that’s a good reason to try them out.

Some people have seen success with mice alarms. While others are left scratching their heads as some mice seemingly don’t even notice or pay any attention to the high pitched frequency they produce.

If you’re interested in learning more about how ultrasonic rodent repellent devices work and some of the results myself and some of my friends have had, please read on.

How to Mice Alarms/Sound Repellents Work?

Rodent alarms produce frequencies of sounds that are too high to be heard by us but can be heard by mice and causes them some discomfort.

The reaction from mice varies from mouse to mouse. But typically they will not be able to hang around in the area where they can hear the sound as it’s really annoying for them.

Just imagine a high pitch screaming sound yourself and how you’d feel. Some mice will still venture into the sound in pursuit of food however, and some seem unaffected as I’ll cover in more detail later.

It’s also worth mentioning that the sound from these devices do not travel through walls. If you’re using them indoors you’ll need one in each room you’ve seen mice in or trying to keep them out of.

Do Mice Alarms Work?

There is little scientific evidence to look at regarding how effective mice alarms or rodent ultrasonic repellents are.

I have read various claims from the manufacturers that their ultrasonic pest devices will rid your home, yard, or wherever else you use them of rodents. But you have to take this with a pinch of salt as they want to sell their goods.

I do actually have some experience with using these devices personally. I also know several people who have used them, so I asked for their experiences too.

Unfortunately, myself and others I’ve spoken too have seen mixed results with mice alarms. They certainly aren’t a one-stop solution to mice coming into your home, that’s for sure.

To start with a positive, one friend said they were having mice coming into their home and using an alarm worked for them.

They were seeing signs in their kitchen that mice were coming in during the night. There was evidence they were nibbling on food, and of course, the one thing none of us want to see, mice droppings.

After using a plugin mice alarm in their kitchen they no longer noticed those telltale signs that mice were helping themselves to stuff while they were sleeping.

Seeing as ultrasonic alarms do not harm mice, they just annoy and deter them – does this mean it’s really solving the problem?

It likely means that the mice are still nested up near to your home. They will have just found a food source within range of their nest that’s outside of the relatively short distance that the alarms cover.

This means they can grow in numbers, quickly. Return to your home if they get desperate or start to tolerate the noise, and potentially cause an even bigger problem in the future.

I’ve also used a mice alarm many years ago. I had it in my shed to try and keep mice out as they were destroying stuff and burrowing under the shed, as well as in and around the rafters in the roof.

I can positively say that the alarm made no difference whatsoever. I gave it a week or so, didn’t use anything else to repel them, and their numbers didn’t reduce at all.

I actually had more success using peppermint oil. Mice don’t like the smell of peppermint oil, I love it, so it worked out perfectly.

The only problem is that you need to keep refreshing the cotton wool balls or whatever you’re adding peppermint oil too.

Here are some of the mani pros and cons of using these types of ultrasonic alarms:

Pros to Using Ultrasonic Mice Alarms

• Inexpensive and easy to use.
• Don’t harm mice.
• No harmful materials and substances being used.

Cons to Using Ultrasonic Mice Alarms

• Not the most effective method of repelling mice.
• Only deter mice from entering small areas.
• They do not penetrate walls.

In Summary – Do Mice Alarms Work?

My mixed experiences may be a little inconclusive, but I think it’s something you need to be aware of if you’re going to buy a mice alarm.

Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t rid your home of mice and other rodents. But at the same time, it’s a good result if it does work.

I think they are worth trying. As I said, they are one of the more humane ways to try and deter mice from coming into your home.

But the knock-on effect is that the mice will probably still be nearby. They may get used to the sound over time, and if you stop using it they will certainly come back.