Best Ultrasonic Pest Repellers UK 2026 | Do They Work?

Six devices that emit sound above human hearing: four mains plug-ins and two battery units. This page sets out what the advertising regulator has accepted about that class, what the wildlife-damage literature reports, and then what each listing states — in that order, because the first two are what a reader needs before the third.

What These Devices Are

Ultrasound is defined by the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management as sound above the upper limit of human hearing, about 20 kilohertz. Every unit here emits it: four from a wall socket, two from 9V batteries, and one of the six from a rechargeable cell. Their own listings state coverage figures from 37m² to 2,500 sq ft, and those figures are the makers’.

What none of them does is touch the animal. There is no trap, no bait and no barrier on this page — which is why the evidence question below is not academic, and why every alternative named at the end of the page acts on something physical.

What the Regulator and the Literature Say

The ASA’s AdviceOnline entry on pest repellents sets out the advertising position: “In past years, the ASA, together with independent experts, has closely examined the evidence for claims for those devices, which can range from cat-shaped metal sheets with glowing eyes to ultrasonic and electromagnetic equipment. It has yet to accept any claim of efficacy.” and “Marketers who do not hold evidence in the form of UK-based trials should not state or imply efficacy for the products, through either claims, visuals or product names.” (ASA). That is a statement about what evidence has been accepted. It is not a finding that these devices do nothing, and this page does not restate it as one.

The wildlife-damage literature is more specific about rodents. The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management writes: “Here are several references that show that ultrasound devices are not effective in controlling rodents.” and quotes a researcher on that work: “I think we demonstrated that the success of a rodent control program with ultrasonics was just as successful if the units were not turned on.” (ICWDM).

The same page reports the other side of it, and so does this one: “In 2011, one researcher found some evidence that ultrasound did keep bats and mice out of an open area (e.g. empty floor, open rafters).” An open loft with no clutter is the setting that finding describes, and it is not the setting most of these products are bought for.

Where They Do Not Work

Through a wall. This is not our claim about the class; it is a maker’s claim about its own product. The EcoMyLife listing states that ultrasound cannot pass through walls and solid objects and recommends one unit per room. Furniture, boxes and doors are in the same category as walls.

On an infestation already under way. The Big Cheese listing scopes itself: recommended for use once infestations in the home are under control. That is the maker of one of these six drawing the line, not us.

As the whole of a control programme. ICWDM’s references are quoted above. Whatever weight a reader gives them, a device that emits sound does not block a gap, remove a food source or catch anything.

What Decides the Choice

1. Power, and where the unit has to go

Four are mains plug-ins and go where the sockets are. Two run on 9V PP3 batteries the listings say are not supplied, and one recharges over USB-C with up to 170 hours claimed. A loft with no socket rules out four of the six.

2. The species the listing actually names

Mouse and rat on two of them; spider only on one; nine species on one; eleven on another; and one names none in its detail table. A listing naming eleven species is making a broader claim than a listing naming two, and the table records which is which.

3. The coverage figure, and whose figure it is

37m², 1,200 sq ft, 2,500 sq ft unobstructed. Every one of those is stated by the maker, and the word “unobstructed” is doing real work in the two that use it, given what the EcoMyLife listing says about walls.

If This Is Not the Answer

Close the way in. Our rodent proofing page covers mesh, wire wool and brush strips — the things that stop an animal entering rather than asking it to leave.

Trap. Our rat traps and mouse traps pages cover the methods that act on the animal directly.

Read the evidence in full. Our guide to whether ultrasonic repellers work goes further into the studies than a product page should.

Placing One

1. One per room, if you follow the makers’ own advice. The EcoMyLife listing says the sound does not cross a wall.
2. Keep the line of sight clear. Two listings state their coverage figure for an unobstructed area, which a furnished room is not.
3. Buy the batteries. Both PP3 units state that cells are not supplied.
4. Do the other things at the same time. Proofing, cleaning and trapping are what the ICWDM references above are measuring these against.
5. Judge it against what you also changed. If gaps were sealed in the same week, the device is not the only variable — which is the point the last question below makes.

The Six Compared

Every column below is what the Amazon listing itself states, with each coverage figure attributed to the maker who claims it. Where a listing does not state something, the cell says so rather than guessing.

Frequently Asked Questions