Is it Neighbours Animal Repelling Devices?

[SweetLathyrus]

Our very nervous, two-year-old working cocker spaniel has been more anxious than usual for the last couple of weeks - to the extent that he even seemed scared of his food bowl (and he is food OBSESSED). I've been trying to work out why, - tried a calming pheromone collar, reassurance, everything I could think of to identify what had changed.

Then, today, I identified that the neighbours across the road had installed a cat repellent - the flashing had been annoying me, but I didn't actually know what the device was., so I finally found it online. It's sold as a cat repellent - but also has functions that act on dogs, foxes, rodents, wild boar and racoons!

Thing is, both of the houses that face us have one now and they point right at the front of our house, at our kitchen, which might explain why my sensitive boy is being affected. The manufacturer states a range of 110 degrees and 10 metres - so we might be on the edge of the distance, but the devices are definitely 'crossing' somewhere just in front of our front door.

Does anyone have any experience that would back up my theory? We are cordial with both houses, so talking to them isn't a problem, I'm just looking for something closer to evidence than suspiscion!

(PS , My older Cocker seems fine - possibly more grumpy than usual, but he's generally pretty chilled. The cat doesn't give a hoot!).

Your older dog might not be able to hear them.

I'd ask the neighbours to disable them for 48 - 76 hours to see if there's a noticeable difference in your dogs behaviour. Poor thing.

Thanks @Collywobblewobbles , that's a really good point about the older one not being able to hear it, and testing turning it off - one of the neighbours is an engineer, the experiment might appeal to them!

I also think one or other of the houses has it set to the 'wrong' setting if they are targetting cats - because I watched the local hard-knock tabby sitting right in front of them this afternoon.

Our next door neighbour has one, it doesn't seem to deter the cats but it really hurts my 22 yr old sons ears! Thankfully he (neighbour) is kind and turns it off/down when son is home from uni.

Sorry can't help with the dog although it seems very likely.

Such an evil concept, they’re horrific!

I can't believe these are legal. Even if you hate the neighbourhood pets, what about the poor wild animals :(

@nokidshere my 21-year-old daughter will be home visiting for the first time since the devices appeared tomorrow - I will be asking her. Cats really give not a single fig - the one sat in front of it earlier attacked a Volvo last year.😂

@MiddleagedBeachbum I totally get that non-cat owners get fed up with mess, but yes, there are more humane solutions.

My mum used to have one because she was fedup of cats in the garden, it hurt ds's ears when he visited but the dog didn't seem to be affected.

definitely worth an experiment, if your neighbour is willing, to see if switching off helps. Awkward if it turns out they are causing the problem and neighbour wants to keep!

My neighbour got a fox/cat repellent. She had it aimed at the front of her house but of course the sound bounced off hers and hit my house/garden directly opposite. She couldn't hear it. All the local cats couldn't hear it. But me and a newspaper boy could (my two children couldn't either) . She refused to turn it off despite me being unable to go outside. Bless that boy though, he "accidentally " stumbled onto it and broke it and she never replaced it. Horible things.

Anyway, agree with pp, ask them to turn it off for a couple of days to see if his behaviour changes. I know mine did

@Unluckycat1 one of the modes these models have is specifically to deter birds (the picture is of a chaffinch - bloody nuisance they are!). I really don't get it, we live is a semi-rural/suburban fringe. We get deer, foxes, and hedgehogs in our back garden (or at least looking over the fence).

To be honest if your older cocker, cat and random tabby aren't at all affected then I doubt it's the problem with the cocker who was already very nervous. I've never found these sound things effective at all.

Instead of doing experiments with the neighbours I'd be going to the vets and putting the dog on long term anxiety meds so he can enjoy life.

Next move @takemeawayagain . He was highly-strung compared to my always very laid back older boy, but it's the very specific changes that I want to investigate before I medicate him.

And the bloody things annoy me too - the LED flashing designed to scare wild boar points right at my bedroom. But to be fair, I've not seen any boar around here lately.

Hang on, you have an issue with wild boars roaming the streets? And an LED light stops them? I'm very confused.

I have one of those things. A cat had been using my front garden as a toilet at least three times a week for the past year. Woke up yesterday to a cat turd NEXT to the sonar thing. So it probably doesn’t work and isn’t affecting your dog.

What is wrong with people!!?

My neighbour had them. It didn’t affect my cats, but really upset my autistic son. They were ‘stolen’ when the neighbour went on holiday.

Poor dog! I feel for him because I can feel/hear those horrible devices so they must be horrific for an animal. They make a really high pitch sound that hurts my ears and if I ever walk past a house that has one it makes my whole body recoil and I have to walk faster to get away from it. The pain is a bit like what you get with a very sensitive tooth after having a freezing cold drink but the pain is worse and in your ear instead accompanied by a whistling noise and it doesn't go until you remove yourself but you still feel out of sorts for a while after.

I presume some animals just don't hear them just like most people can't? I once walked past a house with one of these devices with 2 different people and they couldn't hear or feel anything but I could. I can't imagine not being able to hear them.

It must be torture to constantly have to live with the noise.

There are parts of the UK where wild boar do wander round the streets, yes! Though I wasn't aware that an LED light would stop them, that's a new one to me.

I can hear them. They're horrible.

@SelkieSeal we don't have boar, but the marketing for the device claims the flashing lights scare them.

I think the issue might be that they are set to the wrong mode, there are five, for different animal groups., and that is why the Volvo hating tabby is sat in from of it!

So sorry for all of you who hear them too - I'm 'of an age', so that part of my hearing has gone.

It could be something or nothing, I just wondered if anyone else had had something similar, so thank you. My lovely boy seemed better when I fed him in the dining room tonight which is in the back of the house (but I'd rather not).

I can hear them and I am in my 60s. No effect on the dog - tried to pee on one until they moved it. From the amount of cat crap on the surrounding lawns and verges, I wouldn't say they are very effective. But your poor dog can hear it, from what you say. Hope you get it sorted.

I would definitely speak to the neighbours and ask them to turn it off for a few days and see if it makes a difference.

Your poor dog!

So sorry for all of you who hear them too - I'm 'of an age', so that part of my hearing has gone.
I never used to hear them - McDonald's used to have similar outside their stores to scatter teenagers - but the older I get the more I can hear that high pitched "scream", my late teen DD couldn't hear the neighbours one. Some people hear them, so I assume some dogs or cats (or boars) do.

If you do ask your neighbour to turn it off, can you let's us know the outcome?

We have them but have placed them where they point across our garden and driveway. I would say we have had about a 75% reduction in cat poo so they appear to work well. No local dog owners have complained and one dog who came on a lead with a delivery person seemed totally unbothered. We have set them to cat mode, so they should not affect other animals.

Just remember that sound "bounces" (think sonar and echolocation) and you could be affecting your neighbours who don't realise it's you, took me 2 months to find out where it was actually oming from (and the sound hit me as soon as I went outside). As I said earlier, my neighbour had them pointing towards her house away from mine. Idiot woman couldn't understand why I was so upset about the noise as it wasn't pointing directly at mine (opposite a wide street, both houses set back). They should be banned imo.

@SweetLathyrus In the event that it is the device, you can get a frequency generator relatively cheaply. The device will operate at a frequency of 20 to 25khz, so you just need to generate the exact frequency and move your signal 180 degrees out of phase. Then it all goes away.