I noticed the thread about rodents and kitchen cleanliness and decided to order a fairly powerful rodent deterrent device, we use the same type of thing at home and it’s been amazing for getting rid of and keeping away a collection of mice. I figured this would help, in conjunction with proper food waste care.
It’s designed to be suitable for a large workshop like the space here, I couldn’t find a socket near kitchen so it’s by sewing area.
Thank you, that’s both happily received and a very good idea 
my pleasure 
Good idea - I got one if these at home after our building was infested - I think it was effective.
Fab, that’d be great to have 2 of them, double power!
There might be a socket behind the fridge? There is definitely one below the tv.
Thanks Tom 
Ooops, sorry Tom, you may not even have the device anymore or offering it to the space!
No problem Jackie - afraid mine is still in use, plus it’s a small domestic one which may not be powerful enough to cover much of the space. But it’s deterred the little devils for 2 years while the rest of the building periodically has issues.
Thanks for being nice back to me Worked well for 2 years is proper proof, clever science. In action
This is a good part of the arsenal against the ‘rodentia’ as Dermot says.
Perhaps @directors could consider purchasing a couple more?
I’m happy to buy more.
What I would say however is that this is the solution to a problem that need not exist. If we stop leaving food waste out, and do the dishes, there won’t be any rats.
Happy to have repellants, but I worry this lulls us into a false sense of security. Food waste and dirty dishes don’t just attract rats, they also repel members.
Totally agree
Good thought! However, the last time I looked into these deterrent devices, there was no scientific evidence that they worked. At the very best studies have shown that mice acclimatise to the noise and repopulate within a number of days and that’s only when the device emitted frequency in the appropriate rodent range (many boxes tested were way out the frequency reported on the box).
In fact they could represent a ‘moral hazard’. People may be included to be more messy knowing that these devices are there.
Other issues is that they consume power, add another potential fire safety risk.
This was also my finding after some research. My solution to this was to turn the devices on for 1 week then off for 2 weeks to try to avoid the resident population becoming acclimatised. That did seem to help, but not as much as cleaning the kitchen every night and sealing every food container!
Also, they tend to deeply annoy cats - and having now got a cat, I can’t use mine any more anyway!
the device has settings for randomisation.
I didn’t really want to get drawn into this thread, but I would like to say I no longer do this! and I will give advice but my days of killing animals is over.
I worked in the pest control Industry for 7 years, first with Rentokil, then Peter cox , then with my own pest control company.
Yes food will attract rodents, and considering our entrance faces the rear of numerous food outlets there will always be a rodent problem on the estate.
so from experience,
Electronicsonic devices do not work.
effective pest control consists of 4 stages, in order of priority;
rodent proofing, brush strips under doors, holes around pipes sealed, cracked airbricks repaired and meshed over. If they cannot get in you will not have a problem.
Elimination of current infestation, either through poisons, electronic or mechanical traps, or at a last resort situation glue boards.
monitor stations. either bait traps with poison or non poison blocks which are checked at regular intervals for bite marks. we could also make electronic monitor stations to place along the skirting which would alert us if a rodent passes through. (rodents travel around the perimeter of rooms normally)
remove whatever is attracting the rodents, ie food etc. however, rodents are omnivorous, so can basically live off of anything,. rats need a lot of liquid to survive so half filled cups in the sink would attract them, mice do not need anywhere as much liquid.
so what is the solution.
#4 will stop the attraction, but there are plenty of much nicer smells in the estate than ours, (to a rodent)
#3 we could do, but I would recommend if we go this route that the bait stations are checked monthly.
#2 we do not have a problem so does not apply
#1 the front of the space is well proofed, with the only access via the front doors if they are left open. go to the rear of the space we have a massive problem. the snug has loads of points of ingress, which could lead to rodents getting into the main space via the underfloor.
So the best way to stop us getting an infestation is to push forward with phase 3 and when this is built to ensure that rodent proofing is taken into consideration with the design.
Don’t worry I don’t have a problem with killing rats .
All the rats I have seen in the space have got in through phase 3 you are not wrong about that.
All I am sure of is this: I’m not turning my sonic device off at home. 
The underfloor doesn’t connect between arch and snug, so that’s fairly rat proof. Snug is very rat friendly…
Brushes under front door sounds like something we should do ASAP.
I’m pretty sure all the air bricks are either too small to get through or have wire mesh behind. Can’t quite remember… But we were always aiming for low rodent residency.
We proofed the build very well. All holes filled, lots of chicken wire in the back wall. The front door has brushes already (but it’s a tight fit anyway)
Only real weakness is leaving the door open i think.
I thought front door had brushes… But I could see a fair bit of daylight under it the other day…
To be fair we have had a few under the floor
