Light or Sound Devices - Do They Work to Get Animals Out of the Attic?

When it comes to wildlife intrusions on your property or inside your home, there are efficient methods of getting rid of the animals in a safe, stress-free and humane way. Sadly enough, people will usually revert to either destructive or inefficient methods before they use what works.

Light and sound emitting devices: Alongside repellents, lights and sound devices are marketed as some of the best, most effective ways of getting rid of animals in the attic. Of course, the truth is that they’re really highly inefficient. In probably more than 90% of cases, the people who use them have to either hire a professional to help, or have to use less conventional methods, such as poisons and traps. The latter choices could land you in a whole heap of trouble, depending on where you live, as there are some states with regulations in place for setting up traps near homes.

So, how do these light and sound devices supposedly work? The idea is that you can scare off the animal by blasting it with bright lights or high-pitched sounds. These are supposed to disturb the animal so much that it will eventually leave and never come back. And while there are instances where this applies and may actually work, those instances are rare and you have to be there at the right time, at the right place. And that’s when the animal is just inspecting the place, figuring out if that is a safe, viable place to take shelter in. If then it gets blasted by your lights and weird sounds, chances are it will leave and not likely come back.

But in the case of most wildlife intrusion scenarios, you’ll likely find the animal already nesting, or rearing its young. In those cases, the animal is in full survival mode. No repellant, no lights, and no annoying sounds will make it want to leave. It will continue to do its thing, regardless of how bothered it is by your devices – as you’d imagine, they can learn to ignore them in time, if they have no choice. And when it comes to rearing their young, they’re programmed to do so if they indeed have no choice in the matter.

What actually works: Removal, relocation and prevention strategies are your key ingredients of getting rid of wildlife, and also making sure they don’t come back. Remove any food sources and patch up possible entrances the animal can be using to get into and out of your home or property. Once the animal has been removed or captured and relocated, clean up the area it used to inhabit. Don’t use poisons and traps – they cause a lot of unnecessary suffering, and are rarely as effective as prevention and relocation methods are.

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