Black & Decker EX410-2P-TP1 Ultrasonic Pest Repeller, Medium Room

List Price: $18.99 Discount Price: $18.99

Features:

• Medium room coverage
• Pass through
• 2 pack

Customer Reviews:

Does Not Work for Brown Recluse [Posted on 2007-09-01]
I waited a few months before writing my review on this product since it is very difficult to evaluate whether it is working. However, I have come to the conclusion that it is not.

We had an infestation of brown recluse spiders. I contacted a spider researcher at KU and brought him a specimen to verify this. I asked him about his opinion on the sonic devices and he said that he really doubted that they worked. Despite his opinion, I thought I would give them a try myself because they have received many positive reviews.

Since I had been capturing brown recluses to show to the spider researcher, I had one in a jar when we bought the sonic devices. Since they are supposed to repel spiders, I expected, if I put the spider in the jar close to the sonic device, the spider would react negatively somehow, such as crawling away from it. However, when I put the jar next to the activated sonic device, the spider did not react at all. It did nothing. I even tilted the jar so that the high-pitched sound would enter the jar. No effect. Despite this, I suspected that maybe the glass of the jar blocked the sound somehow. So I gave it a few more months.

We continued to have spiders in our house. However, there were less than usual. This could have been (and looking back probably was) because we had taken other measures for killing them. I hunted for and killed them every week. We also laid down tape for them to get stuck on, which captured a few. But I thought that the lower numbers might be because of the sonic devices, so I recommended some to my parents who also had brown recluse.

They bought some (though they were a different brand). But today, I just killed a brown recluse within 5 inches of one of my parent's sonic devices. And my girlfriend just reminded me that about a month ago I killed one within about 2 feet of one of *our* sonic devices which are the brand mentioned above. So what this means is that at least some of these devices don't work on brown recluse. And at worse, none of them work.

If you want to sucessfully survive brown recluse, here is how you do it (this advice comes from several spider experts who I have spoken to or read articles from since we first contracted this problem):

- Shake out your clothes and your towels before you use/wear them; most bites occur in unchecked clothing
- Kill every spider you see; as happened in our case, this will likely cause their numbers to dwindle
- If you own your home, seal up cracks that lead outside and to the inner walls
- Lay down duct tape sticky side up or buy the spider traps of the same design

Spiders do not respond to insecticides and in fact insecticides make it easier for brown recluse to find food. This is because the insecticides kill the insects. This makes them trivially easy for the brown recluse to find and devour. Unlike many spiders, brown recluse will eat almost anything, including dead bugs. And even if you eliminate all of the insects completely, brown recluse can go for months without food. Unless you seal your home and fill it with powerful nerve gases that kill any living creature (which has been done), you are wasting your money on insecticides.

Now my family has told me that the sonic devices are effective for mice. And other reviewers have said they work on things like roaches. But they do not work for the brown recluse spiders which plague the mid-west and they may not work on spiders in general.

If you have brown recluse, just be careful and kill them yourself. You will likely lower their numbers.

And don't kill web spiders: they eat brown recluse (which don't make webs). You can tell a brown recluse because unlike almost any spider, they have three eye pairs instead of eight eyes.

no spiders [Posted on 2007-09-20]
I am spider phobic, so I am very thankful to have these devices in my home! They really seem to work. We have a house in the middle of a field and have lots of spiders outside, but never see one inside. I am sure I have the plug in repellers to thank!

Doesn't work! [Posted on 2007-12-12]
We have a roach problem and the roaches seem to be as abundant as ever! Junk.

"Risky behaviors"? [Posted on 2008-01-07]
I had an earlier version of this.
After closing off old rat holes, no more tried to chew NEW holes.
Previously,One poor fella was in the passageway by the back door: the machine seemed to make it too scared to move, but I propped the back door open and he ran out.
As for insects seeming to LIKE the machines?..."risky behaviors" seem to be popular among young humans.
So what if the noise "disrupts social organization, reproductive behavior,feeding patterns" etc?..haven't we seen this before?!
Heck those "constantly changing frequencies and pitch" are probably the most exciting thing they have ever heard...hmm, THEY probably call it "music" too.

dumb (me), and dumber (this device) [Posted on 2008-04-17]
ARGGHH I feel like such a idiot. I fell for it and thought it would work. If only HOPE were enough to drive the bugs out. I bet all the big companies would try to bottle hope and sell it, it would work just as well as this thing! I have 5 all going in my >700sq ft condo. I've seen bugs crawling right ON it. Centipedes (Scolopendra heros) within feet of it. And what the hell!? Aren't centipedes from the jungle or somthing? I can't believe it. I oughta sue, false advertising! They shouldn't get away with it because I need my $30 bucks back more than they do, I guarantee it! Black and Decker can make wimpy hand drills somewhat well, and NOTHING MORE. ARRGGHHH!!!

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