[Carolyn (OP)]

My neighbor has a bug zapper that is driving my son crazy.  Every time Nic is outside he is nearly brought to tears because of the high pitched noise this zapper makes.  He's always been sensitive to high pitched noises, but this one is nearly driving him to the edge.  He's normally easy going and very laid back, but this causes him a great deal of pain and misery.  I haven't spoken with the neighbor, but  he's an a** and I can't see him getting rid of it.  The only solution I can come up with is to offer to buy a replacement zapper that doesn't have that high pitched noise, but I haven't been able to find one.  Do they make silent bug zappers?

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can make outdoor life bearable again for my son? 

I've heard that some store owners use them as deterrants for loitering teenagers.  Why can teens hear them but most adults can't?

[JimBob]

If he is an a**, I would suggest a pellet gun at long range OR a very large rock at close range.

Fortunately, in the long run, your son will outgrow this or you could just get him an iPod and let him ruin his rearing.

[Carolyn (OP)]

If he is an a**, I would suggest a pellet gun at long range OR a very large rock at close range.

Fortunately, in the long run, your son will outgrow this or you could just get him an iPod and let him ruin his rearing.

What an excellent idea!  He has shot at bear with his pistol in the direction of my house several times.  If he caught me I could just say that the bear was on his porch!

How long do you suppose it will take for him to outgrow it?  He's almost 15 now.  He has an ipod that he uses all the time, but I can't carry on a conversation with him(or instruct him on yard work) if he's listening to his music!

***Note to Nicholas aka i am bored:  I know you'll see this in the morning before I get out of bed.  DO NOT GET ANY BRIGHT IDEAS ABOUT SHOOTING THE BUG ZAPPER.  WE WERE ONLY JOKING!!!!!

[Seany]

We have this high-pitched noise called "Dog whistle" in our mobile phones, kind of like a ringtone and we play it during lessons and stuff!

All the boys hear it and HATE it, but the teacher never seems to be able to.  So it is very funny in class..

Anyway, my sister who is 17 can only just about it hear it, and it does not bother her too much. Me and my friends who are 13-14, can hear it very well. Both my parents can't hear it.

So I'm assuming around the age of 18, your frequency hearing range should narrowen.. But that is a bit far away for Nic!! So I would just go with the shooting it was a pistol []

[another_someone]

http://www.tekability.com/mosquito.htm

How does the Mosquito system work?
Mosquito is essentially a sounder unit that emits a very high frequency modulated tone that is completely harmless even with long term use. The unit has been tested by NPL to ensure it complies with all relevant legislation.

I am not a teenager, will the Mosquito annoy me?
This is very unlikely and research has shown that the majority of people over the age of 25, have lost the ability to hear at this frequency range. It should be borne in mind, however, that the unit usually has the desired effect – moving the crowds away – within just a few minutes, at which time the unit can be turned off. So even if you are able to hear the noise to some degree, you would not have to put up with it for long.

What about dogs?
Although dogs have very acute hearing and are easily able to hear at this frequency, extensive testing shows that it does not appear to bother them.

How quickly does it work?
The longer someone is exposed to the sound, the more annoying it becomes. Field trials have shown that teenagers are acutely aware of the Mosquito and usually move away from the area within just a couple of minutes. The field trails also suggest that after several uses, the groups of children / teenagers tend not to loiter in the areas covered by the Mosquito, even when it is not turned on.

What is the range of the Mosquito?
The effective range is between 15 and 20 metres. The closer one gets to the unit the more effective it is.

What about teenage customers and my neighbours?
It takes 5 - 10 minutes for the presence of the sound to become annoying, even on teenagers. Genuine teenage customers who will only be within range for seconds whilst on their way in and out of the shop will not find the sound of significant consequence. As the transmission of the sound is directional and as high frequency short wavelengths do not travel effectively through solid objects, it is unlikely that there will be any adverse effect on neighbours.

[Make it Lady]

I can hear the dog whistle ring tone and I'm 42 so the higher frequencies of sound don't go for every adult. I teach from time to time and have confiscated a lot of phones because of this, HA! My hearing has always been very good though.

I think either find a replacement zapper for this guy and explain the problem, probably in a series of grunts if he is an aXX. The ipod ideas is also good.

My next door neighbour is also an aXX and has a yapping dog that never stops all day. It makes chilling in the garden impossible. Noise has become a big deal in Britain as far as pollution is concerned and I think the zapper would be against the law here.

[JimBob]

I can hear the dog whistle ring tone and I'm 42 so the higher frequencies of sound don't go for every adult. I teach from time to time and have confiscated a lot of phones because of this, HA! My hearing has always been very good though.

I think either find a replacement zapper for this guy and explain the problem, probably in a series of grunts if he is an aXX. The ipod ideas is also good.

My next door neighbour is also an aXX and has a yapping dog that never stops all day. It makes chilling in the garden impossible. Noise has become a big deal in Britain as far as pollution is concerned and I think the zapper would be against the law here.

For you, there is always hamburger and rat poison.

[Make it Lady]

JimBob you are as subtle as a fart in a lift.

[i am bored]

i wont need a gun just some dark clothing and some fireworks

*note to mom aka Carolyn i am kidding i wouldn't blow it up.......its to noticeable

[MayoFlyFarmer]

wow.  i didn't know we had any family pairings on TNS...  that's cool!  I wish my mom gave a rat's a** about science.

i say just go over and steal it some night.  what are the odds that he'll actually bother to replace it.  ordinarilly i wouldn't suggest/condone this, but if he's an a**....   tough for him.

i think its odd that the noise selectively bothers certain aged individuals.

[Soul Surfer]

Get a bat detector and tune it into the bug detector frequency and bring the frequency down to an annoying whistle broadcast this whistle back to your neighbour using a little hi fi and put them near the border of your property and the bug zapper.  when your neighbour complains about the annoying whistle in his garden point out that it is being caused by his bug zapper and when he turns it off it will be quiet and when he turns it on he will hear a faximilie of the noise that young people are suffering.

This reminds me about what we did whenever we did at work whenever we had builders with annoying radios on the premisis.  e just built a small jammer and made their radios give out a horrible whistle which followed them whenever they tried a different station.  They pretty soon got the idea and turned of the radio!

[syhprum]

When I was fixing TV,s in the 1960,s customers were always complaining about the 10kHz noise from the line scan but when our system migrated to 625 lines complaints dropped off although I could still hear it for a few years.
Now I have a job to hear the 2.4kHz carrier from the weather satellites 

[syhprum]

JimBob
I think chocolate is better for killing dogs you can always plead ignorance

[evan_au]

bug zappers

Mosquito is essentially a sounder unit that emits a very high frequency modulated tone

These are two quite different devices: the mosquito repellent intentionally emits a supersonic sound; for the bug zapper, the sound is an accidental byproduct.
- The bug zapper has a high voltage wire mesh, and a light to attract the bugs. When the bugs fly towards the light, they pass by the wire mesh, and they are instantly fried (zapped) by a miniature lightning bolt. The zapper will use a high-voltage/high frequency inverter circuit to produce the high voltages required for a satisfying "Zap". Loose windings on the inverter transformer can emit a high-frequency whistle when subjected to the high-frequency magnetic fields.
You could try them in the shop to find one that doesn't whistle.
- The mosquito repellent device has no high voltage components, but emits a high frequency noise, in attempt to repel the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes use sounds for mating - but I think these sounds are mostly in the audible frequency range; and different mosquitoes have different frequencies, so I'm not sure how they would tune it for different regions.... All of these devices will whistle - but maybe some models will whistle at a higher (inaudible) frequency?

[Bored chemist]

JimBob
I think chocolate is better for killing dogs you can always plead ignorance

That's a bad idea from just about every angle.

[Zer0]

evan_au thank goodness you are here on TNS forum. 👌
And very nicely explained sound advice, appreciable. 👍

Astonishing to see how quickly some folks resort to guns rocks & poison to solve a neighbourly problem.

hamburger + poison = solution???

Or rather using Chocolate n pleading Ignorance.

Oh yes right! I get it.
All of this was said in a sarcastic way n was meant to sound funny.
My bad, I don't seem to have any sense of humor.

P.S. - someday we all will get old n a bit stubborn n hard to deal with, in short an a**.
When you personally lose a pet to poison maybe ur sense of humor might vanish on certain instances.
Think about it.
✌