The Best Indoor & Outdoor Pest Deterrent

Buying Guide

Keeping pests away from our homes is a fight that a vast majority of us take part in at one point or another. Whether the pest is a mouse that is looking for a warm place or a raccoon rummaging around for his nightly meal, it’s a problem to most people who encounter it. Pest deterrents are a simple and effective way to keep these unwanted guests from doing any unnecessary damage to our properties.

Deterring pests from entering into unwanted areas is not the same as trapping or killing them. Pest deterrents are friendlier to unwanted visitors. They use varying technologies to simply scare or annoy the pests to a point where they don’t want to be there, and they will hopefully find their way to another location where they can do their bidding.

A common form of deterring pests is with an ultrasonic tool. This type of product has many benefits, like the fact that it’s safe for our pets and isn’t cruel to the pests we are repelling. The ultrasonic pest repellers plug into the outlets inside your house or outbuilding, and they emit electromagnetic waves that pests can never get used to. These annoying waves eventually drive the pests to leave the area. so they can find some peace and quiet. These simply plug into your outlets and do their job. so you won’t have to do a lot of set-up or follow-up after you have them installed.

Keep in mind that you may need to buy a handful of ultrasonic devices for a large area, and that you’ll need to be strategic about where you place them, says our home improvement expert Vicki Liston, who makes popular DIY tutorial videos.

“They are only effective in close proximity and in rooms without furniture. The sound waves travel in the same manner as light.  If there are objects in the room that can cast an audio ‘shadow,’ the desired effect drops substantially in these spots,” she says.

Liston also helpfully recommends cycling your ultrasonic device on and off for maximum effect and to keep the pests on their toes.

If it’s not the indoor pests that you are concerned with, but rather the mice and rats that like to climb into the hood of your car and chew on wires, there is a specific style of pest deterrent that covers this need. It’s a product that you place directly under the hood of your vehicle. Connected by two wires directly to your battery, this pest repellant device will emit electromagnetic waves and flashing LED lights to run the rodents and other pests away from your car. The draw from the battery is very low, they built in an automatic shut-off that will not allow the battery to drain below 10.5v just to be safe. That way, you don’t run into a dead battery the next time you attempt to start your vehicle. 

If you’re protecting a tree or vegetable garden from the invasion of hungry small critters, there is a motion-sensor activated sprinkler option that can be placed near an area that you are trying to protect. It will sense animals, and even people, before deploying a stream of water directly at them. This scares off the animals every time they try to get a nibble of your plants. This works well at night too, which is the time when a lot of nocturnal animals, like raccoons, are out looking for their food. You can even set it up near your trash cans to deter them from making a mess every night after you’ve taken out your dinner scraps and tossed them in the dumpster.

Liston also notes that some plants can do “double duty” and act as an extra layer of protection against pests.

“Planting lemongrass, marigolds, chrysanthemums, mint, basil,
citronella grass and lavender around your house and in window boxes will up your curb appeal and have six-legged potential home invaders going the other direction,” she says. “Lavender, catnip, mint, sweet pea and alliums repel the four-legged ones. Conversely, peonies act as an ant magnet so plant these gorgeous flower bushes at the far edge of your yard and attract the ants away.”

The last style of pest deterrents is much less technical and gadgety than the other options. There is a blend of essential oils that do a similar job of deterring pests from entering small indoor spaces. The Eco Defense Pest Control Pouches – All Natural – Repels Rodents, Spiders, Roaches, Ants, Moths & Other Pests – 12 Pack – Best Mouse Trap Alternative is a product that comes as a handful of pouches that contain this essential oil blend. You simply place these pouches in areas where you don’t want pests to enter or nest, and they are driven away by the odors released from the packets.

Consider making some low-tech changes to your home and lifestyle, too. For example, be sure to look for and fill any hole — no matter how small — inside your house, Liston says.

You’ll also want to be a careful shopper, she says. Remember that pests can hang out in used mattresses, couches, recliners, bedding and even antique furniture. Check for potential hitchhikers before you bring any used item inside.

• If it’s mice that you are battling with, keep in mind that a mouse can fit into any hole that a standard pencil can fit into. Take a pencil with you and walk around the entire exterior part of your property; if it is your home, you may want to seal off those holes or lessen the gap below your doors with a weather stripping device. If the area is a hard-to-secure building like a barn, knowing these entry points can give you a good starting point for where to place your pest deterrent devices.
• Look around your property for places where animals could nest and breed. It’s common for field mice and various insects to colonize a pile of rubbish that you set aside after a wind or ice storm knocked down some tree branches. From these rubbish piles, it’s only a short walk for them to find the warmth of your home when the weather cools down.
• After identifying areas where they can enter your house and areas where they might live nearby, you just have to look through the styles of pest deterrents and get the one that is right for you. It’s common that people will deploy all four of these methods to cover all their bases. The expense of dealing with a bad infestation of pests can be a really big financial burden and general stress; taking a few steps to stop that from happening is an affordable way to have the peace of mind you desire when in your home.