Mosquito Press Coverage

Using a high-frequency tone, the mosquito deters loitering

By Ciaran Dickson, Regina Leader-Post (Regina, SK, Canada)
Published: Friday, October 12, 2007

The mosquito is no longer just a blood-sucking pest, it is also the name of an ultra-sonic teenage deterrent system that is being introduced to the Regina market.

Using a high-frequency tone, the device annoys youths and deters them from loitering and being in its general vicinity within minutes of activation. It has been used in the United Kingdom since 2005 and is now being implemented in Canadian markets, such as Vancouver, and hopes to make its debut in Saskatchewan very soon.

"It is currently being used at convenience stores, schools, pubs, and malls," said Michael Gibson of Moving Sound Technologies said Friday from Vancouver. "Store owners are using the devices to get kids that are hanging out in front of stores and (hurting business) to leave the storefront."

Gibson said his company have installed these devices in four locations of a large convenience store chain in Vancouver and Victoria that had unwanted traffic from drug dealers. He said store patrons simply weren't going into the store because they didn't want to have to have an encounter with the unwanted people.

"They installed the mosquito and guess what?" said Gibson. "No more drug dealers, no more kids hanging out in front within an hour of (the device) being turned on."

The device works on people aged approximately 25 and under, depending on the condition of their hearing. Gibson said humans are born with the ability to pick up high-frequency noise, but as they age the frequency range of hearing begins to drop. Generally by the time a person is 25, they are unable to hear the noise being emitted at this frequency. The mosquito emits a sound at 85 decibels -- roughly the same level of noise as a violin -- and does not damage hearing. The simple annoyance of it is what drives youths away. In three years, there have been 15,000 of these devices sold in the UK.

Dave Gibson and Todd Emery of Strategic Wave Technologies are the retailers for the mosquito in Saskatchewan. Gibson said that even with a hearing aid he doesn't hear the sound, nor has he had any disturbance with the aid even after prolonged exposure to it. The device has a range of about 18 metres -- what Gibson and company call a typical storefront -- and is generally placed high on a wall as to keep out of reach of passersby. They said the device, which is made of cast iron, can be placed just about anywhere and has a number of different options for activation. In the UK, police riot controllers can buy a police version that emits a higher frequency when they are called to a party or to a riot situation.

"There are timers and motion sensors that can be used if, say, there is a problem with graffiti or vandalism in a certain area at night," said Gibson. "It can even be activated by a cell phone."

It generally takes about two minutes for someone to become annoyed with the sound, though it can be heard immediately. This means that even if the device is activated outside a store, youths won't be annoyed by it unless they are loitering for a few minutes. In and out customers won't be affected.

The device was tested on Scarth Street on Friday. Random passersby were asked if they could hear the sound. The results matched those that were found elsewhere in Canada and the UK. Lisa McKague, 23, of Regina said she could hear the sound and said it was quite annoying. The same comment was made by Michael Hordos, 32. "It feels like there is pressure on my ears, a weird pulsating sound," said Hordos.

Danica Lorer, 37, said she heard nothing at all. One 24-year-old woman who declined to give her name said she couldn't hear it, while Jeremy Gabel, 27, said he could sort of hear it, but it wasn't very bad. One older woman who declined to say her exact age, but stressed that she was "well over 25," said she heard nothing and believes that if it works as well as it seemed to on younger testers, it would be a great idea.

All those who could hear it said that they wouldn't stick around outside anywhere that had one.

"It's safe, it's affordable, and it's been proven to work," said Gibson.