Effective Repellents for Pets

Managing your pet's health may require more than just visual attention. Not only should you monitor your pet's health by inspecting their ears, paws, and mouths, but you should also take time to make sure that they do not get bitten by dangerous and annoying insects or bugs.

Although household pets are usually welcomed into a home, there are certain areas of the home that pets may be allowed to enter, or pet owners may want to prevent pets from escaping the confines of the yard and getting lost, harassing or attacking passersby. Repellents for pets are designed for two purposes, to control the pet and to control outside factors that may negatively affect the pet, such as biting insects like ticks.

Ultrasonic repellents are often used on household pets, such as cats and dogs, to keep them from entering a forbidden room of the house. While most ultrasonic repellent units emit a continual sound, others may come with a motion sensor and only turn on when a pet is present. Ultrasonic repellent units work by sending out signals into a room that range in frequency from 30kHz to 50kHz, that reverberate off of the ceiling, furniture and other elements present in the room. It is important to purchase an ultrasonic repellent unit with an adjustable frequency in order to reach and repel the pet effectively, as some frequencies will be more effective on certain animals than others.

Citronella may be one of the repellents for pets that is the most humane way to effectively treat a number of issues. Citronella collars can assist in behavior modification by emitting a spray when the pet exhibits the behavior, such as incessant barking. Also, if the pet goes beyond a set yard parameter, a citronella collar can react to a signal from nearby remote stations and will spray the animal with the lemony citronella scent which most pets do not like. A citronella collar is considered to be much more humane than using electric shocks and has the same proven effectiveness.

Citronella collars can also be used as repellents for pets when worn as a type of flea collar. Citronella, as a repellent may not be the best way to repel biting insect and may be better when combined with repellent sprays or powders. Even so, pets should always be checked for ticks which can pass onto humans and carry a number of diseases, such as Lyme Disease.