Ready. Set. Takeoff.
NRG’s patent pending Bat Deterrent System is based on “jamming” the echolocation capabilities of bats, which they rely on for orienting and foraging.
Ultrasonic Deterrent Unit
How it Works
The deterrent system emits an ultrasonic acoustic field in the same range as bats’ natural calling frequencies. This interferes with their ability to receive and interpret their own echolocation calls and creates a disorienting airspace that is difficult to navigate. By jamming their echolocation systems in such a way, bats are discouraged from entering the treated airspaces and roosting locations.
No deterrent
Bats emit a high frequency call that is dispersed throughout the atmosphere, then reflect off of objects, including their prey. As the call travels away from the bat it spreads, causing the initial energy emitted to cover a larger and larger area. In this example we see that the call reflects off a moth, and travels back to the bat. The echo return suffers the same spreading losses as the outgoing signal, so the returning echo is very faint compared to the initial call. Bats rely on hearing this echo to determine how long it took the call to reach the object and bounce back, which provides information about how far away the object is.
With deterrent
The NRG Bat Deterrent Systems create constant ultrasonic noise at the same frequency as the bat call. When a bat enters the airspace where the deterrent units are operating, the ultrasound from the deterrent units will be louder than the echo return the bat is listening for. This effectively “jams” the bats ability to hear its own return. If the bat can’t hear the echoes, it is unable to successfully forage and orient itself, so it chooses airspace without the ultrasonic noise.
Deterrence in Action
FAQs
Will NRG’s Bat Deterrent Systems harm bats’ ability to hear and echolocate?
As bats approach the treated airspace, the intensity of the ultrasonic noise gradually increases, leading them away from the areas where sound levels could affect their hearing.
Will bats become disoriented by the Bat Deterrent System?
Because bats have very good directional hearing and the ultrasonic noise gradually increases as they approach the treated airspace, they are able to avoid any areas where they would completely lose the ability to orient themselves. During field testing of the Bat Deterrent Systems, which was conducted on ponds where bats congregate, the bats immediately move in the opposite direction of the ultrasonic noise and did not become disoriented.
Will the Bat Deterrent System lose its effectiveness as bats get used to it?
When wildlife get used to an unnatural visual or acoustic disturbance that is meant to keep them out of an area it is called habituation (imagine a bird perched on a scarecrow). Luckily, our Bat Deterrent Systems are not meant to simply annoy or frighten bats—the ultrasonic noise they emit actually interferes with their ability to orient and forage. Because bats rely so heavily on echolocation, they know to avoid any area that compromises this capability.
Will the Bat Deterrent Systems have an impact on other wildlife like birds?
We thoroughly considered the unintended consequences of using ultrasonic noise for our Bat Deterrent Systems. There is no evidence that birds can hear ultrasound or that they are repelled by it, so we do not believe that our Systems will have an effect on any wildlife besides bats. During some of the field testing that we have conducted on ponds, herons and ducks have flown into and stayed in the areas covered by our deterrent devices, while the bats stayed away.
Will the Bat Deterrent Systems work on all species?
The current version of our Bat Deterrent System affects bat species whose call frequencies are between 20 kHz and 50 kHz. This covers all of the bat species found in North America, including endangered myotis species.