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Mosquito bugs irritating loiterers

Only 13 to 25-year-olds can hear the device's high-pitched whine

By Matthew Little, The Province (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Published: Thursday, August 16, 2007

A gizmo that makes a horribly annoying noise that only teens and 20-somethings can hear set a group of kids on edge at the Vancouver Art Gallery yesterday.

"Annoying, super annoying," said Craig Sharett, 30, the only person over 25 who could hear the gizmo called the Mosquito. "Definitely annoying," agreed Mark Winert, 23. He and Sharett said the Mosquito made them anxious with its aggravating sound.

But Dodger Grace, 17, said: "It made me feel angry. I wanted to punch somebody in the face." Jeff Coughlan, 16, and his younger brother Jordon, 13, seemed immune. "I didn't hear it at all," said Jeff.

The Mosquito, which has been used to repel loitering hooligans from storefronts in Europe for a number of years, is now being distributed in B.C. "It's an ultra high-frequency sound that only the average 13- to 25-year-old can hear," said Mike Gibson of Dynatrac Systems, the company that has just started importing the device, which costs $1,200 to $1,400, from the United Kingdom.

The Mosquito doesn't bother dogs, adults or small kids but it's very uncomfortable for it's targeted audience. "It's an annoying sound, not some crippling sound," said Gibson. He said one "very large" convenience store chain is testing the device outside a store in Richmond. "I talked to the store manager on Monday and he said it was working beautifully," said Gibson. "He said the kids are leaving within three to four minutes. "There's no words exchanged, there's no threats, there's no engagement." Store owners simply turn it on and the kids leave.

The Maple Ridge School District imported a Mosquito from the U.K. a year ago. "There was no question when we tested it," said Don Woytowich, the district's secretary-treasurer. "Kids under 20 certainly could hear the noise and did not like it."

The Mosquito was put above an alcove at an elementary school where young adults would gather for a nightly drug party, leaving the remnants behind for children the next day. "We put the Mosquito in place and that disappeared," said Woytowich.

"Some people snicker at [the Mosquito] initially but when they see it in action they quickly realize it is something worthy of pursuing."

Possible customers include parents who want to move adult children out of the house, and bar owners on Granville. "By having this out front they can disperse the crowd after the bars closed," said Gibson.

The science of the device is simple. Hearing peaks when we're young and we can hear the highest frequencies. For any age group, the highest audible frequency is an aggravating sound, which the Mosquito emits for 13- to 25-year-olds.

There is one upside of Mosquito technology for teens. "Kids have actually embraced this technology but not for loitering, for cellphones," said Gibson.

The Mosquito's 18- to 20-kilohertz frequency has been turned into a stealth ring tone kids can hear, but teachers can't, making it a perfectly cheeky way to announce an in-class text message.

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