KroneHit Blasts Mosquitoes

08.12.2009

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Vienna, Austria-based music station KroneHit is offering listeners an unusual summer prize — a mosquito-free environment.

Since mid-July, the station has embedded a 14,850 Hz tone in its audio signal in an effort to discourage mosquitoes from biting KroneHit listeners.

According to a Google translation of the KroneHit Web site, the tone imitates the buzzing of a female mosquito, discouraging other female mosquitoes from approaching. The 14,850 Hz tone corresponds to a 27th harmonic of a mosquito’s hum (550 Hz), making it imperceptible to human ears.

The station cites Dr. Michael Müller of Kiel, a city in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, as saying that “within a radius of five meters around the radio, mosquitoes will no longer bite.” It does not work if you wear headphones and according to the site, the level is adjusted to avoid harming pets.