Irritating noise....... wtf is it?

[^neo^]

So, the past 2 nights there has been a horrible whistling / high pitched buzz coming from outside.
Best described as the buzz from an electrical sub station / alarm when you leave the lights on in the car.
definately out the back of the house.
Almost impossible to pinpoint, but is stronger nearer the house, but louder if you stick your head over the neighbours fence, although i dont think it's from their garden

I'm thinking it could be some sort of sonic cat / dog scarer or something, but didnt think you were supposed to hear these?

It's definately not the wife, as this noise is only constant at night, not 24hrs a day

Any ideas?

 

[gassafeman]

Some very high pitched tones can be heard, but not by all. If the house is quiet when I come in, I can hear a tv if is on standby. Not so much as a 'noise' but a 'feeling'.

For example, I live in a town house a can tell if the living room tv is on standby from my bedroom a floor above, and from the kitchen a floor below. Its bloody frustrating at times.

Paul.

 

[cmother1]

Sounds like an a fox/cat scarer is the most likely candidate. You don't say how old you are, but I've got a cousin who can still hear them in her late 50s.

Other possibilities:

A pond pump;
A transformer for some piece of low-voltage garden claptrap (eg lights, water feature, articulated crocodile..whatever)

You could try turning off the electicity in your house to determine whether you're the source of the noise or its coming from somewhere else.

 

[mikeyd]

I presume it's a low pitched sound if you can't tell where it is from. Is it just at night or do you only notice it then?

The mark one human ear is very good at homing in on the direction of high pitched sounds, but not so good with low frequency sounds.

All you can do is walk about and try to work out if it's getting louder or quieter and narrow it down that way. A sound meter might help but it's not the sort of thing most people have. My old nokia phone had a simple one built in.

 

[ColJack]

someone mentioned something similar a few months back.. it turned out to be the smoke detector in that case, but someone on the thread suggested it may be some sort of frog.. they had one in their meter cupboard..

 

[tim west]

but someone on the thread suggested it may be some sort of frog.. they had one in their meter cupboard..

I wouldnt have believed it had i not readit...readit....readit

 

[^neo^]

Sounds like an a fox/cat scarer is the most likely candidate. You don't say how old you are, but I've got a cousin who can still hear them in her late 50s.

That makes perfect sense as some of the neighbours have chickens

Oh, im 34 btw

 

[Steve]

One of my neighbours has a cat/whatever deterrent. I can hear it at night when its quiet. Very irritating. By the way, they are only meant to operate for 20 minutes per hour or so, or they are a nuisance, because the sound they give off is classed as noise, even though inaudible by most / many. Same laws as burglar alarms (which, again, often break the law by sounding too long, which is totally pointless and leaves your house wide open to being burgled)

Also, as others have said, transformers can give off high pitched whine, particularly phone chargers and laptop PSUs. TVs / monitors on standby, maybe a UV pond filter whose bulb has gone, and is trying to start? My car has a lot of electronics in it, and for about 5 minutes after turning off, it emits a high pitched whine from under the bonnet (citroen c4). all sorts can emit noise.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

So, the past 2 nights there has been a horrible whistling / high pitched buzz
Almost impossible to pinpoint, but is stronger nearer the house, but louder if you stick your head over the neighbours fence

Any ideas?

Neighbours sex toys maybe

 

[Deluks]

but someone on the thread suggested it may be some sort of frog.. they had one in their meter cupboard..

I wouldnt have believed it had i not readit...readit....readit

Gold star for you Tim