A common theme I’ve noticed since I started doing these tests is how short the battery life seems to be on the majority of cat deterrents. This solar powered motion sensor cat deterrent solves this problem by using rechargeable batteries that are kept topped up by a small solar panel on top of the device.
This isn’t the only solar powered cat repeller on the market but with a price tag currently set at just under $36 I had to order it to give it the once over.
Updated for 2022
- Excellent value for money with zero running costs
- Uses lighting as well as ultrasonic sound
- Set and forget thanks to the solar panel
- Works on foxes, dogs and rodents as well as cats
- Small and unobtrusive
- Around a 25 yard range so may need a few if your garden is large
First Impressions
Introducing the Abilly Solar Animal Repeller, designed to keep cats away from your property without harming them. It uses lighting and ultrasonic sound waves to create an effective deterrent. It safely repels cats and other small pests, offering a humane alternative to traditional traps.
This device is easy to set up and use, and requires no additional power or wiring. The solar panel on top of the deterrent captures sunlight during the day and stores it in its internal battery which allows it to be used at night or in low light conditions. Additionally, you can adjust the sensitivity of the sensor based on your needs so that only cats within a certain range are affected by it.
Setting Up
The first thing to do is to fully charge up the batteries using the provided USB charging lead as shown in the image above. This took around 6 hours but once done I was able to leave it in the garden indefinitely.
The Solar Pest Repeller can be fence or wall mounted but also comes with a small stake for ground fixing which is aluminium so won’t rust. I found this helpful for positioning around the lawn.
Operating
It has 2 buttons that require adjusting to your needs: a sensitivity control allowing you to turn the range down from its maximum of 9 metres to a setting best suited to your garden size and a frequency control that you adjust to the hearing range of the animals you are trying to deter from your garden.
Position 1 repels small rodents.
Position 2 repels foxes and larger dogs.
Position 3 repels small dogs, cats and birds.
Position 4 gives off a strong flashing from a couple of small strobe lights.
Position 5 constantly rotates through all the other frequencies to give all functions combined.
Does It Work?
Most of the ultrasonic sound cat deterrents I have purchased claim to not effect birds so I was surprised to see level 3 is for cats, small dogs AND birds. This would appear to mean that it operates at a different frequency as a cat deterrent than any of its competitors.
At just under $36 and running costs of zero once you have done the original charging it represents great value for money.
As usual for a review I turned off the Hoont Cobra water repeller and there was no cat poop left for me during the nights I had it set up.
I tested it for over a month and it performed well, only failing to scare away one local old Tom who’s hearing has failed. This tends to be the case with most ultrasonic cat deterrents as like us, a cats hearing fails with age.
This where position 4becomes useful as this uses the strobe lights as well as a high pitched noise to scare away the cat.
If you find none of the first 3 settings are having the desired effect then 4 should do the job.
Conclusion
This Solar Animal Repeller does an excellent job of keeping unwelcome cats out of your garden. The responsive motion sensor PIR, adjustable frequency range and solar charging capabilities make it easy to use, cost-effective and reliable. As an added bonus, thanks to it running on solar power, it’s also environmentally friendly.
