A neighbor's high-frequency pest deterrent is now a question for Bloomington city staff. At the City Council's pre-meeting listening session, resident Chris Wickland said a neighbor's device is harming the Wickland family and their pets. The mayor said staff would investigate because the city currently has no clear policy on these devices.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNAt the pre-meeting listening session, resident Chris Wickland raised a new complaint about a neighbor's high-frequency pest deterrence device allegedly harming her family and pets.06/29
That gap is the story. These devices are usually sold to drive off rodents, insects or other animals with sound pitched above what most people can hear. Wickland's complaint suggests the sound doesn't always stay on the property that installed it. So this isn't a simple code-enforcement call.
For now the matter is with staff. What staff find will decide whether this stays a neighbor-to-neighbor dispute or becomes a citywide policy question about devices most people never notice.
Wickland brought the complaint to the right room. Listening sessions run from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. on Mondays when the council has a regular meeting, in the Haeg Conference Room on the second floor of Bloomington Civic Plaza, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Rd. Residents can bring up nearly any topic directly with the council. The format suits problems like this one, which don't fit a public hearing but that a resident wants on the record with the people who set city policy.
Residents with their own concerns can sign up by contacting the council secretary at [email protected] or 952-563-8782 by 2 p.m. on the meeting day. Registering ahead isn't required, but the city strongly encourages it, and people who register are called on before walk-ins. The next listening sessions on the city's calendar are Oct. 12 and Oct. 26.
From the meeting: City Council Meeting, June 29, 2026.
