The Shoo app

Your phone will be
the bug detector.

Point your camera at the bug, a dropping or a trap. Shoo will name it, say how sure it is, and give you a plan that starts with the free fixes.

  • Coming to iPhone
  • Coming to Android

Planned, no date yet. Screens show example results. Scanning works on the website today.

  • Snap it
  • Name it
  • Lure it
  • Shoo it
  • Camera
  • Flash
  • Night Watch
  • Trap check
  • Reminders
  • Home map

Snap. Name.
Shoo.

Four screens from the app design. Every result shown is an example.

Get close. A coin helps with size.
PhotoTrapNight Watch
1. Snap
Example 2 dark stripes
High confidenceAdult

German
cockroach

Blattella germanica

What we sawTwo dark stripes behind the headTan body, wings cover the abdomenSmall, about the size of a fingernail

Not a brown-banded: no pale bands across the wings.

See my planNot right?
2. Name
Your plan · Kitchen · Example

Shoo the German
cockroach

  1. 1Free, tonightWipe grease behind the cooker, fix drips, empty the bin.
  2. 2Gel bait in the hingesSmall dots, out of reach. No spray: it scatters them.
  3. Gel bait The product type to look for
  4. 3Scan a trap every weekWe count adults and young ones and tell you if it is working.
  5. 4Still busy after a month?Time for a pro. We tell you what to ask.

Kids or pets at home. Bait goes above counter height. Read the label first.

3. Shoo
Night Watch · Under the sink · Example

Good morning.
Here is what
came out.

11 pm1 am3 am5 am
Three visits, all between 1 and 3 am.

They come from behind the dishwasher.Put two dots of bait at its back corners and one at the sink hinge.

Watch again tonight

Only frames with movement are checked. Nothing else leaves your phone.

4. Night Watch, the morning after

It will use the
whole phone.

Your phone already carries a camera, a light, a microphone and a speaker. The Shoo app is planned to use each one to find bugs.

  • At launch

    Snap to name it

    A photo of a bug, a young one, an egg case or droppings. Shoo will name the species, say how sure it is and show what gave it away.

  • At launch

    Trap check

    Scan a monitor trap once a week. Shoo will count adults and young ones and show whether the plan is working.

  • At launch

    Reminders that follow the plan

    When to check the trap, when the bait needs a top up, and when it is time to call a professional.

  • Coming later

    Rules where you live

    The plan will leave out products that are not allowed in your country and say what to use instead.

  • Coming later

    Night walk

    Flashlight and camera together: a guided walk through the hiding spots after dark, when cockroaches come out.

  • Coming later

    Night Watch

    Your phone on its charger will watch a hotspot overnight and tell you in the morning what came out, and when.

  • Coming later

    Home map

    Every sighting and trap pinned to a room, so you can see where they live and where they travel.

  • Coming later

    Listen for pests

    We are testing whether the microphone can pick up mosquito wing beats and mice in the walls. Not cockroaches: they are too quiet to hear.

  • Coming later

    Shoo Sound

    For birds and garden visitors, an alarm call will play only when the camera sees them. Never used on cockroaches.

Coming later

Charge it.
Point it. Sleep.

Cockroaches come out when the lights go off. Night Watch will turn an old phone into a camera trap: it will watch under the sink or behind the fridge while you sleep, and in the morning show you the times and the frames.

Join the waiting list
  • Only movement will be checked. It is designed so empty frames never leave the phone.
  • Times and snapshots so you will know where they come from.
  • A tip for the morning, like where the bait should go.

What happens to your photos

Only what it needs

Only photos you take, and in Night Watch only frames with movement, will be checked.

Yours to delete

You will be able to delete one scan or all of them, any time, from the app.

Not kept for ever

Old photos are deleted on a set schedule, published here before the app opens.

Questions

Is Shoo out yet?

On the website, yes: scan a bug on the scan page and you get the species, how sure Shoo is and a plan. The app for iPhone and Android is planned, and the waiting list hears first when it is in the stores.

When is the app out?

We will not guess a date. Join the waiting list and you get one email the day it is ready.

What does it cost?

On the website, your first scan is free and your email adds 2 more. The app download and your first few scans in it will be free. After that, Shoo is a monthly or yearly plan, and Shoo Places covers more than one home. Prices are set before launch, and nobody pays to join the waiting list.

How accurate is it?

We have not measured that yet, so we do not quote a number. We are putting together a test set of real photos and will publish what we find. Until then, when it is not sure, it says so and asks for a better photo instead of guessing.

Does it need the internet?

Naming a bug does: the photo is checked online, on the website today and in the app later. In the app, your saved plan and reminders are planned to work offline.

Will it work on my phone?

The scan page works in the browser of a phone with a camera today. The app is planned for recent iPhones and Android phones, and we will publish the minimum versions before it is out. Night Watch is planned for an old phone you can leave on the charger.