It's known as the Mosquito because it sends out a sharp high-pitched tone. Here's the catch: You have to be between the ages of 13 and 25 to hear it. That's when one's hearing frequencies are at their peak.

In fact, police departments in Europe and Canada use this device to deter young and unruly crowds. But we wanted to see if it really works.

Street fighting, vandalism and graffiti are spur-of-the-moment crimes that many times include young people.

That was until now. Welcome to Jackson High School in Mill Creek.

We decided to test the Mosquito in Jennifer Chambers' classroom where the average age is about 16.

We asked students to raise their hands if they felt a headache coming on. Every student not only noticed the noise, but couldn't stand to hear it.

"It made my brain kind of hurt," described one student.

Developed in the United Kingdom and distributed out of Vancouver, the Mosquito has become a crime-fighting tool for police, businesses and schools.

Mike Gibson with Moving Sound Technologies sells the device. He says the success rate for clearing loiterers is between 88 and 100 percent.

"It will clear a crowd very quickly," said Gibson. The Mosquito is a non-confrontational way to actually deal with those issues."

At the University of Washington, we again tested the Mosquito. This time, outside.

"It's annoying. It hurts my ears," said a student.

"It's like a sharp ring. It would definitely annoy you. You wouldn't stick around for long," described another.

And while students had no trouble hearing it, most people over 25 didn't hear it at all.

Which is most of the KIRO newsroom. We secretly planted the device, but hardly anyone noticed it.

We tried the same test at Everett High School. The teacher, Shane Kleven, didn't hear a peep, but his teenage students heard too much.

"It's pretty bad. It's all up in your head and stuff," said a student.

"I've got a big problem with it," said another student. "It's unfair and might be a constitutional violation."

"It's only about 85 decibels, which is about as loud as a lawn mower," said Gibson, who sells the device.

And as annoying as it may sound for people under 25, experts say it cannot damage your ear. In fact, some teenagers are now downloading the noise to their cell phones.

"I use it in school sometimes so teachers cannot hear it," explained a student.

While the Mosquito is proven to help crowd control and stop crimes, school administrators in Everett fear it may work too well.

"We would not want people chased off our facilities," said Mary, with the school.

Although the Mosquito is widely used in Canada and Europe, it's just catching on here in the U.S. A few police departments and school districts are starting to implement it, but so far, no one here in the Pacific Northwest is using the device.

The Mosquito costs around $1,400.