It is well know that pests like rats, mice etc are repelled by ultrasonic frequency in the range of 30 kHz to 50 kHz. Human beings can’t hear these high-frequency sounds. Unfortunately, all pests do not react at the same ultrasonic frequency. While some pests get repelled at 35 kHz, some others get repelled at 38 to 40 kHz. Thus to increase the effectiveness, frequency of ultrasonic oscillator has to be continuously varied between certain limits. By using this circuit design, frequency of emission of ultrasonic sound is continuously varied step-by-step automatically.
Original source:http://www.radioland.net.ua/electronic-circuit-id-29.html