Anyone have good luck with Woodpecker rods?

[Don2222]

Hello
Hopefully these twistie moving reflective rods will scare off those wood hole in the house makers!
My neighbor said they do work!
Just got a 12 pack because they seam to be at all the corners of our house that has primed # 1 cedar shakes primed with Benjamin Moore exterior oil based primer and then a finish top coat of Benjamin Moore exterior water base paint
Anyone try them?
See pics below. Caught in the act at 10:42 AM!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have no experience with those specifically, but we used to install something similar. We stopped because they didn’t always work. Sometimes it did.

Try it! It might work!

 

[Don2222]

I have no experience with those specifically, but we used to install something similar. We stopped because they didn’t always work. Sometimes it did.

Try it! It might work!

Thanks
I just attached some instructions and they say these rods need to move around a bit to scare them away and should be close to where the holes are. I have a lot of holes!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

They work better with wind, and sunlight. They look like disco lights when they get going.

We have a customer who had a woodpecker issue. We tried and couldn’t get them to go, then they cleared some trees that were giving cover. The woodpeckers disappeared.

 

[brenndatomu]

My in-laws had luck using a plastic owl hanging on a string and moved around to different places occasionally...good thing it worked, cuz FIL had shotgun loaded and was ready to use it on them! Not a good scenario, especially when they live right in town, with lots of close neighbors! You can take the boy out of WV, but you can't take the WV out of the boy!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Yeah, they’re federally protected, lol. All migratory birds are. I think they’d be really easy to trap though. No idea how impossible to get a permit for that though. I suspect very impossible!

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I had to make an adjustment. The wind blew the rods horizontal and they got hung up on the clips! LOL I know the very slim rubber bands they come with are ideal but I wanted something stronger. Someone mentioned they used fishing line which is very strong and he said it worked quite well. I had some wire type trash bag ties which are also very cheap and strong. So far the rods move in the wind and they seam to work quite well with the safety hooks so they do not blow away.

Ace Small White Steel 1.9375 in. L Cup Hook 25 lb 3 pk Mfr# 01-3478-202 - Ace Hardware

Cup hooks are designed to act as both a hook and aFind the HOOK CUPSAFTY ZN1.38WHT at Ace.

www.acehardware.com

 

[clancey]

That looks like a good idea and I sure hope they work...clancey

 

[Max W]

We would hear Woody pounding at an 8x12 cedar shingled wall section at the back of our house. Rushing out and scarring him off did little. A rubber masked scarecrow/dummy didn’t work. What did is a piece of poly mesh deer fencing that I had on hand. I hung it a few inches off the wall and over just the top four feet. Since it’s out back the appearance was an OK trade off to me.

 

[Don2222]

That looks like a good idea and I sure hope they work...clancey

Thanks Clancy
We had strong wind that blew one of the rods of the safety cup hooks and the pecker flew in and started pecking this morning in the same hole! The safety hook latch is not that strong! Therefore I made another loop and tied it hard to the cup hook so the rod can still sparkle in the breeze and won’t fall off! Then I filled all the holes with high temperature and paintable clear silicone! I filled a couple pecker holes a few years ago with the silicone and they never came back to them!
Then I put a rod on the other side of the corner for extra measure! So I have not heard them since.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Wood putty works well too. It’s easier to texture and if you get the stuff that turns color when it dries you can paint the same day.