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Product Rating
Trust me, I’ve been there and done that. I’ve wasted a ton of valuable time experimenting with a good homemade woodpecker deterrent.
At the end of the day, the time I wasted resulted in significant woodpecker damage!
With how inexpensive the average woodpecker deterrent is today, you’re much better off buying something intended for woodpecker removal than experimenting with stuff laying around the house. Your wallet will thank you in the long run!
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- Pros – Free way to try and get rid of woodpeckers.
- Cons – Will almost certainly fail. The time wasted experimenting with these materials will result in additional damage being done.
Items like hanging pie tins and CDs attempt to emulate the effects of the Bird Repellent Discs by reflecting light to scare woodpeckers away. They are both significantly inferior to professional woodpecker products in both quality and durability. These items are not intended to be out in the elements like proper woodpecker deterrents. All of those products are waterproof and built to be outside year round.
Pie tins don’t reflect much light at all, especially compared to an item that is intended to be reflective. I have actually witnessed birds hanging out inside pie tins that were put there to frighten them.
CDs are better than pie tins but they do not reflect the same amount of light as bird repellent discs or bird repellent tape. They are also only reflective on one side. Even assuming that you were able to strip the other side of the cd to make both sides reflective, they will not move like the bird repellent discs because they are not attached to a swivel.
In your attempt to ward off these birds, you’re much better off using a product that was intended for this purpose rather than wasting your time on something that was doomed to fail from the onset.
Head over to the Best Woodpecker Deterrents page for proper woodpecker products that will get rid of your problem for good!
The Repair Woodpecker Damage page also has everything you need to know to fix woodpecker related damage.
Please feel free to leave comments below!
WOW never thought that discs were so ineffective, your advice is very valuable for me for the future. Never knew there were bird repellent discs out there. Very interesting stuff here!
Will definitely be taking this into account. Good article!
Your pros and cons are incredibly helpful also and might look into these for the future as there is a lifetime garauntee!
I’m sure you meant that the Compact Discs were ineffective when you said “discs.” The Bird Repellent Discs however are impeccable. Anyone who’s been to this site before knows how much I love these things!
The lifetime guarantee is definitely one of the best features of this product. This company that makes these really stands behind their products! You will find a very good guarantee on their Bird Repellent Tape as well.
I’m very glad that you found this article helpful and I hope it’s able to help you going forward. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask!
I’m always here to help those in need!
This is probably the most unique website idea I have seen, so well done on that.
I like how the article actually addresses a common thing people do and describes why it isn’t a good idea. My grandparents have tried both of these and I remember watching the woodpecker and other birds hang out under the pie tin. It made my grandpa mad but it was honestly rather hilarious.
Your writing flows really well. You also keep the article short enough to keep it interesting.
One thing I learned is that the reflective light is what is supposed to drive the birds away. I always thought it was the noise. I haven’t looked at other pages of your site yet.
Thanks for sharing. I learned something =)
Erin
I’m glad you found the site and article interesting. That’s a really funny story about your grandparents! Pie tins are a pretty bad woodpecker deterrent so the experience that your grandfather had is very typical! Using a quality woodpecker deterrent is essential for getting rid of these birds for good. Homemade remedies just prove to be a waste of time and effort!
Although noise is a very effective way to deter woodpeckers, I often recommend using a visual deterrent to start out with. I do this because it is cheaper than audio deterrents and often gets the job done! However, it can be a bit more labor intensive.
For visual deterrents, I highly recommend Bird Repellent Discs, Bird Repellent Tape, or Bird Repellent Balloons. These are the three best ones in my opinion!
Now you can go back to your grandparents and pull their pie tins down (unless you would rather enjoy a good laugh :P)
Thanks again for the kind words!