How to Get Rid of Woodpeckers
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Few things interrupt the beauty of a warm spring morning like the sound of a woodpecker drilling into your home. Woodpeckers can do thousands of dollars of damage if they make nests in the exterior of your home. We’ll show you how to safely get rid of birds, specifically woodpeckers, and keep them away from your property without harming them.
Check out this “Ask This Old House” video to explore woodpecker damage, repair, and prevention:
Signs of Woodpecker Damage
Woodpeckers perform their characteristic pecking behavior to get food, create shelter, or communicate with other birds. Their hard, sharp beaks can drill into wood in order to retrieve any juicy insects inside or bore holes for their nests. They also drum their beaks against hard surfaces to communicate with each other, mostly to mark territory or court their mates.
Of course, this fascinating behavior also makes them pests. Repeated drumming from a woodpecker’s bill can damage a variety of surfaces. They can drill holes in trees, wooden structures, and even stucco siding.
Characteristic woodpecker damage often looks like a series of small, deep holes in a horizontal or vertical line. Alternatively, there may be larger nesting holes. You’ll usually know the damage comes from woodpeckers rather than insects based on the accompanying noise and the regularity of the holes.
Although woodpeckers won’t find food or shelter in structures like metal chimneys or gutters, they may find that drumming on these produces a much louder sound—the better to claim their territory with. This probably won’t do much overall damage to your home, but it’ll give you a headache in short order. In general, how animals get into your home is an issue that’s worth solving.
Quick Tip
- As with all bird pests, you don’t want to kill woodpeckers. They’re important parts of the ecosystem, and they’re beautiful and interesting birds. Additionally, in the United States, they’re protected by the Migratory Bird Act of 1918 (even though they don’t migrate). Instead of eliminating them, you want to direct their focus away from your home and landscaping.
Three Ways to Get Rid of Woodpeckers
Remove or Change the Food Source
Insects are woodpeckers’ primary food source, so if your home or yard has an infestation, it could look like a free buffet. Bees, ants, and termites are all common reasons for woodpeckers to target a home, so check for signs of infestations, including hives, rotting wood, or dead insects. Treat for insects yourself or call an exterminator. A top-tier pest control company will be happy to help you root out the problem.
If you’re still having problems after you’ve removed this food source, give the woodpeckers something else to eat. These birds like to eat suet, a product made from cow fat, particularly in the late fall, winter, and early spring when other food is scarce. Set up a bird feeder near where the woodpeckers are currently feeding to attract them to a different meal. After a day or so, begin gradually moving the feeder away from your home by a few feet each day. Remove the feeder completely once summer arrives and the birds are trained to avoid your home.
Finally, woodpeckers do eat fruits and berries as well, so you can plant fruit trees and bushes around the perimeter of your yard, well away from your house, to divert the birds’ attention from your home.
Frighten the Woodpeckers Away
Deterrents are objects or products that keep pests away from your home, so consider investing in some woodpecker deterrents. Various anecdotal sources recommend hanging or placing objects that reflect light, move, or make a sound. You might set up pinwheels or hang old CDs or wind chimes.
You can also purchase a decoy owl to make it appear as though a predator is in the area. However, many homeowners report that these methods are only effective for a short time. The woodpeckers are smart enough to realize that there is no real threat and return after a few days.
Reflective “scare” tape has a better track record than most other woodpecker deterrents. You will need to place long strips of this tape dangling in front of areas of woodpecker damage. As it blows in the breeze, its extremely reflective, shiny surface will irritate the birds’ eyes and keep them away. Keep in mind that this tape will deteriorate or detach over time, and it may not work without wind present. Don’t use sticky substances or gels to keep birds away. These substances can collect on feathers and harm the birds.
Prevent Woodpeckers from Returning
For a more permanent solution, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends bird netting as the only product that reliably keeps woodpeckers away. A mesh size of 1 inch or smaller, hung at least 3 inches away from the surface in question, will physically prevent the woodpecker from accessing the area.
Netting and burlap sacks can also be used to protect trees. These can be time-consuming to install properly, but they’re less noticeable than reflective tape. Once you install netting, remember to inspect it periodically for damage, as holes will make it ineffective.
Another preventative step you can take is to hire a pest control company to eliminate any insects that may attract woodpeckers back to your home. We recommend getting quotes from multiple companies so you can find the best pest control provider for your needs.
Our Rating Methodology
We back up our pest control recommendations with a detailed rating methodology that we use to objectively score each provider. We review pest control plans, navigate the provider website, speak with customer service representatives by phone and online chat (if available), request quotes, and analyze customer reviews for each provider. We then score the provider against our review standards for plans and services, reputation and customer responses, customer service offerings, workmanship guarantees, financing, and availability to arrive at a final score on a 5-point rating scale.
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