Get Rid of Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers use their sharp bills to peck holes in trees, then stick their long, barbed tongues inside to poke around for insects. Woodpeckers also drum to stake out their territory and find mates. If a woodpecker views your home as its territory, it may cause exterior damage and annoy you with its drumming. Learn how to keep woodpeckers away from your home and property.
Contents
Steps
Changing the Woodpeckers' Food Source
- Examine your home for signs of insect infestation. If woodpeckers repeatedly drum on your home, chances are they're doing so for good reason. Your home may be harboring an insect population, such as bees, ants, or termites, and providing an inviting atmosphere for woodpeckers. Taking action to remove the food your home is providing is the first step to getting rid of woodpeckers.
- Go to your attic or the area of your house closest to where the woodpecker has been pecking. Look for dead insects lying on the windowsills and in corners. Check for bees' nests in the rafters. Look for loose, rotting wood both inside and outside the house. These are all signs of an insect infestation.
- If you see signs of an insect infestation, take measures to get it treated right away. Use a natural method to get rid of the insects or call an exterminator to take care of the problem.
- Place a suet woodpecker feeder near the outside of your home. Woodpeckers like to feed on suet, which is made from the fat of a cow and is available for purchase at wild bird or pet stores. Hang the feeder well away from the ground so the suet doesn't get eaten by other creatures.
- Place the feeder close to the place on your home where the woodpeckers tend to drum. They'll notice the suet and start feeding there instead.
- Gradually move the feeder away from your home, a few feet each day, until it's well away from your house. Hopefully you will have trained the woodpeckers to feed on the suet, rather than drumming on your house.
- Suet can melt in hot weather and coat birds' wings, damaging their plumage. Don't use suet during the hottest days of summer.
- Keep the suet available throughout the fall, winter and spring months, when food is most scarce.
- Plant fruit trees and berry bushes. Woodpeckers are attracted to sweet fruits, so strategically planting fruit trees and berry bushes around the perimeter of your yard, rather than close to your house, might attract them away from your home. On the flip side, make sure no fruit or berry bushes are planted too close to your house.
Using Woodpecker Deterrents
- Use visual deterrents. Woodpeckers are easily scared off by the sight of predators, shiny materials, and anything out of the ordinary, especially if it moves. Try affixing the following visual deterrents to your house in the area where woodpeckers have caused damage:
- Hang aluminum pie plates, foil strips or reflective tape on your home. The pieces of aluminum should be long enough to dangle and move in the wind, which scares woodpeckers away. Aluminum flashing, a material sold at hardware stores, can also be nailed to your house to protect it from woodpeckers.
- Hang pieces of string or colorful rope in the areas where woodpeckers like to hang out.
- Place a hawk, owl or eagle figurine on your rafters close to where you've seen woodpeckers.
- Hang a flag or decoration near the area for a more visually appealing solution. A windsock or windmill that moves quickly when the wind blows works well to scare woodpeckers away.
- Keep woodpeckers away with noise. Woodpeckers are scared by the sound of their predators and other unfamiliar noises. Install one of the following sound deterrents hear the area where woodpeckers drum on your home:
- Purchase an ultrasonic recording of a woodpecker in distress, along with predator sounds, and put it in your attic window or somewhere close to the top of your house. Program the device to go off periodically day and night to keep woodpeckers away. More expensive sound systems can be programmed to make the predator sounds when a woodpecker comes close.
- Place several wind chimes on and around your house. The noise from these chimes may discourage woodpecker visitors.
Keeping Your House Secure
- Repair holes in your house to discourage woodpeckers. Once one woodpecker drills holes in your home, more will be drawn to the area. Insects may crawl into the holes and infest your house, exacerbating the problem.
- Use putty to fill the woodpecker holes as soon as you find them.
- Paint over the putty when it dries with polyurethane or oil-based paints, which deter insects from using your home as a nesting site. Fewer insects means fewer woodpeckers.
- Protect your home from further damage. Secure hardware cloth, plastic netting or bird netting to the damaged areas of your home. This will prevent the woodpeckers from doing more damage to the area.
- Call your county extension office for help. The federal migratory bird act protects woodpeckers, but a professional can safely trap and release the woodpecker in a better location.
Tips
- Combine all of the above methods for best results.
Warnings
- Do not shoot, trap or harm woodpeckers. Federal law protects these birds.
Things You'll Need
- Aluminum pie plates, foil strips or reflective tape
- Windsock or windmill
- Plastic owl or hawk that moves
- Ultrasonic recordings
- Wind chimes
- Suet feeder and suet
- Hardware cloth, plastic netting or bird netting
