Woodpeckers

Rdubya18 · 2019-11-16T23:08:02.000Z

Anyone have trouble with woodpeckers makin holes in your house ? How are you dealing with them ? ( short of shooting them ) Hanging the shiny streamers seems to keep them away , but it looks awful and sucks to do . Right now , I tell people that’s my Christmas decorations .

Helios_azimuth · 2019-11-16T23:19:17.000Z

We put sheet metal around our chimneys and painted to match. When we are outside, I carry a slingshot to scare them away, but am careful to miss them since all songbirds are protected by Federal law in the USA. There might be an exemption if you are involved in commercial agriculture since they destroy trees, but I am not certain about that. I am also careful to not break a window since those are protected by law of the wife. If woodpeckers nest near your house, bothering them with your flashlight at night might encourage them to relocate. And gray foxes climb trees to eat birds and eggs, so do not scare them off if you live in the country. Let us know what works for you.

aginthelaw · 2019-11-16T23:35:07.000Z

Woodpeckers sing? I thought they were the percussion section. I’m usually home during the day so when I hear them pecking, I throw a tennis ball at them. My throwing arm had surgery so I don’t worry about hitting them. One or two throws & they move on.

Rdubya18 · 2019-11-16T23:58:03.000Z

I kept throwing a frisbee at them , but within a few minutes they’d return . It’s surprising how quickly they can make a large hole .

Helios_azimuth · 2019-11-17T00:03:12.000Z

You are correct, they are not classified as song birds but as “nongame migratory birds.” But almost all birds without a hunting season are protected.

toddcshoe · 2019-11-17T02:21:40.000Z

They sit on my satellite dish and bang the heck out of it. I don’t understand why. I quit questioning things I have no possibility of ever understanding.

Anyway. I have some Klipsch outdoor speakers fairly close to the satellite dish. The amp is inside nice and dry of course. I downloaded one of those gun shot apps for my phone. When they get to banging on that damn thing I connect my phone to the amp and crank it up. I’ve never heard them twice in the same day after that. That action may be frowned upon where you live but here in the rural midwest it’s not even noticed.

Lightbringer · 2019-11-17T03:16:10.000Z

Funny, but just t’other day I saw/heard one pecking angrily at the top of a telephone pole.

How they don’t end up with migraines is beyond me.

Anyhoo, fake owls with holographic eyes are supposed to work, but I got a picture of one on a neighbor’s house with a big fat pigeon perched atop the fake owl’s head, so…

tekwyzrd · 2019-11-17T04:06:21.000Z

There’s a woodpecker in my area that shows up from time to time that starts pecking at aluminum siding and gutters. Stupid bird. When I see it land on one of my healthy trees I scare it away.

Grigio · 2019-11-17T04:19:22.000Z

Lightbringer:

…….

How they don’t end up with migraines is beyond me……

This is how.

Rdubya18 · 2019-11-17T13:22:43.000Z

I have read they sometimes peck on things to communicate with each other. I thought maybe this was why they are beating up my house since it’s not for bugs . They only peck the corners , thank goodness. Have thought about putting aluminum on the corners , but from what toddcshoe , and tekwyzrd , say , that won’t be a deterrent. Thanks for that info .

Flying_Luminosity · 2019-11-17T14:25:00.000Z

If it’s so annoying for humans, just imagine how other birds must feel about the constant pecking!

https://i.imgur.com/Fk4yClo.jpg

Jack_Kellar · 2019-11-18T02:12:03.000Z

The 3S rule applies. Don’t tell us of any results.

deleted-200707 · 2019-11-18T02:13:58.000Z

Our two English walnut trees are wonderfully productive, butt they now look like they are sheathed in pegboard.

bushmaster · 2019-11-18T02:34:01.000Z

As a logger by trade, I have considerable experience with woodpeckers. Kind of a woodpecker myself I suppose. I think the pecking on non-food objects is their version of a territorial message to other woodpeckers. Most birds voice their territoriality by song but most species of woodpeckers are not very vocal. Hence they use their pecking sounds. If you listen to them when they’re pecking on metallic objects, their pecking is often a repetitive sequence of x number of taps followed by xx number of taps, etc. You can memorize the sequence and mimic it by tapping on a metal object yourself. Sometimes they will answer in an agitated manner. I think it pisses them off.

Rdubya18 · 2019-11-18T09:41:22.000Z

Out of all my “ brilliant “ ideas of why they keep picking on my house , I never thought of territorial. I was leaning more to a mating thing ! Territory makes more sense.

Cereal_killer · 2019-11-18T10:16:58.000Z

Find out what other kinds of birds native to your area they don’t like then draw those in.

It doesn’t have to be a predatory bird, I bet there’s some species out there they just overall don’t get along with.

pennzy · 2019-11-18T12:16:56.000Z

22 bird shot is my go to for non lethal deterrence at further distances. It gets their attention. You have to experiment out of your rifle at various distances on a beer can to see it’s effectiveness. Out of a revolver it won’t penetrate a can at 10ft. Out of a rifle it is more powerful. We have Pileated woodpeckers that are huge. Luckily they haven’t attacked my house. When they bang on a road sign it is loud. My wife is a birder and has a feeder close to the house with suet for the smaller woodpeckers. Maybe this diverts their attention from the house.