# How to keep woodpeckers off of my house?



## pjrose (Oct 23, 2009)

Yeah, I know, don't live in the woods and don't have a house with wood siding.  Sit outside with a shotgun or sling shot.  Hang shiny metal pie plates on the house.  

Apart from those....is there something we can spray or ??? that will keep it from pecking holes in our siding?  When I open the door it flies off, but a few minutes later...peck peck peck.  Yesterday I shot some wasp and hornet spray on the area it had been making holes, thinking that would smell or taste bad, but the woodpecker is right back there again.  (I'm not trying to poison it, but the spray had a long reach.)


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 23, 2009)

pjrose said:


> Yeah, I know, don't live in the woods and don't have a house with wood siding.  Sit outside with a shotgun or sling shot.  Hang shiny metal pie plates on the house.
> 
> Apart from those....is there something we can spray or ??? that will keep it from pecking holes in our siding?  When I open the door it flies off, but a few minutes later...peck peck peck.  Yesterday I shot some wasp and hornet spray on the area it had been making holes, thinking that would smell or taste bad, but the woodpecker is right back there again.  (I'm not trying to poison it, but the spray had a long reach.)



Have you considered that the woodpecker may be the symptom, not the problem?  The bird is probably drilling into your siding because there's food (bugs) living inside your walls. If there weren't food there the bird wouldn't be drilling there.


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## NWL (Oct 23, 2009)

I do agree with Steve.  They are pecking at the house because there is food there.  Here's a solution for the short term that worked for me: get one of those big blaster water guns.  Use it every time you go outside to chase the woodpecker off.  Sooner or later you will hit it.  Even the huge pileated woodpecker that was falling in love with my house got the message.

Cheers!


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## pjrose (Oct 23, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Have you considered that the woodpecker may be the symptom, not the problem?  The bird is probably drilling into your siding because there's food (bugs) living inside your walls. If there weren't food there the bird wouldn't be drilling there.



Well yes, but we live in the woods and there's plenty of food in the trees around the house too.  I want birdy to choose a different dining spot.


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## pjrose (Oct 23, 2009)

NWL said:


> I do agree with Steve.  They are pecking at the house because there is food there.  Here's a solution for the short term that worked for me: get one of those big blaster water guns.  Use it every time you go outside to chase the woodpecker off.  Sooner or later you will hit it.  Even the huge pileated woodpecker that was falling in love with my house got the message.
> 
> Cheers!



We've got some in the garage and I'm going to have four teenagers here over the weekend - sounds like they'll be playing with the water guns!  :whoopie:


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## ScoopKona (Oct 23, 2009)

pjrose said:


> Well yes, but we live in the woods and there's plenty of food in the trees around the house too.  I want birdy to choose a different dining spot.



That may mean that your house has A LOT MORE BUGS that are easier to get than the surrounding trees. I wouldn't feel particularly comforted by that thought.

If it were my house, I'd be up on a ladder to investigate why the bird is going for that specific spot. Big nest of termites, perhaps? Carpenter ants?


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## pjrose (Oct 23, 2009)

During the summer we had a few very large bees(?) drilling into the house, presumably laying their eggs.  I don't think the bird is going for the same area, but maybe that's it.  I guess someone with better knees than mine will have to climb up a ladder and check.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 23, 2009)

pjrose said:


> During the summer we had a few very large bees(?) drilling into the house, presumably laying their eggs.  I don't think the bird is going for the same area, but maybe that's it.  I guess someone with better knees than mine will have to climb up a ladder and check.



As Scoop said, they are going for the easy food. 

Consider that their primary food source is critters that live in and consume wood.  If I were you I would be interested to find out what is there that the birds find so tasty. If they identify a carpenter ant infestation for you you should be thankful.


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## swift (Oct 23, 2009)

Have you tried a fake owl. It has to be one that can move it's head though either with the wind or with batteries. The ones that just sit there don't work at all.


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## laurac260 (Oct 23, 2009)

pjrose said:


> During the summer we had a few very large bees(?) drilling into the house, presumably laying their eggs.  I don't think the bird is going for the same area, but maybe that's it.  I guess someone with better knees than mine will have to climb up a ladder and check.




hmmm...carpenter bees.  We had this problem with the kids playset.  We have tons of trees behind us, but as soon as the playset arrived, so did the carpenter bees.  They find a vulernable spot in the wood (or make one of their own), make a small hole, and then lay their eggs.  When the larvae hatch, the birds feast.  The hole the bees made was very neat and tidy.  The damage the birds do on the other hand... we had to order a new support beam for the playset and it is less than a year old.  The original beam was all but destroyed in some crucial weight bearing places.   Carpenter bees at first glance look like large honey bees, but they are not "furry", are much bigger, and very aggressive.  They don't sting, but it is my understanding they will bite.    

That doesn't solve your woodpecker problem though.  For that I have no answers other than what previous posters have mentioned, you need to find the CAUSE of the problem and erradicate that.  Before you need new wood shutters/siding


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## easyrider (Oct 23, 2009)

The acoustics of the house or power poles when pecked on is louder than a living tree so the woodpecker wants all other woodpeckers to know this is my teritory, if you here this stay away. I doubt you have a bug infestation that high on your wall as there usally isn't enough moisture to support them. 

To get rid of the woodpecker you need to scare it away. You could use a battery operated doorbell and push the switch when you here it pecking.

good luck


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## nicklinneh (Oct 23, 2009)

*carpenter bees are your problem!*

the woodpecker is only pecking at the entrance hole. the bees have gone in and built (chewed out) galleries back in your fascia that you can't even see. you can puff in poisons to kill them now, but they'll be back next year especially if you have flowering plants. if you keep after them when the plants flower, the woodpecker will go wherever they go. good luck, i've had them. -ken


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## Talent312 (Oct 23, 2009)

How about tacking up some chicken fencing?


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## dmbrand (Oct 23, 2009)

Try using a windsock, hanging outside a window.

Every year, in the fall, we have woodpeckers that visit us to munch on our cedar siding. On a whim, I hung out a colorful windsock from the second floor window, and it did the trick.  Makes for some interesting comments from the neighbors.

The woodpeckers that we get aren't pecking for bugs, I believe they are being territorial.  These birds are young males.  They can do alot of damage in a short period of time, so sometimes I feel like Bill Murray in Caddyshack....always trying something new to stop them.


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## Makai Guy (Oct 23, 2009)

I had this problem on the chimney a couple of houses ago, which had cedar siding.  I think a previous poster was right in that pecking here produced an exceptionally loud reverberating noise to mark territory, rather than finding bugs.  I patched the holes with plastic wood, but the birds came back and pecked them out too.  So they weren't only woodpeckers, they were also plasticpeckers.  

Eventually, placing a fake owl at the top of the chimney eliminated the problem.  Of course, that's how I discovered I'd developed a fear of heights, but that's a different story ...


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## riverdees05 (Oct 23, 2009)

Remember that Woodpeckers are protected, so you can NOT legally kill them.


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## 1950bing (Oct 23, 2009)

My nieghbor has this problem and he hung a bunch of CDs on a string on the house. My ? How does he know what CDs woodpeckers don't like ???


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## NWL (Oct 23, 2009)

riverdees05 said:


> Remember that Woodpeckers are protected, so you can legally kill them.



If they are protected, you cannot legally kill them.  Which part of your statement needs correction? 

Cheers!


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## easyrider (Oct 24, 2009)

1950bing said:


> My nieghbor has this problem and he hung a bunch of CDs on a string on the house. My ? How does he know what CDs woodpeckers don't like ???



They only like the theme from the Woody Woodpecker Show.


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## Kittykatz (Oct 24, 2009)

1950bing said:


> My nieghbor has this problem and he hung a bunch of CDs on a string on the house. My ? How does he know what CDs woodpeckers don't like ???



More like mirror, mirror on the wall.. the reflection scares them away.. I've heard of using Mylar before


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## riverdees05 (Oct 24, 2009)

I used the CDs and the Mylar strips, it helped keep them away.  I think they like folks music the best, but I used free AOL CDs instead.


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Oct 24, 2009)

We had a couple years where we had pretty large size holes, almost perfectly lined up, up and down the front of our wood shingle house. I called Terminex, thinking it might be bees or beetles. They sprayed, we repainted. We still have Terminex come regularly (cheaper than an occasional call), and have had no problems since. I would try to get rid of what the woodpeckers are going after. That might be damaging your siding.
Liz


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## Don (Oct 24, 2009)

It was a Thur. morning when we were still living in VA.  My wife called me at work saying that the gas water heater was banging like it was going to explode.  She went to work and I came home.  I tried to duplicate everything she was doing at the time and heard nothing out of the ordinary.  The next day, she called again and said she heard the same noise in the gas furnace, this time.  I figured the gas company was working on the pipes and the sound was traveling.  On Sat. morning, I heard the banging, again in the furnace.  The noise was coming from above.  I went outside and saw a woodpecker drumming on the metal stove pipe coming out of the roof.  
Woodpeckers drum on things that make loud noises in the spring to attract mates.  Down here in FL we have stuccopeckers.


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## pjrose (Oct 24, 2009)

riverdees05 said:


> I used the CDs and the Mylar strips, it helped keep them away.  I think they like folks music the best, but *I used free AOL CDs instead.*



I looked those up on eBay once - and they were actually being bought!


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## 1950bing (Nov 2, 2009)

Seems best to use woodpecker wire since the op does not have a chicken problem.


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## pgnewarkboy (Nov 2, 2009)

I bing'd your problem.  It appears to be very common.  No need to regurgitate what the sites say but you will find a solution for sure if you do an internet search.


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## pjrose (Nov 2, 2009)

Ah, but with a search I can't be sure of the quality of the information.  Since TUG is the source of all knowledge, I know I'll get good advice!


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## MuranoJo (Nov 3, 2009)

True, PJ, TUG to me is a more trusted source.
And I'm here because I've recently encountered the same problem outside my home office, and high up near the roofline.  (Imagine being on a conference call when this starts up.)

Also saw one of the little devils in the backyard nailing one of the trees yesterday.  We have flickers all over the place here, but the one in the backyard looked smaller.  Will have to do some research.


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## pgnewarkboy (Nov 3, 2009)

pjrose said:


> Ah, but with a search I can't be sure of the quality of the information.  Since TUG is the source of all knowledge, I know I'll get good advice!



You must be right.  There is a rumor that Bing and Google will be searching the TUG for the correct answers to all questions and placing TUG posts at the top of their search results.


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## pjrose (Nov 3, 2009)

pgnewarkboy said:


> You must be right.  There is a rumor that Bing and Google will be searching the TUG for the correct answers to all questions and placing TUG posts at the top of their search results.



Oh yeah!  Then with all the potential new TUG members maybe we'll get unlimited free ads!     Maybe the members whose posts get the most hits will get lifetime memberships!   

(But since that hasn't been instituted quite yet, I will take your earlier suggestion and search Google myself to find out more about the annoying birdie.)


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