Woodpeckers -- How to make one stop putting holes in my house??

[dcrage 621]

I have cedar siding on my house (My wife and I just like real wood) -- We have had this siding for 12 years -- Woodpeckers have been banging on some of the band boards over the years but nothing major-- Until this summer -- One has decided the wall right under the eve would make a great home -- It has made a 3 inch hole thru the siding, thru the wafer board sheeting, pulled out a bunch of the blown paper siding -- I guess it wants to spend the winter next to my closet -- Just a 1/2 inch of dry wall between me and the bird

Needless to say, I closed the hole up, and the the woodpecker put another hole in the same spot, I closed it again, and the bird opened it a third time -- It takes the damn bird about one day to get back in

Anybody got any ideas on how to repel a woodpecker, or at least keep them from wanting to live in my closet wall

And for what it is worth I don't want to start learning how to bird hunt around my house

[CRE1992 135]

Lol if it is that troublesome you might as well shoot it. I know the people in my family would. You could try looking up bird repellants online. However if you plan on getting rid of the little rascal make sure it is not an endangered species.

You could also get a fishing net with very small holes (even a butterfly net), and put it over the hole of the house at night while the wood pecker is in it, then with a flashlight shine it in the hole and bang on the siding. The little bugger should fly right out. Now the tricky part is getting him down to the ground. So drag the net slowly and carefully down the siding until your wife can slide a piece of cardboard between the siding and the net. After which you carefully transfer the net to the ground. Then to get him into a pet carrier, or some sort of box, however being a wood pecker, I would think that cardboard would not be a good option Lol. I would wear gloves, and carefully slide your hands into the net and cup the bird (hands positioned around each wing) and firmly but easy to not injure the bird transfer it to the container with holes or something so it can breathe. Afterward take for a long long ride. 45 mins plus! PS if you decide to do this, please have a third person with a video camera, I think it would be quite funny.

Also, I have had many bird and parrots, this method does work, just take part in being careful not to hurt the bird.

-Charles

[AMC RULES 36,945]

Well, they say your home is your biggest investment in life.

I'm thinking...Woody's gotta go...permanently.

[6wheeler 586]

Here's an easy trick. And it works for squirrels too. Get an Owl decoy. One that looks relatively real. Cover the holes when the portable jackhammer is out and place the owl on the roof close by so it is easily seen. Make sure it looks as real as possible (you may have to temporarily mount it). Then you move it to different locations, so the live invaders don't get used to it. After a couple of days,put it away for a day and then bring it out again. Just keep moving it around. I had a little pecker that loved the cedar siding on the dormers on my old house, he must have thought it was a giant bird house. The only drawback? It scares away songbirds as well, but after a week or so of doing this. You may be able to hide it for awhile. Bring it out whenever the problem starts. Good Luck Pat

[redidbull 54]

http://birds.audubon.org/faq/why-woodpecker-damaging-my-house-and-how-do-i-stop-it

http://www.metromastergardeners.org/faq/index.php?action=artikel&cat=9&id=16&artlang=en

Jim

[whfan74 2,015]

At my old house we had the same problem. I went out and bought some clear silicone and filled up the hole and smoothed it off. After that I had no problems at all. Just a thought.........

[dsholler 54]

the pest control guy that I asked about this said that the only perfect solution was to shoot it. However, a trick I have used to keep birds off of the boat and the woodpecker off the house is to hang something shiny that moves right near the location. I used to use the mylar tape like in the old cassette players, but since that is hard to come by these days, an old backup CD/DVD hung on a string so it can spin in the breeze seems to do the trick.

[KATO 115]

I'd shoot the little (wood)pecker !!

[specialwheelhorse 174]

After replacing the upper trim on my sisters place ( Many Woodpeckers)

We put a band of hardware cloth on both sides of her place.

Not all that noticable on western cedar !! Problem solved !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HorseFixer 2,012]

........................................

GATLIN GUN!

[VinsRJ 721]

Just shoot it. Sounds mean but the alternative is continuously fix the house. Ask me how I know. :snooty:

[AMC RULES 36,945]

Listen to Troy...you gotta..."SHOOT EM LIZABETH"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJx-pi_vIoM

[roscoemi 245]

Sounds like your puttin out bait. Maybe try a small pressure mat developed for the military. Cover the hole with it and when he bangs on it he blows himself to hell and back and there is nothing left to pick up. Kinda self solving and self cleaning! :ychain:

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 132]

If you don't want to kill it then you could always put a nice bird house near the hole and maybe it will use that instead.

[krazy_horse 59]

These birds are smart, they fly off when you go outside. We tried sever things including hanging up old pie tins. What finally stopped him was a 22 rifle with rat shot.

[Tap53 57]

Wait, this is simple, All you need to do is cut his pecker off.

[dcrage 621]

Wait, this is simple, All you need to do is cut his pecker off.

My wife said that this A.M. -- She thought she was so funny saying that

[blackdogfarm 0]

build it a bird house and put the new birdhouse over the hole in the wall.....

[groundhog47 347]

I have cedar siding on my house (My wife and I just like real wood) -- We have had this siding for 12 years -- Woodpeckers have been banging on some of the band boards over the years but nothing major-- Until this summer -- One has decided the wall right under the eve would make a great home -- It has made a 3 inch hole thru the siding, thru the wafer board sheeting, pulled out a bunch of the blown paper siding -- I guess it wants to spend the winter next to my closet -- Just a 1/2 inch of dry wall between me and the bird

Needless to say, I closed the hole up, and the the woodpecker put another hole in the same spot, I closed it again, and the bird opened it a third time -- It takes the damn bird about one day to get back in

Anybody got any ideas on how to repel a woodpecker, or at least keep them from wanting to live in my closet wall

And for what it is worth I don't want to start learning how to bird hunt around my house

I've got brick that resemble tree bark in color and the Wood Peckers are from time to time goin' to town peckin' away, they pecked holes in my shop screens years back, Never found a city way to rid them way short of bein'home and runnin' outside. Gets old!

[tunahead72 2,346]

Dave,

The short answer to your question is that you may not be able to.

I've tried the scare balloons, the shiny tape thingies, Ropel (a bitter-tasting spray that's supposed to repel them, but just seems to p*ss 'em off), spraying them with a hose as they're flying away -- none of these things seems to keep them away for very long. I actually have a box in my basement labeled "bird control supplies", that about says it all. Plus these solutions just look weird on your house, almost as bizarre as the 6" squares of aluminum flashing that now cover the dozens of holes the peckers have created in my walls.

I've given up, the next step is something with more of a "bang". Legal, illegal, what's the difference? They won't stop, it's my house, and there's plenty of other woodpeckers out there ready to carry on the tradition.

I suspect the ultimate solution will be to replace the siding with cement-fiber siding, there's some pretty realistic wood look-alikes on the market these days, expensive but I hear it stops them.

By the way, if you feed birds at your house, I would stop. I used to feed them all year round, but the woodpeckers are also attracted to the feeders. I stopped, and I don't have as many attacking my house these days, but they're not gone completely.

Good luck!