First, you need to realize that the woodpeckers are not damaging your house or disturbing your sleep because they have a personal vendetta against you. There is a reason behind this assault on your senses, especially early in the morning. In fact, there could be several reasons. Once you know them, you will be better able to apply the right solution.
Why are woodpeckers trying to destroy my house and/or my sanity?
1. To attract a mate
2. To establish a territory
3. To make a cavity for a nest
4. To find food
Since woodpeckers don’t have a song to sing that will capture the heart of a potential mate, they do what comes naturally: they become hammerheads! A woodpecker has a reinforced skull that has also been fitted with essential padding to cushion its brain. Pecking at 20 times per second, you can easily see how they could have a major migraine, if not a concussion, without that natural protection.
Its natural targets are trees, of course, but any tall object will do. It doesn’t even need to be wood, as my metal chimney flue can attest. Utility poles are another good surface for drumming. This thumping sound will echo and be heard over very long distances. If there are potential partners around, this form of communication does not fail.
Woodpeckers have calls that they use in conjunction with drumming on surfaces. These cries consist, among others, of ‘pit-pit’ or ‘chick-chick’, sometimes high-pitched, depending on the circumstances. I have a red-bellied woodpecker that pounces on the bird feeders, all the while giving out its loud, high-pitched ‘chink-chink’ call. It’s like he’s saying “gang, here I come”! This strategy is very effective as all other birds scatter before it.
Another very important reason for woodpeckers to strike surfaces is to establish their territory.
They fly from tree to tree; beating each one to make sure would-be intruders know not to cross certain lines. Each tree produces a different sound that will create a kind of musical table. Woodpeckers check this chart every day, often many times a day, especially in the spring when territories and mates are most important.
Woodpeckers nest in natural cavities.. The wood of its house is no different to this bird than a tree would be, making it a potential nesting site. With all the urban development and loss of natural habitat, woodpeckers take what they can to survive. Normally a dead tree or ‘snag’ would serve this bird’s purpose very well. However, most people do not like having unsightly and perhaps dangerous dead trees around their property. Well, you can see problems arise, as always, when humans and animals are forced to live in the same habitat.
Food sources like insects and their larvae reside in the wood, sometimes even in your wood siding.. If a woodpecker continues to peck in the same spot, especially when it’s not spring, you may have an infestation. These birds can feel the vibrations that the insects and their young place in the wood. Equipped with barbed tongues up to 4″ long, woodpeckers can reach into holes or under the bark and easily snag their meals. Continually striking in the same spot should have you checking the yellow pages for a professional exterminator. As At a minimum, the exterminator can determine if carpenter bees or other insects are actually present in your wood.
Ok, now we know why these drummers do what they do, what can we do to stop them?
Here are my recommendations for natural, non-toxic remedies for your woodpecker problem:
1. Depending on where in the house the damage occurs, try a non-toxic natural spray repellent. These repellents taste and smell bad for a woodpecker.
2. Again, depending on the position of the damage and how easily accessible it is to you, there are mesh products that can be placed in the area in question.
3. Consider installing a woodpecker nest box to provide a cavity for them to nest in. Consult a bird identification guide to determine what size nest would be appropriate. Where I live there are 3 different woodpeckers that come to my bird feeders all year long: hairy, downy, and red-bellied. I use a particular pneumonic to help me remember which is which because both the fluffy and fluffy females have the same black and white markings; the male downy woodpecker has a red spot on its head, while the male downy woodpecker has one on the back of its head; but they are of different sizes. That is: hairy =hhuge compared to down, which is dainty The red-bellied woodpecker has black and white wings, and a red head and neck, with a hint of red on the stomach, and is large. Everyone has different nest box needs.
4. This never fails me. Add a suet feeder and keep it full all year. They now have non-melt suet that is safe to use in warmer climates. Like magic, my woodpecker problems disappear when I give them suet. A jelly feeder and/or mealworm feeder doesn’t hurt either. Woodpeckers really have a sweet tooth and can taste sweetness. They regularly visit my oriole nectar feeder and hummer feeder which has a larger perching area.
5. As a last resort, you can hang shiny mylar strips near the area where woodpeckers peck. Shiny objects that move in the wind unpredictably will help deter their efforts and encourage them to keep going. Find them online or at your local hardware store. Those fake owls and hawks, save your money, woodpeckers soon realize they’re not real.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES KILL A WOODPECKER, EVEN ANNOYING. ALL WOODPECKERS ARE PROTECTED BY LAW, AND YOU WILL FACE EXCESSIVE FINES AND POSSIBLE JAIL TIME!
The use of insecticides is one of the biggest threats to our woodpecker populations because they eliminate their natural food sources. The other problem is the loss of dead trees in which to nest and forage. In my forest I have many poplars. These are loved by the largest woodpecker in North America – the Pileated Woodpecker. Males arrive in early spring and begin “calling” for a mate. They do not have a song per se, but a very distinctive call. Woody Woodpecker, famous for his cartoon, is said to have been loosely inspired by a pileated woodpecker. I just think they are a very attractive bird!
I know my woodpeckers are constantly patrolling the nearby woods. In this way they are protecting the environment from attacks of unwanted insect infestations. Living from the age of 4 to a staggering 11 years, they can eliminate many mistakes in their lives. So I can live with my spring fireplace concerts!