Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 For about 4 months now, a pair of woodpeckers has been pecking away at the wood frame of our house. we thought they would go away, but they havent. DH put up reflective tape but they soon learned to avoid it. So today I put up a huge fan, hung about 20 streamers of reflective tape from the edge of the roof so they flutter. I am praying they stay away. DH said "our house looks like a ticker tape parade" LOL so I said "well, they'll get the hint and go away and then we can take it all down" and he's like 'um, I think they return year after year" :mellow: Ugh! What can we do? Our wood is getting pecked raw--any other suggestions? I hope this reflective tape works, but really, it looks ridiculous LOL. Are we just going to have to resign ourselves to our house looking like a birthday cake? :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Maybe hire a company that handles wildlife relocation? The power company just had to replace a pole near my MIL's house due to woodpecker damage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Buy a few plastic, realistic-looking owls and place them strategically in areas where the woodpeckers see them. It helps a lot. When the woodpeckers left, we relocated the owls to guard the garden. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I feel your pain! We actually have had to repair holes that woodpeckers have made on our house. From what I've read is that they are looking for insects when they peck. Possibly have your home sprayed for bugs? I now realize why there was a cartoon when I was a kid about a naughty woodpecker! Elise in NC 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yikes! I think my parents a problem with that--I'll check in with them and try to find out if/how they resolved it. We have lots of woodpeckers at our feeders and trees but not on our house. "We" just had babies--every June we get new little ones, and it's so fun to watch them get fed by the papa until they figure it out on their own. I'm hugely protective of them. :). I'm sure I'd feel differently if they were attacking my house, though. The house behind us has starlings who live in their siding and walls. They make an enormous racket and a big mess when they pull the insulation out. I have no idea how they live with it, or why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Air-soft gun? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I would get someone to come out and check for insects in your siding. The most likely explanation for the pecking is that there is a food source in your wood. If that is the case, eliminating the woodpeckers will only get rid of the visible problem. I have read they can peck for other reasons, but since that's the most damaging possibility, I would have that checked out. A lot of exterminators don't charge for the first consultation. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Air-soft gun? You may have been kidding, but woodpeckers, like nearly all other birds (crows, game birds, English sparrows excepted), are protected under federal law. Shooting at them is a no-no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 the house had termites before we bought it and was tented. we still have a warranty or whatever it's called so I will give them a call and have them check it out. Thank you--i hadn't thought of that. So far, the streamers are working, but I think all our neighbours must think we're having some sort of belated 4th of July party LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yep, to being checked by bugs. If they were pecking in one spot only (which I can't tell from your posts), then they could have been trying to make a nest. We had some try to do that by enlarging a soffit vent. We had to put metal mesh over the vent to prevent it and for at least a month afterward we heard a metallic "tink, tink, tink" as those darn birds just did not give up. But of course they got no where with the metal and eventually went away. (Our woodpeckers weren't scared of plastic owls). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 We only had a few woodpeckers, so this may not help you, but when I heard them pecking, I took a big metal spoon and banged it on the kitchen exhaust pipe, the metal pipe that goes up from the range fan. It made a tremendous clattering that they could hear on the roof. After a few times they stopped coming back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Well, I checked with my parents and they haven't had any luck. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. :( 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 thanks anyway! i put up a ton of reflective tape along the area they like to peck and so far so good! we shall see if it lasts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 The only thing that worked for us was CDs. We bought a large pack and hung them up. Before that the wood pecks just laughed at what we did. The CDs also worked in the garden for birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I have heard of carpenter bees attracting woodpeckers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakpak Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Yep, usually they only go for wood that needs replaced since it is rotting/infected. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I have heard of carpenter bees attracting woodpeckers.I think that is what we had at our other house. The woodpeckers attacked the whole area under the eaves. Hubby sprayed for the larva then filled the holes with a kind of wood putty that I think contained insecticide. Anyway, the peckers returned but did not do as much damage. Hope your strategy works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 We only had a few woodpeckers, so this may not help you, but when I heard them pecking, I took a big metal spoon and banged it on the kitchen exhaust pipe, the metal pipe that goes up from the range fan. It made a tremendous clattering that they could hear on the roof. After a few times they stopped coming back. This is very similar to what I did. It seems to have worked. I did it two years ago--every time one pecked, I was making a terrible racket. It didn't take long for them to stop coming. I hope the tape works! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Be diligent whatever you do. Our next door neighbor had birds that eventually pecked through to her bathroom wall. I could see the birds flying in and out. This went on for several years as she just ignored it. I think the only thing she did was put an aluminum pie pan on the side of the house. Just this year she ended up doing a total bathroom remodel and putting new siding on her entire house. Get some professional advice if what you're doing doesn't work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2BaMom Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 They only peck when there is a reason to peck - birds are constantly in survival mode (as is every other wild animal/bird/etc) - so they do not waste energy pecking unless there is food there (or, much more rarely, a potential nest site). Either indicates a problem with the wood in a home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I have read that some woodpeckers peck as a mating thing (not always for food). I guess it depends on the type of woodpecker. I certainly would have your wood looked at to make sure you don't have some type of insect living in it that they are eating as others have mentioned. If you have carpenter bees or termites or whatever you need to evict those as well. =) There is some information here on "drumming" (the mating/territorial pecking, not the eating/scavenging type) http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/woodpeckers.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakpak Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Yes, if the woodpeckers are drumming on metal and making a total racket, it is for mating/territory purposes. Making a big hole in the side of your house is probably for food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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