Why Do Woodpeckers Peck Wood And How To Stop Them

True to their name, woodpeckers can be a nuisance, pecking your wooden deck and your home.

Woodpeckers can do serious damage to a house, including putting holes in the siding and even breaking windows. If you’ve ever wondered why woodpeckers peck and how to get rid of them, you’re in the right spot.

Learn more about the pecking behavior of these unique birds, and the top deterrents to stop woodpeckers from damaging your house.

Why Do Woodpeckers Peck Wood?

Nest

While most birds make nests in trees, woodpeckers make nests by creating holes in tree trunks. These birds excavate cavities in the tree trunks to roost.

Nesting woodpeckers can cause extensive damage to your home. If you need to evict one of these unwelcome guests, do so before or after the nesting season, which is usually between late April and early May.

Food

One top reason woodpeckers peck is to find food. They hammer their beaks on the sides of houses and other buildings to search for food, usually insects, living in the siding. Their pecking creates vibrations that disturb the insects, allowing the woodpecker to locate and eat wood-boring insects.

Some breeds of woodpeckers — like the yellow-bellied sap sucker — create sap wells in the trunks of trees. The little holes allow these woodpeckers to get to the nourishing tree sap.

Noise

Woodpeckers use a rhythmic pecking called “drumming” to keep other birds away from their nest and attract a mate. Both male and female woodpeckers drum, most often in late winter or early spring when they are actively seeking mates and establishing territories.

They often peck wooden shingles, cedar siding, metal or plastic gutters, antennas and light posts.

What Other Things Do Woodpeckers Peck?

Metal

Woodpeckers peck wood for food, but they will also commonly drum away at plumbing vents, TV antennas, satellite dishes, drain pipes, gutters, chimney caps and metal poles or signs.

So why do they peck metal? Woodpeckers will drill their beaks on metal to attract a mate or establish their territory.

The hard metal reverberates, making the sound carry farther than simply pecking on wood. Aluminum siding provides great amplification to carry their mating-song, so they often attract these feathered percussionists.

Windows

When birds pass by glass and see themselves, they think it’s another bird threatening them. A woodpecker may peck on a window to defend its territory from what appears to be an intruding bird, its own reflection.

Most likely though, its pecking on the window for the loud noise to communicate with other birds. The message being sent out is likely about territory or to attract a mate.

Siding

A woodpecker may choose to peck your home over a tree because they prefer softer woods, like cedar and redwood siding. They will usually choose a few favorite areas and attack them repeatedly throughout a mating season.

How To Get Woodpeckers To Stay Away From Your Home

Plastic owls. Woodpeckers are afraid of predators, so having an artificial owl would be successful in keeping them away.

Reflective streamers. The shiny coating on aluminum streamers and movement in the wind can help confuse woodpeckers, driving them away.

Roost boxes. Supplying these pecking pests with a roost box eliminates the need for them to peck holes in the siding of your home.

Deterrent spray. The most efficient way to consistently and effectively deter woodpeckers from damaging your home is with deterrent spray, a non-lethal, long-lasting liquid bird repellent.

Although shiny objects and bird feeders can distract woodpeckers, they don’t guarantee that birds won’t return. A woodpecker deterrent spray, like Avian Control, is the most efficient and long-term solution.

Repel Woodpeckers With Avian Enterprises

Take your property back from unwanted woodpeckers! Our woodpecker deterrent spray is formulated to keep these pecking pests away.

Learn more about our woodpecker deterrent spray. Our humane, long-lasting liquid bird repellent is sure to create a no-fly zone for woodpeckers on your property.

Other methods may take time each day to ensure their potential success, but Avian Control can be sprayed just once and it lasts up to 14 days. Shop now or contact us at 888.868.1982 today.