All bird types have the potential to cause damage and disturbance. But the woodpecker is different. They’re louder than the average bird and are known to cause the most damage.
Woodpeckers carve holes into trees, decks and homes which is both noisy and destructive. To prevent damage to your property, follow these suggestions about how to get rid of woodpeckers.
Exterminate Their Food Source
Woodpeckers may be roosting near your home due to an infestation of insects within your walls. To be sure, call an exterminator to check for bugs or do a little digging yourself.
Start by finding the problem area where woodpeckers are most frequently pecking. Once you locate this spot, double-check the inside of your home for dead insects or rotting wood. If insects are the issue, an exterminator can help eliminate this food source for the woodpeckers.
Related: How to Prevent Birds From Roosting & Nesting
Provide Alternative Food
To keep woodpeckers from pecking at your home, try providing them with food. Often, they’re causing damage because they’re seeking nourishment, so eliminate this by feeding them elsewhere on your property.
Berry bushes are something you can plant away from your home to draw woodpeckers away. When trying this method, make sure to plant the food source a good distance from the problem area.
Decorate Your Home
Many decorations can double as bird deterrents. Woodpeckers are skittish around shiny objects so decorating the outside of your home with reflective items can help keep them away. Some items to try are:
- Pie tins
- Foil strips
- Reflective tape
- Shiny streamers
- Reflective pinwheels
Depending on the material, you can display these in different ways. Long, thin materials such as foil strips or streamers can be hung from tree branches and other items like pie tins can be hung from the roof.
Ideally, birds will see their own reflection in these shiny items, become nervous and move to another location. However, this method may only work if enough sunlight is shining on the objects.
Guide Them Away
A common bird control method is to use food to guide the birds away one day at a time. By placing a bird feeder near the woodpecker hole, you have the ability to distract the birds.
Fill the feeder with suet cakes or bird feed and hang it close to the bird’s snacking site. Each day, move the feeder a few feet away until it’s eventually far enough from your home that the woodpecker won’t return.
Use Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are another decorative item you can add to the outside of your home to keep birds away. Depending on your tolerance for noise, the dulcet sounds of wind chimes can be soothing for you, but irritating for the woodpeckers.
Place the wind chimes near the woodpecker’s preferred location to deter them on windy days. For a more advanced audio deterrent, you can purchase an electronic noisemaker that can detect when a bird comes nearby to release a distressing call.
Related: Best Practices for Effective Bird Pest Control
Apply Liquid Bird Repellent
Whether woodpeckers are drawn to your trees, deck or other wooden surfaces, liquid bird repellent is a sure way to keep them away. When it comes to your home, woodpeckers tend to poke at the exterior and it’s important to protect it.
Spray down the problem areas with a non-toxic liquid bird repellent. This way, you can deter woodpeckers without harming them or any other animals or humans.
Repel Woodpeckers With Avian Enterprises
The most efficient way to consistently and effectively deter woodpeckers from damaging your home is with Avian Control, a non-lethal, long-lasting liquid bird repellent.
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. To take your property back from unwanted woodpeckers, shop now or contact us at 888.868.1982 today.
How To Get Rid Of Woodpeckers: Complete Homeowners Guide