Table of Contents
How Do Woodpeckers Make Trouble for Humans?
The woodpeckers create problems for people mainly because of their drumming and drilling activities. These events happen mostly during the spring season. The reason behind this is because both drumming and drilling activities are primarily concerned with their breeding, and territorial actions and both these activities occur during springs. This is the reason we can see woodpeckers active usually during springs. Woodpeckers can irritate humans in various different ways:
- They can drum any metal resonating surface producing an annoying sound that may destroy the peace of your home.
- They can drill any wooded area located outside of your home to find shelter place. Generally, woodpeckers prefer natural area for breeding. But, they can also spoil fir, and pine too. Sometimes, they also damage attic of your home resulting in a huge loss for your home. Unlike drumming activity, drilling of holes can be observed during fall season too, as they prepare holes to reside during winters.
- They can also create trouble for humans during searching for their food. They can dig many holes around your home in search of insects present in the wood. This activity can be clearly seen near attic or on windows frames.
To control these problems, it is necessary to stop woodpecker from dwelling in your home as soon as possible. Otherwise, a condition might get worse because their damage is quite tricky to control. The reason behind it is woodpeckers’ territorial habit and their nature of staying at same hole for the whole year. Few woodpecker species like northern flickers, hairy, and downy woodpecker once lived in the home becomes comfortable to live in houses especially those contain exterior woodworks.
3 Natural Ways to Drive Them Away
Besides applying different tricks to control woodpeckers, the best way is to try natural remedies first. Here we will discuss three natural ways to keep them out of your home surroundings.
1. Changing the Woodpeckers’ Food Source
Woodpeckers mainly reside in those areas where they can easily find their food. Therefore, the best way to protect your home is to remove their food resource from your home. Three steps can be taken on this regard:
- Firstly if woodpeckers are drumming any part of your home frequently, then there are very high chances that your home is residing a pretty large population of insects. Try to remove those bugs first from your home and woodpecker will leave your home on their own. This step will set your home free both from woodpeckers and from insects too. The only thing required is your vigilant behavior to search insects and kick them out.
- Another trick is to provide them food source away from your home if they come to your home in search of their food. The best way is to hang a feeder at an adequate location. Suet is a substance made from cow fat, and it is woodpeckers’ favorite food. At the start, suet should be hanged up at any nearby location so that woodpeckers can get attracted towards it easily. Later on, as days will pass feeder can be moved few feet away, and this process should be continued unless woodpeckers become habitual of staying away from your home. This trick can work during fall and winters as during summer, suet melts because of hot weather and can damage woodpeckers’ wings.
- Woodpeckers can also be kept away from your home by planting fruits and berries trees at the considerable distance from you home. In this way, woodpeckers will be automatically attracted towards outside of you home.
2. Using Woodpecker Deterrents
Woodpeckers can be deterred easily by using two types of deterrents, visual deterrents, and sound deterrents.
- Woodpeckers can be scared from seeing their predators, any shining or moving material. Therefore, to deter woodpeckers, one should hand aluminum foil, colorful flags, foil strips, or a statuette of their predators like eagles, owl or hawks. Additionally, small windmill or windsock can also deter woodpecker away from your home.
- Woodpeckers get scared by hearing any strange sound or from their predator’s voice. Therefore, they can be hindered by playing a recording of their predator’s voice, or by putting any bells, wind chimes or even a voice recording of any distress woodpeckers. All these things will scare them, and they will not dare to come back your home.
3. Keeping Your House Secure
Once woodpecker has entered your home and has drilled holes, there is a significant probability that they will do more damage to those parts. Additionally, insects can also enter these holes and can increase their population. Therefore, it is very much necessary to fill and cover those holes as soon as possible. These holes can be sealed by using putty that is a filling material made up of ground chalk and linseed oil. After putty gets dried up, use oil based paint to cover the putty.
Net Them off
To prevent woodpeckers’ further damage in future, it is advisable to cover damaged parts with a net. These nets can be made up of any hard material that will keep these birds away from drilling holes. Here, we will discuss two types of netting.
- Bird-X Standard Bird Netting
Bird-X Standard Bird netting is large sized netting made up of UV-stabilized material. It helps in keeping woodpeckers away from your area by creating a safe barrier between birds and protected area. This netting not only stops woodpeckers but also prevents a large species of other birds too.
- HEAVY DUTY Bird Netting
This netting is also made up of UV stabilized polyethylene mesh that prevents woodpeckers from entering your region. Once they are installed on the desired area, they are usually invisible for birds. The material used in this net is hard enough that woodpeckers can not break it though their sharp beaks.
How to Repel with Best-selling, Effective Woodpecker Repellers
- Bird Repellent Scare Tape
This is the easiest, safe, and most effective way to repel woodpeckers from your territory. This tape has been largely used by farmers and many people to prevent birds damaging their areas. This scare tape is made up of non-toxic shining material along with amazing diamond patterns that reflect sunlight at every possible angle. Besides light, it also produces sound unfamiliar to woodpeckers resulting in their deterrent from your area. To use this tape, simply cut it into strips and hang it in the desired location making this thing sure that sunlight will fall on these foils.
- Owl Bird Scare Repellent
By combining different repelling method, this Owl Bird Scare repellent has been made. This owl figurine repellent produces sound, emits metalized light, and makes motions to scare woodpeckers. It is made up of environment-friendly vinyl material, and it is quite easy to use yet effective way to repel woodpeckers.
- Bird B Gone Woodpecker Deterrent Kit
This deterrent kit contains flash tape, scare balloon and brackets. Flash tape and scare balloon are made up of shiny material that reflects multi-colored light that is enough to alert woodpeckers’ sense of danger and to keep them away from your territory.
How to Kill Woodpeckers: Is it Legal to Kill Them?
Woodpeckers can be killed by giving them poison, by shooting them or by capturing them and killing them later on. However, there is no specific poison manufactured for woodpeckers until now. However, the major issue with poison is that it will not only kill woodpeckers but other pets and humans too if they accidently get poisoned. Furthermore, all methods of killing woodpeckers can not work unless you possess a special license for it as states protect these birds. They can only be eliminated or repelled by using plenty of safe products available in a market. Being a human, one should also avoid killing these innocent creatures as they are beneficial for our environment too.
Home Remedies to Get Rid of Woodpeckers
- Using Artificial Predator Decoys
Using the fact that owl is the creature that can eat any bird meat, the most effective home remedy to get rid of woodpecker is to install artificial owl toy at the place where woodpeckers come frequently. Being their biggest enemy, this fake owl will create an illusion of real predator and will scare woodpeckers away.
- Shiny Plates
Besides their predators, woodpeckers scare from shining material. Keeping this fact in mind, using simple aluminum plates and hanging them in an area where woodpeckers usually come. This trick will also work to get rid of them.
- Colorful Objects
Another interesting thing that can scare woodpeckers a lot is a colorful object. Simply hang colorful balloons and ribbons at the woodpeckers’ targetted area, and you will never see woodpeckers there again.
- Sealing Possible Nesting Places
Inquire your home properly and identify all those areas that can be a nesting place for woodpeckers. Try to seal any time of holes, small openings from your home to prevent them entering your locality.
- Clear Insect Infestations
If you see woodpeckers drumming again and again on any specific part, then there is a very high probability that insects have been residing in those parts. Therefore, the first step should be done to remove those insects at earliest to stop both insects and woodpeckers from entering your area.
- Plant Fruit Trees in Garden Away from Home
Besides insects, woodpeckers also like to eat fruits. Therefore to repel them away from your home, it is advisable to plant fruit trees a bit away from your home. In this way, these trees and plants will become woodpeckers’ first target rather than your home.
- Install a Bird Feeder in the Garden
Another easy trick to get rid of woodpecker is to hang birds’ feeder at an area distant from your home. In the start, it should be hanged in nearby location from your home to attract woodpeckers there. Later on, it can be moved away slowly every day. In this way, woodpeckers will make a routine of staying away from your home.
- Noise Makers
This home remedy involves playing the recording of distress woodpecker or predator sound near woodpeckers. Predator sound will make them frightened, and distress woodpecker sound will make them alert to any danger, and they will fly out of your home.
- Seal off Holes
This home remedy involves blocking all holes and small openings with the help of metallic gauze, or through the plastic of Paris. It will destroy all possibilities of woodpeckers to enter your home.
Conclusion
The woodpecker is an adorable, skilled and appealing bird that leaves a pleasant effect on our surroundings. Additionally, it also helps in protecting our environment. However, sometimes they become a cause of great trouble for humans. In such irksome conditions, one should use those tricks and tips that can repel these birds or stop them from entering your home rather than killing them altogether.