Woodpeckers

[SideShow Bob]

Anyone here have to deal with Woodpeckers ?

No Bert not that kind of Woodpeckers............[LOL]

I woke up this morning at about 0630, to what sounded like the neighbor was building a fence, a constant slow banging sound similar to someone not too handy with a hammer trying to build something.
After about 3 hours of this, I went into the spare bedroom to look out the window to see who was attempting some home owner repairs.
Lo and behold, there was a Woodpecker perched low and between the double windows pecking away at the wood trim. I opened a window and it startled & flew away.
I went outside and found that there are 3 quarter sized holes where that damn bird was perched, and a multitude of pin holes surrounding the bottom 1/4 of one of the windows.
Does anyone know if the Woodpecker will return ? And what can I do to keep it away ?
this Is the first time in the almost 10 years of living here that I have even seen or heard of Woodpeckers in this Hood.

[Great-Kazoo]

throw something to keep the bird off that area, like some chimes flowers etc. You could also spray them with a vinegar water mix, till they get the message.

Only thing you can't do is kill them. For some reason it's another "protected" rat with feathers.

[SideShow Bob]

Kind of hard to put flowers in the area, second floor windows. If the pest returns I'll put wind chimes up there and spray the area with vinegar & water.
Guess I'll have fill the larger holes with wood putty and paint fill the pinholes when I paint over the putty.

[Tinelement]

You could try a rubber toy snake.

I'm trying to remember if that works for woodpeckers.....

[Great-Kazoo]

Spray the pecker, not the windows.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/wp_about/control.html



Aluminum foil strips or reflective tape, such as Irri-Tape (http://bird-x.com/products/itape.htm), manufactured by Bird-X, hung from areas where damage occurs may scare away woodpeckers. The strips should be long enough to hang freely and blow in the breeze.


Woodpecker deterrent hole filler is a natural deterrent. It is a resin-repair system which is used to repair wood structures damaged by woodpeckers. When a woodpecker pecks any area which has been repaired by this hole-filler, it meets with an awful smell and taste, which makes it go away sooner than later.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/woodpecker-deterrents.html

[Irving]

My college roommate would make an "owl" out of a cereal box and hang it from the gutter. Basically just a scary bird-like creature to hang outside.

[TFOGGER]

I guess you could get a wily coyote...wait, that's for roadrunners, not woodpeckers...

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

hang an CD with fishing line from the eve or something where it can spin and the shiny will scare them away.

[Monky]

Funny... I woke up to the same thing this morning. Some cat must have got the one annoying me... It stopped suddenly


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

[cap'n cook]

gammo silent hunter pellet gun

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

gammo silent hunter pellet gun

Great plan, you get a nice shiny set of bracelets to go with it too.

[DSB OUTDOORS]

hang an CD with fishing line from the eve or something where it can spin and the shiny will scare them away.

^^^^ I put all those old free AOL CDs to good use. I'd patch a hole. Few days later new hole right next to the old / touching. Hung some CD's not more Pricks!!!!!!

[newracer]

You can get a permit to shoot them if you can prove they are a nuisance and are causing damage. It's tough to get though.

[Ah Pook]

Wire netting. The neighbor used it and, so far, has worked.

I have holes across the side of the house, 3" apart and straight, on one side of the house. Fill them in and the peckerwood is back the next week.

[rockhound]

airsoft gun, haze the little f...er, wont kill him but will definitely chase him off, i have pelleted more than one over the years, they dont come back,

hazed one with a snow ball last year too, knocked him off the house from about 30 feet with a nicely packed snowball, he never came back either.

[stenz]

gammo silent hunter pellet gun

x2

[sniper7]

You could plant a tree of his/her liking and help save the planet and go green. You will feel good about yourself doing this.

[generalmeow]

We've got a woodpecker at my work and it makes big holes in the stucco building. Last year we eventually scared it off and patched the holes, but it's back with a vengeance. My boss keeps asking if he should get a pellet gun and shoot it, and I keep telling him no. Besides it evidently being illegal to kill one, people would hear the shot and could call the cops, and also what if you miss?

I just hear it pecking on the building, and I ran out and picked up one of those hard little pine cones and chucked it at it. Almost hit it. But that made me think pinecone + slingshot. Silent, maybe deadly, and harmless if you miss. If you hit it, it probably wont want to come back for more.

[Musashi]

Cat ;-)
We have problems with these fellas at my house - http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/id
Anything shiny and hanging should do the trick although with these wind these days I would go with the CD even if it does look a little "red-necky"

[Brian]

Dang, just this week I heard that rapid tapping sound and was wondering if I had a woodpecker. Couldn't quite locate the sound from inside, and wasn't able to find any holes when I went looking, hopefully he's attacking the neighbor's place. LOL.

[brutal]

Had one here a few years back that liked to pound on my chimney vent stack cover to attract a mate.

Thankfully, he never attacked the house and either moved away or someone shot his dumb ass.

[TFOGGER]

I've used cut down q-tips in my cheap chinese air rifle to chase squirrels out of my attic, but the range is pretty limited (10m?). Harmless if you miss, biodegradable even.

[Alpha2]

Funny, I've had the rapid tappping on the vent stack too. Used to drive the cat nuts. The sound coming into the house through the fireplace was incredible. Since it was a metal stack we didn't do anything, and it soon stopped.
I've seen major damage to stucco-over-styrofoam that must have cost a boatload of cash to repair on commercial bldgs.

[rondog]

I wonder if an airsoft rifle would deliver enough of a "go away" message without actually hurting the 'peckers? I wish I could afford a good airsoft rifle to bust some squirrel ass when they're on my bird feeders. I don't know where all the little bastards come from.

[hunterhawk]

I was woke up by one beating on the side of my house... First thought was grab the shotgun and run out and blast him! Then I remembered I live in suburbia now and that probably wouldn't go over to well so I punched the outside wall where he was and he went away. But if this continues this will be a war he doesn't win... Sadly you will not get to read about it

[funkymonkey1111]

i have one that pecks the metal cap on my chimney in the mornings--usually right at dawn. it sounds like a machine gun. i flip the damper a few times and yell "damn you, woodpecker!" and it goes away.

[Alpha2]

"Damn you, woodpecker!" I hadn't thought of that...next time!

[Scoobypup]

I've had the same issue and it is truly annoying.
For the metal stack, I got THESE (http://www.amazon.com/Bird-X-STS-10-R-Stainless-Bird-Spikes/dp/B000Z5E4IE/) spike strips and zip-tied them around the cap.
For the birds that kept pecking at my trim in the front of the house, all you do is get some small nails and string some fishing line across them along the lip that the bird lands on/holds on to. About a half inch to an inch or so off the lip. For some reason, the fishing line touching the middle of their feet causes them to think they can't land. Plus, you can hardly tell anything is there unless you're looking for it.
Haven't had a peck since...my neighbors aren't so lucky though.