Woodpeckers

[Alan Douglas]

I don't mind the bluejays; I put out sunflower seeds and the jays will "tank up" but they fly off and leave most of the seeds for the titmice and cardinals.

For a long time I wondered where some oak seedlings came from, which I identified as dwarf Chinquapin oaks that grow 10 miles away but not here. Turns out bluejays will fly for miles to cache acorns for the winter.

By the way the woodpeckers prefer beef suet to those processed cakes containing mostly cheap seeds. Chickadees also like the suet.

In the spring when they're raising families, all the birds eat insects and eggs, so for the price of a couple of sacks of birdseed they keep my garden producing without any need for pesticides. Cheap wages.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I have a picture in my head of a sort of mouse trap like contraption that will get those peckers. Leave a little piece of cedar instead of cheese? Tom vs Jerry, Wily Coyote vs Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn vs The Dog style...

One solution, what is their natural enemy (as long as the unintended consequence are not worse than the wood pecker).

I'm lucky I suppose.. I've had the occasional wood pecker around my homes in South Bend and Columbus and they've come and gone without too much fan fare. Non at all in my current location in G'wood..

Good Luck to all who are battling these pesky wildlife..

 

[finn]

Piliated, Downy, and Flickers here. We enjoy watching them.

They worked on the Cedar trim on the wood sheathed chimney for a while, but it wasn't to their taste, I guess

Last spring they worked on the steel roof of the woodshed. Not much nutrition there, but someone told me they use that as a mating call.

If you can't deal with woodpeckers, maybe you should move back to the asphalt jungle, and stay out of the countryside.

 

[tarmy]

Had the same problem...talked to the locals and figured out the woodpeckers like homes with vertical trim boards...like boards and batons. Also, they like this type of siding when it is a dark color ( mine was dark brown).

So...I painted the area they were pounding holes in ( the side farthest from human activity) to a light color...and made sure the vertical trim batons were smoothed out, caulked and painted well...

They moved on out...started drilling some trees of mine...but they have left my house alone for five years now. They still pound the **** out off the neighbors house who tried the owl thing...but the side of his house looks like Swiss cheese....

 

[PugetDude]

Waiting on Dan....

 

[PugetDude]

you my what to be carefully . The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects woodpeckers, swallows, owls, and robins. Any permit to lethally control these species would be issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and only in extreme situations. See WDFW's "Living with Wildlife" fact sheets for more information about these species.

1. Shoot
2. Shovel
3. Shut Up

 

[RVDan]

We have a woodpecker at work. He's not too smart, spends the sunny afternoons hammering on the metal shop roof.

He's cool though he chases off the monster Stellar's Jays that chase the smaller birds out of the feeders.

 

[Theruse]

I have to use the red pepper suet from HD since the squirrels would consume the suet. Red pepper doesn't effect the woodpeckers. I also use cayenne pepper and WD 40 on my birdfeeder poles and baffles to keep the squirrels out. Where do you find beef suet?

 

[Alan Douglas]

With the beef in the supermarket, $1 a pound. I put chunks in the same wire baskets made for cakes.

I hang the basket from a vertical pole (dead tree branch actually) with a squirrel baffle part way up, and there are no other trees close enough that those bushy-tailed tree rats can jump to it.

 

[Old Moparz]

Try putting out suet cakes. We have a cedar sided and trimmed house and have not had
a problem in 16 years next to woods. A buddy was having a bad time with the woodpeckers destroying his house siding and trim. I suggested he try the suet, they stopped working his house over. Worth a try.

This has worked for me as well but you also need to know it's not just food they are after. They peck to show territory & also to create living space.

I've been dealing with woodpeckers for years & have replaced & repaired siding all over. There is one wall that I have sealed completely to make it bug proof & the little shits keep pecking away so I know it isn't bugs. I hung a plastic owl over this wall & it keeps them away for now.

 

[redmondjp]

As stated above, there are several reasons why woodpeckers will work on a structure:

1. Drumming - the males bang on the loudest thing they can find to attract a mate, which is why they like metal roof vents and the like.

2. To build a new home - this is by far the most common reason that they will work on a structure and the most difficult to defend against.

3. To find food. If they are only working on the trim, then bugs are what they are after.

I've successfully used those mylar reflective strips, but they are noisy when the wind blows which can be an issue if you sleep with the windows open (even with windows closed, it can be annoying).

I've also successfully used shiny soda cans attached to a 6" - 8" piece of fishing line, attached to the underside of the eve with a thumbtack. If these are positioned properly, they won't bang into the house or each other when the wind blows.