Scaring woodpeckers away is the best way to keep them from drilling and returning
When woodpeckers drum on the side of homes they can cause headaches for the home's inhabitants in the form of noise and structural damage. Woodpeckers drill holes to search for insects or grubs, to build nests or roosts, and to mark their territory. There are several measures you can employ to protect your home from woodpeckers. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Install visual deterrents to frighten the woodpeckers. Long strips of aluminum foil, windsocks, pinwheels, and models of owls and hawks hung near the damaged site can scare away birds and keep them from returning. It is important the visual deterrent moves in some way, perhaps through wind power. If the object is stationary, the woodpecker will likely become accustomed to the object and the object will no longer be effective as a deterrent.
2. Install sound deterrents. A recording of a predator sound such as a hawk call, loud clapping, or banging pots and pans can frighten woodpeckers. A movement detector can be placed near where woodpeckers have drilled in the past and programmed to make the offensive sound.
3. Any woodpecker damage to the home should be repaired as quickly as possible. Holes in wood or siding can encourage woodpeckers to return to the same place to drill. Holes should be filled in and painted over.
4. The presence of woodpeckers might be a symptom of insect infestation. Get rid of ants, termites, and other bugs to discourage the woodpeckers from drilling into your home.
5. Remember the goal is to make woodpeckers uncomfortable when near your home. Install deterrents quickly after you notice the problem to prevent a woodpecker from returning out of habit.
Tags: your home, frighten woodpeckers, from drilling, from returning, keep them
