Woodpeckers can cause significant damage to homes by drilling holes in wood siding, facia boards, window frames, and other wooden structures. Their constant pecking and drumming can also create an annoying disturbance for homeowners. Finding an effective deterrent is important for protecting your home and maintaining your sanity.
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Why Do Woodpeckers Peck on Houses?
Woodpeckers peck on houses for a few reasons:
- Looking for food – Woodpeckers drill holes to find carpenter bees, ants, termites, and other insects nesting in the wood.
- Creating nesting sites – They peck out cavities in softer woods like cedar to make nests and roosts.
- Drumming – The drumming sound helps them establish territory and attract mates.
Houses often become targets because they offer abundant food sources and easy nesting sites for woodpeckers. Once they start visiting a home, they will return regularly unless an effective deterrent is used.
Common Woodpecker Deterrent Methods
There are many different products and techniques marketed for getting rid of woodpeckers. Here are some of the most common:
Scare Tactics
- Scare tape – Reflective dangling tape that moves in the wind.
- Scare eye balloons – Balloons with large predator eyes to frighten birds.
- Owl decoys – Life-size plastic owl replicas that deter birds.
- Sound devices – Recordings of predator calls or woodpecker distress calls.
The idea behind scare tactics is to convince woodpeckers that the area is dangerous. However, they often get used to these over time and learn to ignore them.
Physical Barriers
- Netting – Plastic or nylon netting over areas vulnerable to pecking.
- Wire mesh – Small gauge wire mesh can be installed over frequently targeted wood.
- Metal sheathing – Covering wood with smooth aluminum or galvanized steel.
Physical barriers deny woodpeckers access to the wood’s surface. Drawbacks include high material costs and challenging installations on older homes.
Repellents
- Taste repellents – Bitter tasting liquid formulas applied to wood surfaces.
- Smell repellents – Creams emit foul odors that repel woodpeckers.
- Ultrasonic devices – Emit high-frequency sound waves only heard by birds.
Repellents use tastes, smells, or sounds unpleasant to birds to condition them to avoid treated areas. They need to be reapplied frequently to remain effective.
Lethal Solutions
- Snap traps – Body-gripping traps that humanely kill birds.
- BB/air guns – Shooting woodpeckers with non-lethal plastic BBs or lethal air rifle pellets.
- Poison – Bait laced with deadly toxins.
Lethal methods permanently eliminate problem woodpeckers but are controversial solutions. Most are either illegal, unethical, or unsafe around homes and children.
Ranking the Most Effective Options
To determine the best woodpecker deterrent, we need to look at the effectiveness, cost, safety, and ease of use for available solutions. Here is how common deterrent methods stack up:
| Deterrent | Effectiveness | Cost | Safety | Ease of Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scare tape | Low | Low | High | Medium |
| Scare eye balloons | Low | Low | High | Medium |
| Owl decoys | Low | Low | High | High |
| Sound devices | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
| Netting | High | High | High | Low |
| Wire mesh | High | Very high | High | Low |
| Metal sheathing | Very high | Very high | High | Low |
| Taste repellents | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Smell repellents | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Ultrasonic devices | Low | Medium | High | High |
| Snap traps | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
| BB/air guns | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
| Poison | Medium | Low | Very low | Medium |
Based on effectiveness, cost, safety, and ease of use, the best options are netting, wire mesh, and metal sheathing. While expensive and labor intensive, they offer a long-term solution by completely blocking access to woodpecker food and nesting sources.
Conclusion
Preventing woodpecker damage requires understanding why they are pecking your home and using an effective deterrent tailored to your specific situation. Less expensive scare tactics and repellents may work for temporary relief, but physical barriers like netting or metal sheathing provide the best long-term protection.
Focus control efforts on their food sources and entry points rather than the broad expanse of your home’s siding. With some strategic planning and proactive installation before the damage begins, you can defend your home against destructive woodpeckers and finally enjoy some peace and quiet.