How to Get Rid of an Unwanted Woodpecker?!?

Hi J., We had the same problem a few years back and were told to hang a mylar balloon in the area where the woodpecker was. The constant movement makes them think someone/something is in the area and they stay away. It lasted until we had the wood that he had pecked thru replaced and we haven't had him back since (don't know if the wood had been treated with something to keep him away, but it's possible). This seemed like a quick and inexpensive solution. Hope it works for you. Good luck!

J.,

Yes, we too have those pesky woodpeckers banging away at the Northeast side of the house. We also looked on the internet for a solution to the problem, but there doesn't seem to be one solution. Most websites want to sell a device, an artificial owl or hawk or spray.
What worked here were some shiny, flashy, holographic Christmas tree strands. I took them apart and hung 2 to 3 foot pieces about 4 feet apart. These holos shake and flap in the slightest breeze and seem to scare the woodpeckers away. I bought these holographic doo dads at a Dollar store and it's not Christmas season now, but I'm sure you could find something similar.

Hi J.,
I am a nature educator at our local nature center and have answered this question many times!
Most of the time you can scare away an unwanted woodpecker by putting a plastic owl up on the ridge line of the roof. Get the one with the rotating head- it will move in the breeze and look scarier. You should be able to find one at any home store- but many are available online.
Unless you have a particularly suicidal woodpecker- this should do the job! To keep it fresh- move the owl around the roof so it seems like it moves every few days.
You can try luring the woodpecker away from the house by providing a feeding platform, on a post, back in the wooded area of your property. Try putting out meal worms or a food formulated for woodpeckers. You can also put out a suet feeder as they enjoy that as well. This might provide an alternative food source which combined with that scary owl- should keep him away for good.
Who knows? You might be able to actually enjoy having him in your yard.
Good luck!
-S.

Woodpeckers do this for two reasons. One is to call territory, but it is a little early in the season for them to be nesting. The other is looking for food. Are you sure that you don't have issues with bugs under those shingles? This guy could be telling you about a bigger issue that needs to be addressed.

That said, a friend of mine got rid of a pecking bird by printing a picture of an owl off the internet and taping it to the inside of her bedroom window.
Good luck with this!

We live in the woods and have Aluminum Siding....so you can imagine the sound that comes in to our house from the Wood Peckers! I actually at first thought something was wrong with our pipes and called a plumber!!!! hahahaha We then learned it was the Wood Pecker and hung lightweight pieces of wood to distract them, it worked!! Cheaper than a Plumber!

Hi,

We had a similar problem on a new shingle style home we built a couple of years ago on a wooded lot. We had tenants in the house so it took them a little while to report the damage. We had to replace about $4K worth of shingles so I advise acting quickly. We bought a couple of plastic lifesize owls at Home Depot for about $20/each. We placed one on the patio and another on the deck. We filled them with sand so they wouldn't blow away. We would move them every so often. We never had problems with the woodpeckers again. Good luck ... i couldn't believe this worked but it did.

Call a professional exterminator quick! The woodpecker is going after the wood siding on your house becuase it believes there are bugs to be eaten in or under the wood. It might be likely there are carpenter ants or termite infestation. We had this same problem and turned out we had carpenter ant infestation. The exterminator came over, sprayed and found a satellite ant nest in a nearby rotten fence.

My brother's house had a woodpecker, so my dad suggested hanging up a couple of aluminum pie plates (the throwaway ones in the store) where he was pecking. I think the noise and shininess were supposed to help. Not sure what the results were, but it might be worth a shot for a quick fix.

the only reason, or so I've been told from house inspectors, for woodpeckers to peck is if you have bugs (aka:termites, etc...)that the pecker is trying to eat...so call an exterminator, to verify and have them treated...hopefully the pecker will look elsewhere for his meal.

We feed them suet cakes - available at animal supply places (like Agway), Target/WalMart, Christmas Tree Shop and Ocean State Job Lot. They are from 79-99 cents at the last 2, and up to $1.79 in the supermarket. You can hang them in a special wire feeder - not expensive - and then hang it from a bird feeder or clothesline, whatever you have. Don't hang it from a tree branch too close to a tree trunk or the squirrels will eat it all. If you have to hang it from a tree branch, invest in a squirrel baffle for the top of it. You can also use a big aluminum pie pan - punch a hole in the center, then thread the chain from the feeder up thru the hole and up the long chain or twine (whatever you are using) up to the tree. Otherwise, use a birdfeeder pole or one of those shepherd's crooks you can find in garden supply stores - something freestanding away from any structures that give the squirrels access!

Store the suet cakes in your house (especially the refrigerator - see below) but not in the garage - the squirrels will tear them apart!

The woodpeckers are looking for insects in the wood of you house. If you have anything in there, they can tell! If anything takes up residence behind a wooden shutter or a wooden clapboard, the woodpecker tries to get to it the only way he knows how.

A suet feeder gives them ready access to what they need - it doesn't matter if it's suet with peanut butter, berries, or fruit - woodpeckers are meat eaters so they are looking for bugs or something else meaty - the suet gives them that.

To make handling suet easier, refrigerator the little package - it pops out more easily and slides into the feeder without getting soft all over your hands. That's going to be especially helpful as the weather warms up.

Sometimes you can buy organic/natural repellent for some critters which is made from the urine of something else that is a predator. I know you can buy something to deter the chipmunks that is made from fox urine, for example. Maybe you can find something similar for woodpeckers - not sure what it would be - maybe something from an owl or a hawk??? You could google to find out.

If you can keep the birds off your house, they are really beautiful to watch and enjoy!

We also have a woodpecker and apparently they hear the noise from electronics and mistake it for bugs and peck away. We've covered the hole with aluminum foil & this will make them move to another spot... not really a solution, but it stops them from making the one hole worse. I was told to hang a windchime in the area because the noise will scare them & also to scare them away yourself whenever you hear it. So far our little friend hasn't returned yet this season. Good luck.

As others have said, the woodpecker may be telling you that you need an exterminator. That said, I have heard the fake owls work, move them around now and then so the woodpecker doesn't get wise. Someone else mentioned shiny holographic things, try making a mobile with cd's that don't work. Or hang some suet on the trees(can get blocks for a dollar that work year round0, then maybe you can enjoy having them around.
Deb

I once had a woodpecker in a palm tree I planted at our home in Florida. What I did was simple, took 3 sprays in one day and the woodpecker NEVER returned. The wellness store I work with sales a product called Sol-U-Mel. I sprayed diluted Sol-U-Mel on the tree and it was bye bye woodie. My husband didn't believe it would work, but I have no doubts about the company's green products that seem to work wonderful for their intended use and for everything else such as ants, mosquitoes to Florida's little nasty Palmetto bugs.

I would love to get you some information about the company and its products.

Good luck.

M.