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How to Scare Away Woodpeckers
How to Scare Away Woodpeckers. Whether a woodpecker is searching for bugs in your trees or punching holes in your wooden siding, scaring away the bird keeps the damage to a minimum and may prevent the bird's return. Commercial woodpecker repellents tend to be noxious and sticky, harming and potentially killing the woodpecker, even if used properly....
Whether a woodpecker is searching for bugs in your trees or punching holes in your wooden siding, scaring away the bird keeps the damage to a minimum and may prevent the bird's return. Commercial woodpecker repellents tend to be noxious and sticky, harming and potentially killing the woodpecker, even if used properly. Potentially more effective than chemical repellents, visual and audio deterrents are also safe for the environment, the woodpeckers and the people who traverse the area.
Things You'll Need
Scissors
Aluminum foil or shiny fabric
Aluminum pie pans
String
Hammer
Nails
Light and noisy objects
Shiny Visual Deterrents
Cut aluminum foil or other shiny material into strips approximately three inches by three feet.
Nail one end of the strip into the house, porch, tree or other affected area.
Continue to place the strips at least five feet apart.
Attach an aluminum pie pan or another light and shiny object to a string at least two feet long.
Add additional nails or eyelets to the site, then tie on the string.
Leave the bottom of the strip and the pie pan free to blow in the breeze, so the flashing light will deter the woodpeckers.
Loud Noises
Tie various light but noisy items, such as paperclips or spare keys, on a string long enough to reach into your house.
Attach the string to the affected area and run the end through a window or doorway.
Pull on the string when you hear or see a woodpecker at the site.
Go outside, if necessary, and make noise to physically frighten the bird from the site.
Continue to make noises every time you see or hear a woodpecker, or the woodpecker believes the site is still safe some of the time.
Tips & Warnings
Mirrors and shiny pinwheels also deter woodpeckers through the use of light, movement and enlarged reflections.
Home and garden stores carry electronic bird deterrents that make distress calls and predator calls either at intervals or on a motion sensor.
Some people use predator dummies, such as rubber snakes, owl forms and hawk outlines, but woodpeckers are smart enough to recognize a fake predator after only a few days.
