Woodpecker Question

[jcwade]

We are currently in escrow on a mountain cabin.
When we were there for the home inspection last week I noticed 3 holes up near the roofline.
I thought they were vent holes until I saw a woodpecker fly out. Then another.
Not something I had even considered.

Closer examination shows that holes have been patched there before by covering them with tin and caulk. This was not too easy to see 3 stories up but it certainly shows in the photos when I cropped in on them.

The internet, as usual, has lots of answers but no recommendations.

Surely someone here has had to deal with them in the past.
The question is, what is the best way to get rid of them?


Cute little devils.

[Bill Douglas]

Mainly they like eating insects, but peanuts are popular too. And easier to source for them too I guess. Great pets! Lucky you

[MBAtarga]

No specific remedy here - but from the looks of the surrounding area - it seems they already have opened up quite a few holes so that once you patch those large ones -it won't be long before they have (another) home.

[Sooner or later]

Add few woodpecker houses.

[Baz]

I wonder if the Woodpeckers are also doing Internet searches to figure out how to get rid of those humans.....

[RWebb]

Acorn woodpeckers are known for storing acorns - they may also be nesting.

You would ideally like to have some old snags nearby so you can watch them from your porch, while they store nuts & acorns there.

The walls need to be completely sheathed with metal to keep them out.

[jcwade]

Yeah, there are a lot of smaller holes as well and we are going to have to replace some of the front.

The house was unoccupied for over a year which may have contributed to the damage.

[Seahawk]

You have issues and you need to get someone up there ASAP to bound the problem.

The poop alone is a huge concern if this is in an attic area in your house. Yikes. I have lived the dream.

They, the chicks, literally crap where they eat, in your house in this case.

This has to be fixed before you buy the place. You have a health hazard.

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Add few woodpecker houses.

That is what I would do.

Do it before the nesting season. I can't even imagine killing the chicks. Build the houses, install them, then kick them out now.

Originally Posted by Baz

I wonder if the Woodpeckers are also doing Internet searches to figure out how to get rid of those humans.....

Made me laugh.

[stevej37]

A guy I used to work with had the same problem with his home.
He told me he almost eliminated them by randomly placing fake rubber snakes where he could.
He went so far as to drape a few over small brads in the wall. He said it worked for him.

[Helix8]

I had one pecking at my house and hung a windchime in the general area. The woodpecker has not come back. But it was not nesting in my house.

[908/930]

I have seen one punch a hole through Hardy Plank fiber cement siding so that does NOT work, so metal siding of some sort.

The rubber snakes sounds interesting.

[RWebb]

like I said, you will need more than woodpecker houses

[Lyle O]

I am dealing with this as we speak (but at much smaller scale). I had one visit the front and rear of my house (top floor, of course) and peck a few small holes They were not all the way through). After I patched and painted, I hung "flash tape" from the eve right where they liked to peck, hanging down about 7 feet. It is shiny/mirror-like on one side, and shiny red on the other, about 1.5' wide. These have been flying for about a month now, and not a peck. I bought the tape at my local hardware store. Here are some photos of my house with the tape hanging...





Good luck, hope this helps.

[RWebb]

examples of holey trees

https://www.reddit.com/r/trypophobia/comments/byim9y/acorn_woodpeckers_make_holes_in_tree_trunks_and/

[RWebb]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZkAP-CQlhA&feature=emb_logo

[Tobra]

That mylar tape works on fruit trees too.

[Embraer]

Resided my house. Found at least 20 woodpecker nests/skeletons in the walls. My solution? 16 ga A606 Cor-ten steel.

[jcwade]

I like the 16 ga A606 Cor-ten steel, but the HOA probably would not approve it.

[Bugsinrugs]

Woodpeckers were causing damage to my redwood gable vents. Only thing that worked for me was bird netting. Stapled it so it wasn’t flush with the house. I kept it 5-6 inches away from the house and stapled at the corners. They can’t get through the netting or gain a solid hold to do their woodpecker thing. I have a bazillion trees here. Why do they pick my house?

[svandamme]

there are instructional cartoons on what not to do with woodpeckers on youtube