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Woodpeckers are fun to watch with their swooping, undulating flight and feeder acrobatics.
Consider these six preventive measures to discourage woodpeckers from setting up camp in your yard.
What Attracts Woodpeckers to Your Garden?
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Woodpeckers are generally shy birds that prefer old forests and woodland areas.
They also eat seed and are not picky, but are especially drawn to nuts and suet.
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Tack the cover to extend out at least 3 inches from the surface to keep birds from pecking through.
Repair any holes that develop in the barrier and keep it well maintained.
Bird netting also works to protect fruit trees and decorative, high value ornamentals.
Protect Wood Surfaces and Firewood
Carpenter bees and other wood boring insectsring the dinner bell for woodpeckers.
Inspect damaged spots and take appropriate steps to eliminate the pest, and hopefully the woodpecker through this.
Fill holes with wood putty and seal or paint the affected area or replace if necessary.
Keep firewood in an indoor shed or covered with tarp or another protective material.
Woodpecker Prevention
Use building materials unattractive to woodpeckers to prevent a problem from developing.
Keep treesproperly prunedand remove dead branches and deadfall.
Stumps can be covered with burlap or other resistant materials if immediate removal isn’t possible.
Avoid Favorite Foods
If you put outfeeders for other birds, you are likely to attract woodpeckers.
They will even take a run at your hummingbird feeder.
Avoiding favorites foods like suet and nuts may encourage them to seek out preferred food sources elsewhere.
Feeders for Small Birds
Hopper feeders are designed to prevent large birds from accessing seed.
If necessary, take other feeders down or leave them empty for several days during woodpecker mating season.
Small mirrors sometimes work, but may stimulate territorial aggression.
Place decoys in various spots around your property and move them from time to time.
Noise and Motion
Woodpeckers shy away from loud noises and unexpected motion.
Hang wind chimes, aluminum pie pans, or glass bottles in trees around your home.
Try loud clapping or banging on a garbage can lid.
Play a radio or recorded predator calls from owls and hawks.
Install a kite, flag, ormotion triggered devicelike a sprinkler or lights.
Wrap affected areas of the trunk with burlap, plastic fencing, or hardware cloth.
If the bird moves up or down the trunk simply add more protection.
Woodpeckers and Your Home.U.S.
