Woodpeckers Cause
Millions in Damage Each Year
by Fran
Prisco
Woodpeckers
are costing homeowners thousands of dollars every year due to the
damage they cause. They will hammer on the sides of our houses and
other buildings to attract mates, establish or defend a territory,
excavate a nesting or roosting site, and to search for insects.
Drumming sites can include wooden shingles, cedar siding, metal or
plastic gutters, antennas and light posts. Woodpeckers love the loud
sounds they produce. They frequently damage cedar, rough pine
redwood siding and some synthetic stucco finishes; causing thousands
of dollars in damage each year.
Woodpeckers drill holes for a
variety of reasons. One of the most obvious is to excavate a cavity
for nesting or roosting and another is to search for food. In the
spring, woodpeckers also use a rhythmic pecking called "drumming" to
establish a territory and attract a mate. Complaints of woodpeckers
on houses during this period indicate that the birds are using the
house as a "singing" post. Woodpecker damage typically consists of
holes drilled into wood siding or trees. A woodpecker will select a
tree or home for no particular reason. They will usually choose a
few favorite areas and attack them repeatedly over the course of a
mating season. It seems they prefer softer woods like cedar and
redwood siding.
Woodpeckers are migratory
birds and are thus protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treat
Act. This makes it difficult to get rid of the birds and keep them
from damaging our homes. We must use a humane, non-lethal form of
woodpecker control. There are several non-lethal techniques that can
be used to control pest woodpeckers, including visual repellents,
loud noises, and exclusion. It is very important to take immediate
action to reduce the damage, as woodpeckers are not easily driven
from their territories or pecking sites once they have become
established. There is no "standard" approach to dealing with
woodpecker damage. Evaluate each individual situation separately to
determine the most effective control measures. Often more than one
technique (for example, using both visual and sound repellents) may
provide the best control.
Use the following steps to
determine what control measures to use:
- Check for insects. If
they are present, ask your local Exterminator for assistance.
- Can I prevent the bird
from getting to or using the problem area?
- Can I repel the bird with
visual, sound or chemical repellents?
- As a last resort, can I
remove the offending animals safely?
Methods of Deterring
Woodpeckers
Exclusion
Netting is one of the most effective methods of excluding
woodpeckers from damaging wood siding beneath the eaves is to place
lightweight plastic bird-type netting over the area. A mesh of 3/4
inch is generally recommended. At least 3 inches of space should be
left between the netting and the damaged building so that birds
cannot cause damage through the mesh. The netting can also be
attached to the overhanging eaves and angled back to the siding
below the damaged area and secured taut but not overly tight. Be
sure to secure the netting so that the birds have no way to get
behind it. If installed properly, the netting is barely visible from
a distance and will offer a long-term solution to the damage
problem. If the birds move to another area of the dwelling, that too
will need to be netted. Netting becomes increasingly popular as a
solution to woodpecker problems because it consistently gives
desired results. Once the birds have moved to another area, the
netting can be taken down. You can find a good U.V. Protected
Polypropylene Netting at
www.absolutebirdcontrol.com.
Absolute Bird Control specializes in bird control products that are
humane and do not harm the animals.
Visual Repellents
The best way to keep pesky little woodpeckers from destroying
valuable trees and wood sidings is to discourage them from pecking
using a visual repellent. You can use Mylar FlashTape, BirdBGone
Scare Balloons, or Bird Diverters, all available at Absolute Bird
Control. There is also a Woodpecker Deterrent Kit available at
www.absolutebirdcontrol.com. These
devises cause a visual distraction that bother the birds and they
will move on to an area that is more “pleasant” to them.
Noise Repellents
Using loud noises like rock music or bird distress calls are also an
effective way to discourage the birds. Absolute Bird Control sells a
Bird Chase Supersonic device that plays Woodpecker Distress calls
and predator calls that scare the birds from your home. Remember to
use these techniques as soon as damage begins and continue them for
at least 8 days. Understand that when the birds leave one site they
simply move to another one. Just hope that the new site is on
something other than the house.
In most cases you can get
control quickly and effectively if you use an integrated approach:
put up visual repellents, use a chemical repellent and harass the
birds with noise.
Homeowners spend thousands of
dollars replacing the siding on their homes as well as patching up
the holes and damage done by woodpeckers. The Leading distributor in
Woodpecker deterrents Absolute Bird Control offers a large variety
of products to rid your home of woodpeckers. One Product is the
Scare Eye Diverter manufactured by Bird-B-Gone, Inc. It has a Mylar
backing with a predator eye on it. When it is hung across the eaves
of your home at different lengths the movement of the Scare Eye
Diverter and the reflection scare off the Woodpecker.
Lori Kitts of Flora Vista, NM
says “The woodpeckers were driving us crazy we would hear them
outside pecking away at our home. I did a search online for
woodpeckers and how to get rid of them and Absolute Bird Control was
on the top of the list. We purchased the Scare Eye Diverters they
worked so well and I haven’t seen them since putting them up.” Kitts
says the woodpeckers moved on, but they moved next door to her
mother-in-laws house! “We purchased diverters for her home as well,
and now they are gone from her house”, says Kitts. “All of our
neighbors have asked where we got the diverters. Woodpeckers have
been a big issue in this neighborhood for years. We are so happy to
finally find an effective, economical product to move the birds
along and away from our homes!”
For more information on how to
control Woodpeckers and products to deter them, visit
www.absolutebirdcontrol.com.
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2008. All Rights Reserved.
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