A woodpecker hammering on your own home to communicate with potential mates or rivals may be loud and annoying, however it sometimes received’t trigger structural harm. However, you is perhaps in for an actual headache if woodpeckers hunt for bugs, retailer nuts, or attempt to nest in your partitions. However do not fret: Of the 22 woodpecker species in North America, solely a handful—Downy, Furry, Pileated, Acorn, and Northern Flicker—are likely to trigger issues. Fortunately, there are many methods to push back the industrious birds with out harming them.
The only choice is to hold one thing shiny within the areas the place you discover birds battering. Mirrored mild from streamers, pie pans, or CDs held on strings can considerably cut back their visits. You might also wish to take away any close by hen feeders, which may draw woodpeckers to your own home.
The only choice is to hold one thing shiny within the areas the place you discover birds battering.
Holes a couple of inch extensive are indicators that birds are attempting to create nesting cavities. Cowl them earlier than or after the spring nesting season. Smaller holes, scattered or in neat rows, point out that the birds are searching for bugs, usually carpenter or leafcutter bee larvae. On this case, you might must have an exterminator deal with the wooden and restore the harm.
A dearer however lasting resolution is to color your own home a special shade. Woodpeckers, it seems, favor earth-tone and stained-wood homes. “It replicates the colour and look of a tree,” says David Drake, a wildlife ecologist on the College of Wisconsin—Madison. Repainting with brighter hues, like white or pastels, may be sufficient to ship the birds elsewhere. And should you’re constructing or reworking a house, take the chance to decide on woodpecker-proof siding supplies like fiber cement, aluminum, or vinyl.
Whereas woodpeckers could be a nuisance, a bit of perspective might assist to ease the ache: They play an essential function within the ecosystem, serving to to regulate pests and offering an essential meals supply for different animals, together with hawks, snakes, and opossums. Woodpecker cavities additionally create housing for a lot of different birds, from chickadees to screech-owls. “They’re native,” Drake says. “They belong on the panorama as a lot as some other animal does.”
This story initially ran within the Spring 2026 challenge as “When Woodpeckers Come A-Knockin’.” To obtain our print journal, change into a member by making a donation today.
