Darned Noisy Woodpecker

[Joe Pelonio]

Spring must be coming. Now that I'm working from home, one wall of the shop has the chimney from the gas fireplace on it, and the woodpecker that likes to do his mating calls by hammering on the metal chimney top is driving me nuts this morning. Don't suggest a .22, I checked and it's against the law to pop them off. I'm on my way downstairs now to try scaring him off with the soft pellet gun.

[Art Mulder]

Supersoaker?

[Joe Pelonio]

That might work if I could hit him. I went down and quietly snuck up with the
plastic bb gun cocked, and he was on the opposite side of the chimney. I fired at the underside of the cap and hit it, with a loud ping. That was enough to send him flying away. It's been an hour and he has not returned, but I'm willing to bet that won't last long. I wish I could get a shot out the window as it's only a few feet from the chimney but the overhang (eaves) are in the way.

[Dan Mages]

Maybe you should paint the ciminey with tabasco sauce. That will teach him a lesson!!

[Jim Becker]

Dan...won't work...Bird LOVE hot stuff! It's like sugar to them... ;)

[Dan Gill]

You might have to resort to spike strips on the place he's perching. Just make it easier for him to go somewhere else. They can be a real pain. I love them in the wild, but not on my siding.

[Mark Saberniak]

I get them on my cedar siding and they can put some nice holes. I use car bondo to fill the holes and then before the bondo is totally dried i brush it with a wire brush so that the texture matches the rough texture of the siding, then stain. it looks like new.

[Rob Bodenschatz]

We have the EXACT same thing happen every spring/summer/fall. What I do is to get my kids (now 4 and 6) to yell "GO AWAY WOODPECKER!!!!" up the chimney. Funny thing is, he does.

[Joe Pelonio]

I've even tried lighting the fireplace, but I guess it doesn't get hot enough way at the top. They've also enlarged the soffit vent (2"round) holes at times so I have covered them with rectangular metal vents that cover 3 holes each. I like the spike strips idea, that wouldn't be hard to do, and at least would move him to a neighbor's house or the nearby stop sign for his mating pecks.

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

you could try perching a plastic owl decoy near your chimney. the 'predator threat' may be enough to keep him away.




'course, then you might have to find something to scare away all the crows that come after the owl. crows hate owls.

hey! then, you could put a scarecrow in the yard, and you'd be set!....

[Lee Schierer]

Woodpeckers drum on your chimney to mark out their territory. Unless you make the chimney less noisey he will likely continue to pund on it. Can you cover it with something soft that is also heat resistant?

Woodpeckers that attack cedar siding are after the carpenter bee larvae that are living inside. They will contiue to drill holes as long as they find good things to eat inside. Get rid of the carpenter bees and you get rid of the holes.

[David G Baker]

I have a woodpecker that taps on the power pole transformer, he keeps it up for hours. Not sure what it is looking for. The pole is far enough from the house so it is not bothersome.
I keep suet available year round so if I have a problem its my own fault.
David B

[Joe Pelonio]

As I found out a few years ago when it first started, the males are making as much noise as possible to attract females. I've also seen them take seed from the bird feeder and "plant" it in holes in fir trees to attract bugs, then go back later and eat the bugs. Almost like bug farmers. Very smart, but very annoying.

[Jerry Olexa]

We have cedar siding and had the same problem. The owl decoy hanging high in the trouble area stopped it 100%. I got tired of caulking. painting the holes until we found this solution. G'Luck

[Doug Shepard]

A big tom cat and ladder so he can get to the roof should solve the problem.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My BIL had one putting holes....the length of the house....on to the detached garage....He tried everything the F&G department recommended.....Then one evening the 410 solution was final.....

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

A big tom cat and ladder so he can get to the roof should solve the problem.
thufferin' thuccotash!

58617




Then one evening the 410 solution was final.....
OOOOH! one more peck outta you and i'm a gonna blast ya!

58618

[Ben Grunow]

sounds like an opportunity to use some electricity to me. 220, 221... whatever it takes. More like 9v if you could rig 2 wires so that he could complete the circuit by standing on a perch made by you.

[Per Swenson]

Oh, I can't help it.

Clem is apprehended for shooting Woody the Woodpecker.

He is charged by the game warden under the endangered species act.

The penalty for wingin ole Woody is 20 grand , 20 years and

a felony record.

On the advice of his attorney, he told Clem plead guilty,

keep yer mouth shut and we will throw ourselves on the mercy of the court.

It was the part about keeping his mouth shut that Clem couldn't actually

wrap his mind around.

So...When His Honor accepted the plea he also had to ask ole Clem

a question or two. The first one being, why on earth did you shoot this

woodpecker? To which Clem immediately replied,

I surely do like the taste of woodpecker your Honor.

The Judge, Flabbergasted, sez, No. Come on.

What do they taste like............

Clem said...........






Wait for it......






Just like Bald Eagle your Honor.



We ship Clem cigarettes every month.

Per

[Jerry Wallace]

APA has an article on woodpeckers. Here is the URL. You may need to register to download it. They also have a wealth of information on other topics

http://www.apawood.org/level_c.cfm?content=pub_searchresults&pK=067&pT=Yes&pD=Yes&pF=Yes&CFID=4605475&CFTOKEN=82731969

[Chris Barton]

Build a fire?

[Kyle Kraft]

That's funny, Per!! A bird hunter friend of mine once used the term "Ribeye in the sky" to describe a tasty bird.

[Tim Wagner]

Dan...won't work...Bird LOVE hot stuff! It's like sugar to them... ;)

birds don't have taste buds.

maybe put some peanuts out to keep there attention.

on the other hand, you have a free alarm clock. enjoy. he is just telling you to get up and get to work already. LOL

[Dan Gill]

Combine the owl and cat ideas . . . put a stuffed cat on the roof.

You may laugh, but a taxidermist who used to have his shop here in Fort Worth was getting burglarized regularly, until his German Shepherd died, and he stuffed her and put her in the front window. She looked ALIVE when you pulled up. No more burglaries after that.

[Curt Fuller]

My friend swears by rubber snakes. Of course I still laugh every time I see the rubber snakes nailed to his house.