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View Full Version : Woodpeckers-what to do?



Ben Grunow
05-25-2007, 9:24 PM
I have a pilated woodpecker that is making me and my neighbors nuts. He pecks my gutters every morning at about 5:30 waking the kids and me and he has gone as far as to make holes in my neighbors cedar shingles.

I would love to give him a case of lead poisoning but I am hoping there is an easier way. 12 ga might not be so popular.

Anyone have any ideas on how to catch a woodpecker?

Last resort is a rotten log in the back yard and the pellet rifle.

Ben

Jim Becker
05-25-2007, 9:53 PM
Contact a local wildlife specialist/expert to investigate solutions.

Al Willits
05-25-2007, 11:31 PM
Pellet rifle is the easist...anybody ever grill a woodpecker?? :D

Al

David G Baker
05-25-2007, 11:53 PM
Ben,
I have a pair of pilated woodpeckers that visit my front porch daily to feed on the cut 4 inch by 3 feet branches that I have bored 1 1/2 inch holes in, filled with suet and hung from hooks. They have made some serious holes in some bug infested trees on my property but that was more entertaining than a problem. There is a smaller wood pecker that wakes us up in the early morning by pecking on a power pole transformer.
I think that pilated woodpeckers are a protected species.
You might try feeding them suet, that might give them something else to peck at.

mark page
05-26-2007, 9:41 AM
I know what you are going through. We had one of those yellow bellied sapsucker woodpeckers beating against the flashing on a vent pipe. Sounded like someone on the roof using a jackhammer in a hail storm. This was many years ago and if I remember, my ex bought one of those fake looking owls or falcons and mounted him on one of the gutters. The only downfall is that this may keep the songbirds away too.

Nancy Laird
05-26-2007, 9:56 AM
What Mark said! Fake owls do a great job of keeping woodpeckers away, or so I've heard. Only problem I've heard is that you need to keep moving him, or the woodpeckers will catch on that it's a fake.

Lee Schierer
05-27-2007, 8:51 AM
He is marking his territory using the loudest drum he can find. Not much you can do other than either put up with it or put something over his favorite spots that will deaden the sound.

Rubber snakes supposedly work if they get moved from time to time.

Right now we have a male cardinal that beats himself against his rivals' refelction in the picture window on teh front of our house. So far he hasn't knocked himself silly, but it is pretty annoying at 6:00 a.m. on weekends.

Ed Garrett
05-27-2007, 6:53 PM
I've seen a woodpecker do this on my house's flashing. It's the closest thing to a machine gun I've ever heard. This woodpecker licked up dazed bugs that stumbled out from under the flashing. It happened twice. Each time I chased him off. I actually liked seeing the woodpecker, but I was afraid he might try out the wooden components of my house. I guess he found my neighbors houses less hostile because I heard that machine gun sound throughout my neighborhood the next few days....

Ben West
05-27-2007, 9:29 PM
1) You might be tempted to take the little buggers out using a pellet gun, M60, Napalm, or other violent methods. However, you should be aware that Woodpeckers are protected by Federal and State laws; the federal law (Migratory Bird Treaty Act) carries some pretty stiff penalties.

2) Plastic owls, snakes, etc. absolutely will not work. Don't waste your time or money with them.

3) The most effective method is using reflective mylar tape hung in vertical strips around the area you're having problems. Now, this may well not solve the problem, but research suggests it has a better chance of doing so than anything else.

The problems you're having are probably a result of the woodpeckers using your house as a sounding board; they use their tap-tap-taps to establish breeding territories. Houses make excellent sound amplifiers. If that's the case, your problem should disappear within a few weeks as we move into summer. If that is the case, take the mylar tape down until next spring. Leaving it up year-round allows them the opportunity to become accustomed and comfortable with it.

If the problem persists and is serious enough, you may be able to get permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the birds. If so, PM me and I can put you in touch with the right people.

Good luck!

mark page
05-27-2007, 10:20 PM
As my LOML would put it, another male species bragging about who has the biggest ......beak in the territory...
Please no more woodpeckers jokes as I am still RFLMAO from the last diddy my LOML pulled on herself.....

Mike Cutler
05-27-2007, 11:10 PM
Ben.

Don't shoot the woodpecker and get caught. It's absolutley, positively, and irrefutably protected in CT.
The state DEP may have some suggestions for you.

I have an avid bird watching coworker that has been waiting to see a Pileated woodpecker for his entire adult life, and here you have one annoying the beejeesus out of you. Maybe I'll send him over to your house.;)

David G Baker
05-28-2007, 11:02 AM
Mike,
We have a pair that hang around our place because we hang large branches drilled and filled with suet, your co-worker, if living in a semi rural area, may give that a try. The male seldom visits but the female visits daily. They are similar to the, thought to be, extinct ivory billed woodpecker.
If you wish I can e-mail you some photos.

Cliff Rohrabacher
05-28-2007, 1:05 PM
They can be a pain. Chances are he's just out chick hunting at 5:30 in the morning. As soon as he's found a girlfriend and has got a pack of papooses in a nest you'll hear him no more.

And as to eliminating him the old fashioned way.
Don't~!! And if you do, then DON'T tell any one and don't post it here or elsewhere. It's is most likely likely a felony and your full name state and home town are already on the internet. That's not the kind of exposure any one needs.

Just be careful. Be very careful.

Ben Grunow
05-28-2007, 9:35 PM
Guess I'll leave the fire stick on the rack.

Maybe I could hit him with a bat so no one would hear (just kidding). He has not been around for a couple days so maybe its over but it is an interesting thought (how to catch a bird). I think I will talk to local wildife/animal control folks and get their take.

Thanks for keeping me out of jail-this time anyway.

Ben

David G Baker
05-28-2007, 10:37 PM
Ben,
The Woodpecker Police will be a keepin a eye on ye so be sure to tread softly.