ABC Blog

The Woodpecker: Your Home’s Fine Feathered Enemy

Woodpecker featured img
If you’re a nature lover, you might enjoy a woodpecker’s soft, distant tapping while you take a leisurely mid-morning stroll through the woods. However, when you’re sound asleep at the crack of dawn and awakened by a relentless, unbelievably loud hammering on your wood-sided house, it probably doesn’t have the same heart-warming effect. As much as you might fantasize about running outside in your bathrobe and knocking the bird off the side of your humble abode with the gentle nudge of a pressure washer, you wouldn’t want to harm such a beautiful creature. Besides, you can’t. They’re protected by federal law.

Doesn’t All that Pecking Give Them a Headache?

Woodpeckers have developed special physical features that protect them from harm while using their bills as jackhammers. Their brains are surrounded by extra cushioning, and they have reinforced skulls to distribute the force of repeated impact. Unfortunately, our heads contain nothing to protect us from the annoying sunrise drum concert.

Headaches aside, woodpecker damage, is a serious matter. One or two birds can be responsible for numerous holes in a single structure. They primarily target rotten wood in trees but may also attack buildings, houses, telephone poles, fences, and eaves. Many people erroneously believe that woodpeckers only tap wood to find food. While they do seek the insects present in wood, the loud and constant drumming you hear is more likely the woodpecker’s mating ritual, primarily if it occurs in spring.

How Much Damage Can a Woodpecker Cause?

Persistent, rhythmic drumming noises may be alarming, but there’s typically less damage associated with this behavior than it might seem. However, it can be a significant source of noise pollution, and that may cause severe sleep problems for shift workers.

Sporadic and intermittent pecking indicates more damaging activity and may result in extensive damage to wood and other substances, such as stucco or plastic. You can always fill and repair minor holes, but woodpeckers are persistent and will probably make new ones. Woodpeckers nest in cavities, so when you find an area that has been extensively excavated, your feathered friend has decided to set up housekeeping at your expense.

Let Us Silence Your Problem

Prevention is the most valuable weapon against woodpecker damage. To get a head start, institute control measures before spring to protect your home during the active mating season.

At ABC, we can help you discourage woodpeckers and prevent severe damage to your home. Our humane wildlife management services remove the worry of expensive siding repairs and can help keep you sleeping in on the weekends. Contact us today for a professional evaluation.

Learn More

Comments are closed.