The problem with a woodpecker is it has a birdbrain. Woodpeckers can’t tell the difference between your house and a dead tree. It’s not uncommon for them to cause significant damage to siding, fascia boards, and especially those beautiful architectural elements created with Styrofoam. There are three reasons these birds peck on your walls: One, they are looking for food. Two, they’re making a nest. Three, they’re establishing and defining their territory.
It’s usually the third reason that creates the most damage. Woodpeckers are very territorial. In order to let other woodpeckers know, this is his (or in some cases her) territory, they fly around the perimeter of their domain, usually in the morning, and initiate a series of raps on hollow trees or any other cladding that creates the right sound. Apparently, the wall of your house has just the right tone. This behavior is called “drumming” and consists of two or three long brrrrrrrrrrrps. The woodpecker will typically drum in one spot for a minute or so, day after day. It does not take long before a large, irregular hole appears at the drumming site.
Not only is the woodpecker hole an eyesore, but it can also create problems with system integrity and water penetration. When a woodpecker is looking for grubs, it acts differently and makes a small cone shape or a long gallery of holes. If you ever see a woodpecker searching for insects, it will constantly turn its head as if looking for something on the surface. It is actually listening for grubs feeding in the wall. Then it only makes a hole large enough for its long, thin tongue to catch the bugs. The holes woodpeckers create searching for food are usually less than an inch in diameter. A woodpecker will occasionally attempt to excavate out a round nesting hole in the wall, but it’s rare and if the wood or surface is solid they usually give up after a day or two. However, woodpeckers seem to love foam pop-outs for a nesting site. And what’s worse, even if they peck a small hole and leave, other birds will take advantage of the hole, and the next thing you know, baby birds are living in the walls.
Attempts to discourage the onslaught by woodpeckers are almost humorous – plastic owls, rubber snakes, Mylar strips, and bird netting. Trapping and releasing woodpeckers doesn’t do much good. Unless you release them several miles away, they’ll just fly back to their own territory within a day or two. As far as the government is concerned, woodpeckers are classified as migratory, nongame birds and are protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. You can only exercise lethal control or nest destruction with a special permit issued by the Law Enforcement Division of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
A better solution is BeakGuard Woodpecker Deterrent. BeakGuard is an elastomeric acrylic finish that applies to surfaces like a standard latex paint. It can be applied to wood, fiber-cement, stucco, aluminum, or vinyl. This compound immediately communicates a warning signal to woodpeckers, prompting them to find a different location. Your house will no longer make the right sound. BeakGuard offers outstanding durability and weather-ability in a vapor permeable, flexible membrane with exceptional color retention. BeakGuard is environmentally safe. It will not harm woodpeckers or any other bird species. The ingredients in BeakGuard are found in many consumer products on the market today, particularly deterrents for nail biting and thumb sucking.
If you’re fighting a losing battle against Woody Woodpecker, BeakGuard may solve your problem. MTS Painting can prepare a free estimate for applying BeakGuard to your home.
