How to Protect Fruit Trees From Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers can ruin fruit trees by using their sharp, pointy beaks to make holes in the bark, which they use to live in and obtain food. These holes can potentially kill fruit trees by allowing harmful pests to penetrate the protective bark. Luckily, it is easy to protect fruit trees from woodpeckers by preparing a good defense.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Aluminum pie pan
• String
• Post
• Old clothing
• Straw
• Nails
• Bird alarm system
• Fishing line

1. Make a small hole in an aluminum pie pan and run a string through it. Tie the other ends of the string together and hang the pie pan from the fruit tree. Make several more of these pans and hang them throughout the tree. The pans will scare away woodpeckers by reflecting sunlight and making loud noises as they bang off of limbs and each other.

2. Plant other trees that are more attractive to woodpeckers than the fruit trees. Pine trees are favorites of woodpeckers and are able to grow fast. Plant the trees a considerable distance from the fruit trees that you are protecting.

3. Build a scarecrow to protect fruit trees from woodpeckers. Scarecrows make the birds think that a human is constantly standing guard over the fruit trees, and will deter them significantly. Drive a post into the ground and fill some old clothing up with straw. Nail the articles of clothing from the post to imitate a human. The head can be made out of a pumpkin or an object of similar size.

4. Purchase and install a bird alarm system. These alarms sit in different parts of trees with motion sensors. When a woodpecker trips the motion sensor, a loud sound is played through a speaker that frightens the bird away. They should be installed using the manufacturer's instructions.

5. Wrap the fruit trees in monofilament fishing line. This special kind of line will catch and reflect the suns rays and repel any woodpeckers. Simply run the spool of line around the tree and through the limbs until the spool is empty. Repeat for all fruit trees.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to make the scarecrow as human-like as possible. Allow the arms and legs to swing and move in the wind to further deter woodpeckers.
• Never put aluminum pie pans or monofilament fishing line on a tree that is near a road. The sunlight can reflect and blind drivers, causing them to crash. Make sure that you only prepare trees that are reasonably secluded. You probably shouldn't install the bird alarm system if you live in an urban or suburban area. The loud noise may disrupt neighbors, especially if it is busy scaring birds all day.