How to Stop a Woodpecker From Nesting in a House

Woodpeckers can damage a house by building a nest in its wooden exterior.

The United States is home to 21 species of woodpecker. Normally they build nests within trees by chiseling through bark, although sometimes stray ones find shelter in wooden buildings. Consequently, woodpeckers can cause damage to structures because they penetrate into the building's exterior surface and create open cavities for nesting. You can prevent woodpeckers causing a nuisance to your house by taking some precautionary measures and enforcing them from February to June, when woodpeckers generally begin roosting.

Things You'll Need

• Netting
• Small hooks
• Plastic owls, snakes or cats
• Garbage lid
• Wooden spoon
• Bird repellent
• Nest Box

Instructions

1. Install hooks around the edges of any wooden paneling or surface that is exposed on the exterior of your house. Spread out the hooks, approximately two feet apart.

2. Cover the wooden surface with plastic netting by looping it over the hooks. This is an effective method of prevention that creates a barrier to prevent woodpeckers from being able to access your house. Use a 3/4-inch mesh to achieve this.

3. Position plastic animals such as snakes, owls or cats around your garden, on your roof or by screwing to the outside of the wooden paneling. Use two or three for each side of your house. They act as a deterrent to scare off woodpeckers considering to build a nest.

4. Keep an eye out for woodpeckers by looking through your windows or sitting in the garden. Be conspicuous so as to not startle the bird, but as it approaches bang on the garbage lid using the wooden spoon. Creating noise can assist in stopping the birds from coming near your house.

5. Smear bird repellent in patches across any wooden surface of your house. Products such as Tanglefoot, 4-The-Birds, and Roost-No-More are available to do this. The repellent leaves a sticky surface which the woodpeckers dislike when they step on it. Therefore, it deters the bird from returning to that area.

6. Put up a large birdhouse on a tree in your garden or on the side of your house close to where the woodpecker was doing damage. The birdhouse should have a hole 2 1/2 inches in diameter and should have sawdust on its floor or even be filled with sawdust so the woodpecker can make its own nest. This may entice woodpeckers away from your house and into the birdhouse instead.

References

• Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management: Woodpeckers