@$%&ing woodpecker!!!!

[EL4]

Every morning this week at about 5:30 or so, I have been woken up to the joyful sounds of a woodpecker attacking my house. The best part is, he is not pecking on any of the wood portions of the house, no, this woodpecker prefers metal. He is pecking on the cap of the stove pipe sticking out of my roof. which of course magnifies the sound all the way through my house down to the basement and out the heater. when I go outside, he sees me and flies away for a little while.

How do you get rid of woodpeckers?

[RB]

Move. And, if you're lucky they won't follow you. ;-)

I've had some luck this year with mine by hanging suet blocks from the trees. Some of them prefer to eat without all of the work but some still just prefer to peck away.

RB

EL4 wrote:

[Pat Kiewicz]

Bring him a female. That's what he's advertising for.

It will end soon enough.

We have a flicker that hammers the stove pipe off and on for a while each spring. Less so this year, as we have large amounts of standing dead trees (killed by the emerald ash borer), which also make great hammering stations.

You could try putting strips of that bristly stuff that's used to prevent bird's perching onto the stove pipe.

[Lar]

:) Every morning this week at about 5:30 or so, I have been woken up to the :) joyful sounds of a woodpecker attacking my house. The best part is, he is :) not pecking on any of the wood portions of the house, no, this woodpecker :) prefers metal. He is pecking on the cap of the stove pipe sticking out of my :) roof. which of course magnifies the sound all the way through my house down :) to the basement and out the heater. :) when I go outside, he sees me and flies away for a little while. :) :) :) How do you get rid of woodpeckers?

Look where he is positioned on the pipe and place a small amount of the commercial bird repellent, the type applied with a caulk gun, about where his feet would touch. No more than the size of a pencil mark would be needed. It can be messy

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

It is said that the early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

[Jim Elbrecht]

This sounds like a woodpecker coming home & looking for his lady. This birder suggests a mirror to make him think another bird is already in the neighborhood.

Jim

[indago]

040430 0627 - EL4 posted:

Speaking of WoodPecker...

[Ken Carlson]

We had the same thing a couple years ago. A woodpecker would peck on our metal chimney cap, then fly off and repeat his performance on the metal chimney cap on a neighbor's house. He went around the whole neighborhood doing the same thing. I think it's some mating ritual thing. Just wait a week or two and he will stop, at least that's what happened in our case.

Ken

[Mitch Skool]

Claim the territory as your own. Every time you hear him banging, step outside and slap your hand hard several times on the siding, preferably right below where he's hammering. (Not much fun at 5am, I know). He'll get the message pretty quickly, a few days will do it.

M

(It's purely optional to shout, "I've got the biggest pecker in this neighborhood!") :)

[Sara]

I had this problem for a couple of years. I would pull the attic steps down, stagger up to the attic, and belt the metal chimney pipe with a stick. All this at dawn, mind you. It seemed to work, or maybe the stupid bird just got tired.

Sara

[Nancy]

We had this problem one year in our old house too. It would peck on our vinyl siding. At 5am we were banging on the wall. After a few days, we heard it across the street on our neighbors' house. Damn thing. Good Luck.

Nancy :-)

[JerryL]

[rck]

I have a metal roof and experienced the same thing. Wasp and hornet spray is hazardous to birds. Let 'em have a burst or two and they won't come back. I don't know if it kills them or not. Maybe that's why they don't come back.

Bob

[Nancy]

I just LOL'd! Nancy

[JerryMouse]

Summary:

1. Go outside before dawn, in your underwear, and clap your hands or beat on the wall. Woodpecker goes away in a few days.
2. Climb into attic before dawn, in your underwear, and beat on vent from the inside. Woodpecker goes away in a few days.
3. Hang mirrors, strips of plastic, no-squirrel-goo, or other scarepeckers on roof (underwear optional). Woodpecker goes away in a few days.
4. Do nothing (underwear as required). Woodpecker goes away in a few days.

[the_pope]

I understand the underwear? Someone once told me to always wear underwear to keep my pecker from flying around. So, I suppose it works with any kind of pecker, even wooden ones.

[montana]

I would like to add (in #4) that hanging useless AOL CDs where the woodpecker does peck wood is also an option. Mirrors can be a pain to work with and AOL CDs are free and plentiful. It's responsible recycling.

Not all woodpeckers peck wood to find a mate, but I hope this is what the OP's woodpecker is doing because action # 4 is always optimal.

[Stormin Mormon]

Flyagra? (Ok, guys, I couldn't resist. Get it... wood peckers....)

[Mark]

About once a year I go through the same thing, but my woodpeckers seem to like the metal gutters on the house. The last time it was right above my bedroom window!

For the last 3 years, I get the ladder and spray some clear lacquer around the area where I think he was banging away. Not heavy, just enough to stink things up for him. The odor is enough to prevent him from coming back the next and subsequent days.

I read this trick somewhere on the net and it has worked great for me. And, no, you can't see any difference where you spray.

[Bill]

The fastest way to solve the problem is to run down to Wal-Mart and pick up a 22 caliber rifle. Go out into your yard before daylight the next morning and perch yourself where you can draw a bead on that pipe up on the roof. When the varmint lands, slowly move the rifle into position, aimed and braced against a tree and slowly squeeze off one round.

That should do it! Depending on the angle of your shot, you may need to apply some of that roof patch goop if the 22 hits and penetrates your roof. Try to remember how he likes to position himself for pecking and get yourself into an angle for the shot that will go through him and out into the sky without hitting your house.

Bill

[Stormin Mormon]

You just flunked the NRA safety test.