NUISANCE WOODPECKERS

If you hear this sound in the great outdoors, keep in mind that it’s a form of communication in certain birds. Just like the tapping sounds of Morse Code used to communicate, it’s believed that woodpeckers drum both to inform others of their species that this is their territory and to attract and maintain a mate.

Drumming is also called rapping or tattooing and can be done on a natural or artificial surface that really resonates. A hollow limb, for instance, is what Mother Nature has provided them. Drumming might sound destructive but it doesn’t damage the metal roof, rain gutter, or telephone pole.

But, if you see nest-holes in that telephone pole, that’s a different woodpecker action called excavating. Excavating involves a much slower and harder blow by the woodpecker’s bill that enables the bird to chip away at the wood.

If you have woodpeckers excavating roosting or nesting holes on the side of your wooden house or out-building, instead of resorting to drastic action like shooting them for it, which is an illegal activity, instead consider placing the appropriate sized bird house where the damage is taking place. Woodpeckers often resort to using a bird house at the very spot they’ve selected instead of continuing to excavate. For details and bird house blueprints suitable for different size classes of woodpeckers, visit HERE. This booklet will help guide you to a truce between you and any woodpecker that is causing you trouble. The bird house says you’re willing to accommodate your feathered neighbors. Keep in mind that woodpeckers create cavities that, once abandoned, might be used later by an owl for roosting, nesting, or both. Do it for the owls.

Order your Owl Shack HERE.