Woodpecker Troubles!

[Marvelmania]

Now I know some of you guys would have a field day with the title of this thread but I'm serious when I ask if anyone knows of a way to get rid of a woodpecker? On my back patio I have a cedar deck and a woodpecker is putting holes in it. As soon as I walk out the door it takes off and as soon as I go back into the house it's back! I've tried placing a few owl figures around and it does nothing to deter it. I've also tried putting a rubber snake out and no luck either. I'd probably shoot it but I think it's a state protected bird and besides it never comes around when I'm outside. Open to any suggestions.

[Mikey]

Try getting a few pinwheels and mounting them near or on the table.

You can usually find them for sale at the local grocery store in the party supplies or checkout.

The whole trick is movement to scare it off.

[wayne foundation 07]

try wrapping a screen around where ever he's pecking maybe if he can achieve penitration he will head elsewhere

[jwyblejr]

If his name is Woody,run.

[JPkempo]

Most are endangered species so you can’t do any thing that will harm them. Can you get a plastic hawk or something that will scare them away.

[Nostalgiabuff]

get a small cross bow or a 10 bump pellet gun and shoot the bastage. that way no one will here the shot and you can bury the evidence.

[Marvelmania]

That's what I tried with the owl figures and the rubber snake. I read that they should scare it away but nope. it'll sit almost beside it and just go to town.
I haven't tried screening off the area but I did rub some dried hot pepper around the holes it had already started and it'll just go to another spot.
I'll give your suggestion a try Mike. Maybe it'll work.
Someone told me that woodpeckers are migratory birds and if I knew it would go away soon I'd give it a little more time. I've got a last resort method in mind but really hate to do it. I'll get a couple of pinwheels and see how that goes first.
I got to one point where I was going to shoot it but like I said as soon as I open the door it takes off. Then as soon as I walk into the house I can hear it pecking away. I've even tried going out the front and sneaking around the back to catch it.

[Duncan]

We have cedar siding. Woodpeckers love cedar. They peck holes, pull out the insulation, and build nests in our walls.

I've heard they don't like the smell of Ben Gay, but haven't tried it yet. We had brief success by hanging aluminum pie plates, and we've been told that CDs work, too. Unfortunately, nothing works permanently. You can get a permit to use lethal means, but first you have to be able to prove you've tried other things.

Best bet - torch the deck, and use the insurance money to rebuild with something besides cedar.

[Nostalgiabuff]

okay, then get a few cats

[Duncan]

Someone told me that woodpeckers are migratory birds and if I knew it would go away soon I'd give it a little more time.

Not sure about migration, but they are seasonal around here. They come in the fall to find mates, and they come back in the spring to make nests. The same families come back every year.

[Marvelmania]

I'll give a couple of other ways a try but if I have to get a permit I'll do it. A friend suggested a mouse trap and some peanut butter and bird seed.

[mazinz]

A woodpecker just loved the front of our house which still has cedar shingles. We hung dvdrs out of the windows in hopes that if they move the light reflects scaring the bird. Luckily our woodpecker was small and not one of the bigger of the species. The dvdrs kind of worked but not really.

We called a pest control and he told us that they were going to hang "invisible" strips of plastic about one inch apart directly from our roof to the house ground. This would also stretch across the front of the whole house. The point being the bird flies into this and it does not know what to think and eventaully goes elsewhere. Of course it was very expensive, and not guaranteed to work and really who wants a shower curtain going across their house? we passed on that. The pest control also told us that really if we made a little home for the woodpecker to go into, he might actually leave the house alone. We did not try that either

Eventually and after 3 years of fighting he just left on his own. Every now and then a new one will stop by for a second and then fly off to wherever else

of course endangered or not a BB gun would work wonders if you caught the *******.

[Marvelmania]

Nope no bb gun but I do carry a 9mm. It might work.

[mazinz]

Nope no bb gun but I do carry a 9mm. It might work.

just dispose of the bird out in the woods or bury him and no one can prove anything

[Megospidey]

You can actually call the wildlife/game and fish people in your state and request a permit to shoot it due to the damage it is doing to the property.

Yes they are endangered, but when they start doing property damage, you are allowed to deal with them.

Had one that was pecking on the corner of my house, got the permit, end of woodpecker.