The Effects of Woodpeckers on Building Exteriors
By: Laurel Rae Harmon
November 6th 2015
November 6th 2015
Woodpeckers can damage the exterior of residential and commercial buildings due to their pecking behavior
s. There are several species of woodpecker native to North America that have been noted for causing damage to buildings. Woodpeckers use two types of pecking: drumming and drilling. When woodpeckers use repetitive short pecks, this is called drumming. Woodpeckers drum to attract mates and to mark their territories. The sound of the drumming lets other birds know that a woodpecker has claimed an area. Woodpeckers also use another kind of peck called drilling. Drilling is done in order to carve out homes or to find food. One type of woodpecker, the acorn woodpecker, will make a series of small holes just big enough to store one acorn each.
Woodpeckers prefer dead trees to nest and find food. The woodpecker likes to eat beetles, larvae, and other bugs that live in dead and dying trees. When people build a new house on a property and have trees removed for development or when people have dead trees removed, woodpeckers then search for another place to live, mate, and eat. Unfortunately, this usually means someone’s house. When a woodpecker is using dead trees to make a nest or find bugs people generally do not have a problem with this behavior. When a woodpecker starts using a person’s home, then it becomes a problem.
The most common reason a woodpecker will peck at your house is that it likes the noise it makes. Woodpeckers do not limit themselves to the pecking sound on wood and will also peck metal or plastic. Woodpeckers can be found drumming on street lights, utility poles, gutters, chimneys, roof eaves, satellite dishes, stucco, and anything else they like. Luckily, when a woodpecker is drumming, there is usually minimal damage.
However, the other reason woodpeckers like buildings is for nesting, roosting, and brooding. When a woodpecker has decided to take residence in your house it will drill large, deep holes into the exterior and nest in your substrate or insulation. Woodpeckers usually build their nests and mate from January to June and will have 2-3 broods per season laying 3-6 eggs each time. The eggs take less than two weeks to hatch and the chicks are cared for by both the mother and father woodpecker.
However, the other reason woodpeckers like buildings is for nesting, roosting, and brooding. When a woodpecker has decided to take residence in your house it will drill large, deep holes into the exterior and nest in your substrate or insulation. Woodpeckers usually build their nests and mate from January to June and will have 2-3 broods per season laying 3-6 eggs each time. The eggs take less than two weeks to hatch and the chicks are cared for by both the mother and father woodpecker.
It is important to repair woodpecker damage as soon as it is noticed. Leaving holes in exterior cladding for any amount of time allows water, air, and moisture behind your exterior cladding and can lead to mold, mildew, or decay, especially when the substrate is untreated wood such as OSB or plywood.
There are a few things one can do to discourage woodpeckers from drumming or drilling. One of the most effective way to keep a woodpecker from returning is to scare it. It is generally noted that decoys such as owls are not effective because they do no move. Once the woodpeckers realize the decoy is inanimate, they will go back to pecking. Shiny things that move in the breeze, such as pinwheels, strips of brightly colored plastic, Mylar, or aluminum foil will often deter a woodpecker.
There are a few things one can do to discourage woodpeckers from drumming or drilling. One of the most effective way to keep a woodpecker from returning is to scare it. It is generally noted that decoys such as owls are not effective because they do no move. Once the woodpeckers realize the decoy is inanimate, they will go back to pecking. Shiny things that move in the breeze, such as pinwheels, strips of brightly colored plastic, Mylar, or aluminum foil will often deter a woodpecker.
It is important that you do not harm or kill the woodpecker as it is an endangered species and harming them in a federal offense. Many species of woodpecker are threatened, critically endangered, or possibly extinct. Other activities like transporting or trapping a woodpecker may be also be illegal and could carry a fine.
One other solution to deterring woodpeckers from nesting in a building is to give it an alternate home. A nesting box, which is a kind of bird house on a post that is enclosed. Some people have found that providing one of these nesting boxes filled with sawdust encourages woodpeckers to nest there rather that drill and nest in building exteriors.
One other solution to deterring woodpeckers from nesting in a building is to give it an alternate home. A nesting box, which is a kind of bird house on a post that is enclosed. Some people have found that providing one of these nesting boxes filled with sawdust encourages woodpeckers to nest there rather that drill and nest in building exteriors.
In conclusion, the woodpecker pecks for various reasons. The woodpecker is a beautiful bird that is vital to the environment. When woodpeckers are causing damage to a home or business there are ways to deter them from inflicting major damage on a building’s exterior. It is important to never transport, injure, or kill a woodpecker as they are a protected species
For information on repairing stucco that has been damaged by woodpeckers visit www.eifsdepot.com/eifs-repair-kit/
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