Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

The Definitive Guide to Woodpecker Control and Where to Find a
Wildlife Control Professional!

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Identification

Woodpeckers belong to the order Piciformes and the family Picidae, which also includes Flickers and Sap-suckers. Twenty-one species inhabit the United States. Woodpeckers have short legs with two sharp-clawed, backward-pointed toes and stiff tail feathers, which serve as a supportive prop. These physical traits enable them to cling easily to the trunks and branches of trees, wood siding, or utility poles while pecking. They have stout, sharply pointed beaks for pecking into wood and a specially developed long tongue that can be extended a considerable distance. The tongue is used to dislodge larvae or ants from their burrows in wood or bark. 

Woodpeckers are 7 to 15 inches in length, and usually have brightly contrasting coloration. Most males have some red on the head, and many species have black and white marks. Identification of species by their markings is quite easy. In most species, flight is usually undulating, with wings folded against the body after each burst of flaps. 

Most woodpeckers feed on wood-boring insects, insects on trees and the ground, vegetable matter, berries or tree sap. The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is responsible for most woodpecker damage to homes in the Northeast. It is identified in flight by a yellow or salmon tint under the wings and tail feathers. Flickers have black spots on a tannish-white breast and belly. Males have a black or red mustache extending from the gape of the beak to below the eyes. The Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) and Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) also occasionally cause problems.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

A common ant-eating woodpecker of open areas, the Northern Flicker has two color forms found in different regions. The yellow-shafted form is common across the eastern and northern parts of North America, while the red-shafted form is the one found in the West.

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

This bird is a medium-sized woodpecker, with black and white wings, a plain white back and belly, and a long, thick bill. Males of the species have a red patch on the back of their heads while females have a black patch. They range in size from 7-10 inches long and weigh anywhere from 1˝-3 ounces. They can live to 16 years of age. 

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

The smallest and most common American woodpecker, the Downy Woodpecker is found throughout most of North America from Alaska to Florida. It lives in a variety of habitats from wilderness forests to urban backyards, and comes readily to bird feeders. 

Range

Hairy woodpeckers are found from Alaska and Canada in the north, throughout the United States and as far south as Central America. They favor residing in forests-deciduous and coniferous-where there are tall trees. They are found year-round in the state of Illinois

The Downy Woodpecker is found over the greater part of the North American continent, from the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico northwards. In Canada in the northernmost part of its range, it is found from the island of Newfoundland across to James Bay, the northern Prairie Provinces, the southern Mackenzie District of the Northwest Territories, northern British Columbia, and Yukon. Downy Woodpeckers in the northern parts of the range migrate southward in the winter, but these migrations, which depend on the available food supplies, are somewhat irregular.

Damage Caused by Woodpeckers

Woodpecker Damage

Woodpecker Damage to house siding

Control Methods

One of the most effective methods of excluding woodpeckers from damaging wood siding beneath the eaves is to place lightweight plastic bird-type netting over the area. A mesh of 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) is generally recommended. At least 3 inches (7.6 cm) of space should be left between the netting and the damaged building so that birds cannot cause damage through the mesh.

Place metal sheathing or plastic sheeting over the pecked areas on building siding to offer permanent protection from continued damage. Like all repelling methods, metal barriers work best if installed as soon as damage begins. Occasionally the birds will move over to an unprotected spot and the protected area must be expanded. Aluminum flashing is easy to work with to cover damaged sites. Woodpeckers will sometimes peck through aluminum if they can secure a foothold from which to work. Metal sheathing can be disguised with paint or simulated wood grain to match the siding. 

Stationary model hawks or owls, fake and simulated snakes and owl and cat silhouettes are generally considered ineffective as repellents. Toy plastic twirlers or windmills fastened to the eaves, and aluminum foil or brightly colored plastic strips, bright tin lids, and pie pans hung from above, all of which repel by movement and/or reflection, have been used with some success, as have suspended falcon silhouettes, especially if put in place soon after the damage starts. The twirlers and plastic strips rely on a breeze for motion. Stretching reflective mylar tape strips across a damaged area, or attaching them to the eaves and letting them hang down (weighted or unweighted) is a recent alternative to aluminum strips. Large rubber balloons with owl-like eyes painted on them are included in the recent array of frightening devices used to scare woodpeckers.

Loud noises such as hand-clapping, a toy cap pistol, and banging on a garbage can lid have been used to frighten woodpeckers away from houses. Such harassment, if repeated when the bird returns, may cause it to leave for good.

Wooden-base rat snap traps can be effective in killing the offending birds. Federal and, most likely, state permits are required. It is best to contact a Wildlife Control Professional to consider the options available in your state.

Where it is necessary to remove the offending birds and the proper permits have been obtained, shooting may be one of the quickest methods of dispatching one or a few birds. The discharging of firearms is often subject to local regulations in residential areas.

Placing suet stations near damaged buildings, especially in colder parts of the country, has been recommended to entice woodpeckers away from buildings or damaged areas. Suet offered in the warmer seasons of the year, however, may be potentially harmful to woodpeckers. The suet gets onto the feathers of the head, which may lead to matting and eventual loss of feathers. Some damage control experts believe that any feeding of birds contributes to the problem and recommend against it.

All North American woodpeckers are primarily cavity nesters that excavate their own cavities, but some of these species, such as golden-fronted, hairy, red-bellied, and red-headed woodpeckers, do occasionally use existing cavities or nest boxes 

Northern flickers apparently use artificial boxes more often than any other woodpecker species. Some success has been achieved with the placement of cavity-type nest boxes on the building in the vicinity of damage by northern flickers. A thick layer of sawdust should be placed in the bottom of the box; better yet, some have found that filling the box completely full of sawdust entices the bird to remove the sawdust to the desired level. Possibly, the bird is fooled into thinking it is constructing its own nest. Working against the nest box is the fact that with primary cavity nesters, the preparation of the new cavity often seems a part of the breeding ritual. New cavities are often constructed even where preexisting empty cavities are available. 

The use of nest boxes is definitely worth trying in an area where visual or sound methods have failed and where woodpecker populations are desired. Nesting woodpeckers defend their territories and keep other woodpeckers away. What effect such boxes will have on increasing local wood-pecker populations is unknown.

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