If you wish to control woodpecker damage or noise, netting is 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 is generally recommended. At least 3 inches of space should be left between the netting and the damaged building so that birds cannot cause damage through the mesh. The netting can also be attached to the overhanging eaves and angled back to the siding below the damaged area and secured taut but not overly tight. Be sure to secure the netting so that the birds have no way to get behind it. If installed properly, the netting is barely visible from a distance and will offer a long-term solution to the damage problem. If the birds move to another area of the dwelling, that too will need to be netted. Netting becomes increasingly popular as a solution to woodpecker problems because it consistently gives desired results.

Metal sheathing or plastic sheeting placed 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 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.

Quarter inch hardware cloth has also been used to cover pecked areas and prevent further damage. It can be spray painted to match the color of the building. The wire can either be attached directly to the wood surface being damaged, or raised outward from the wood siding with 1 inch wood spacers. Once woodpeckers have been discouraged, frightened away, or killed, the damaged spots on houses should be repaired by filling in the holes with wood patch or covering them to prevent woodpeckers from being attracted to the damaged site at some future time.

Some of the harder compressed wood or wood-fiber siding materials cannot be damaged by woodpeckers. Presumably, their hardness and or smooth surface serve as deterrents. Aluminum siding can also be used as an alternative to wood siding.

To protect trees from sapsuckers, wrap barriers of 1/4 inch hardware cloth, plastic mesh, or burlap around injured areas to discourage further damage. This method may be practical for protecting high-value ornamental or shade trees. In orchards and forested areas it may be best to let the sapsuckers work on one or more of their favorite trees. Discouraging them from select trees may encourage the birds to disperse to others, causing damage to a greater number of trees.

Frightening Devices
Visual. devices such as 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 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 un-weighted) 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.

A good deal of attention has recently been given to round magnifying-type shaving mirrors installed over or adjacent to damaged areas to frighten woodpeckers with their larger-than-life reflections. Contrarily, woodpeckers are not discouraged from damaging wooden window frames or casings very near window panes where their own reflection would frequently by seen. In fact, some believe that seeing their own reflection intensifies the damage as a result of defensive territorial behavior.

Loud noises such as handclapping, 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. Around homes, portable radios have been played with little success in discouraging woodpeckers. Expensive high-frequency sound producing devices are marketed for controlling various pest birds but rarely provide advertised results. High-frequency sound is above the normal audible hearing range of humans but, unfortunately, above the range of most birds too.

Woodpeckers can be very persistent and are not easily driven from their territories or selected pecking sites. For this reason, visual or sound types of frightening devices for protecting buildings-if they are to be effective at all--should be employed as soon as the problem is identified and before territories are well established. Visual and sound devices often fail to give desired results and netting may have to be installed.

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