Why do woodpeckers peck on houses?

Are there pesky birds outside your house pecking and giving you no peace? You are one of the many people who suffer this disturbance. You may have questions about this behavior. Before we can delve into why would peckers keep drilling into your house let us understand which once are most likely to be your culprits.



The culprits

The four most common peckers are

1. Hairy woodpeckers
2. Downy wood peckers
3. Pileated wood peckers
4. Northern flinchers

However, the most common among the four is the downy wood pecker.

So what will cause them to peck?

First of all, the pecking can be classified into two types

• Drumming- which is done all over the place and cause just a bit of disturbance on the surface. This is generally a call for mates, and usually happens during fall just before roosting time.

• Drilling – these are whole they drill into wood looking for food or trying to make a roosting nest.

The most likely reasons

While it is not entire clear why they peck, their actions have led to a few conclusions. Namely:

• They are getting ready to roost. They like to do it on dead trees, but sometimes when there are no dead trees to make their cavity homes in.
• They could also peck as way of marking their territory. That is as a way to warn others that it is their place, so they should keep off.
• They may also be mistaking your home for a funnily shaped tree and are therefore looking for bugs.

So how do you stop them from drumming or drilling your house?

You can place plastic owls and or hawks which are their natural predators. They may work for a while. However you cannot always be sure of their effectiveness as the bird may realize it is a trick. You can Block the place the bird has been trying to drilling to ensure that it will not do it again. You can use a mirror of metallic sheet. You may hang noisy items around the places they come to peck. When the make the whistling or clapping sounds, the bird is frightened and will seize its activities on your house. You can also make a paste mixed with cayenne pepper and paint it around your house. This works as a natural repellent to most animals.

Finally

If they are out of control, you are advised to look for professional help. They have more knowledge on how to remove the birds from your house.