Woodpeckers Are Driving Me Crazy!

October 9, 2014

Question: I’ve got a bunch of woodpeckers that keep pecking at my house and they are driving me crazy! Can I use a pellet gun to haze them and chase them off? Thanks. (Alan H., Ukiah)

Answer: No, woodpeckers are a nongame species so you will have to find a non-lethal method to haze them away from your house. You could try hanging shiny mylar tape like they use in orchards to scare the birds away from the fruit or try posting an owl decoy. You might also try covering the wood with metal mesh hardware cloth.

This is a USFWS question and they do have a permit process for a number of species under federal depredation provisions unless designated a fully protected bird.

For additional tips and information, please check with the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program online at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.house.html#VERT.

I used to have the same problem.  I called a few pest companies and they said these particular species were part of the Federal Migratory Bird Act. Made sense too as they only came around seasonally.  Worst part was they were tapping on exposed metal and tin (roof vents and chimney pest cover) as a way to stake out their territory.  One pest guy told me chase it away the second he starts tapping.  It took about a week or two and I hurled about twenty pine cones and sticks at the damn thing immediately upon tapping and eventually they moved on. Good luck.

I had a Landlord who used rubber snakes on the roof.