After my niece had a serious reaction to pest control, I realized that we were up against a few big problems. For starters, I knew that we needed to identify the types of pests that we were struggling with, and then we needed to find green products that would be safe for her to be around. It was a little bit of a challenge at first, but within a few weeks we found a company that offered the perfect line of products. I wanted to start a blog completely committed to pest control, so I started this site. Read more about keeping your family safe here.
Woodpeckers are a common type of garden bird that can be extremely aggravating pests. As their name would suggest, they are attracted to wooden structures, and can actually cause a significant amount of damage to your home and other wooden buildings on your property if left to their own devices. Thankfully, there are a handful of things that you can do to keep woodpeckers away from your home and prevent any sort of structural damage from occurring.
Decoys and Deterrents
Woodpeckers, like most birds, are scared of certain stimuli, which means that you can install certain items and decorations around your home to keep them away. This includes plastic owls and other fake predators around your yard, which are available at most hardware stores and can be a powerful deterrent. For a more visually pleasing look, install reflective windchimes and garden decorations: the flashing lights that they will produce will scare woodpeckers and other birds off. Loud sounds, caused by windchimes and windmills, and movement, caused by flags or windsocks, are also effective.
Alternative Food Sources
Besides scaring woodpeckers away from the area around your home, you may also want to install alternative food sources, like berry bushes and bird feeders, in the area of your yard that is the furthest away from your house. This will ensure that any woodpeckers that do take up residence in your yard do so as far away from your home as possible (keep in mind that this is most effective when used in conjunction with a variety of deterrents mentioned above).
Remove Trees and Nesting Locations
If you have a number of trees that are close to your house, you may want to consider cutting them down or trimming them back to reduce the overall amount of cover that they provide. By leaving the area around your home exposed to potential predators, you will encourage woodpeckers to stay in other areas of your yard that have thicker tree cover.
Pest Removal
While you may be concerned with woodpeckers drilling holes into the side of your home, they may be indicative of another issue entirely. Woodpeckers feed on insects, and will drill on wood that is infested with pests to find their food. If a large number of woodpeckers are concerning themselves with the side of your house, you may want to get into contact with a professional exterminator, such as Mr. Bug Killer Inc, to inspect your home and determine if you have a completely different pest issue within your home. Eliminating insects which may be living in the wood on the side of your home will also keep the woodpeckers away.
Share3 December 2017
