Ok Ok its not really a woodpecker but its in the same family. I have a yellow bellied sapsucker that has made a roost in my house and is currently nesting. its annoying as hell and i've already shot 2 birds but they keep coming back. just wondering if any of you here have had any issues with woodpecker type birds boring holes in your home and how you got rid of them. i've done some preliminary research but wanted to heard any testimonies to techniques that worked.



http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/wild/pdf/wildlife/WOODPECKERS.PDF.

3/3/2010 1:51:11 PM

3/3/2010 1:58:09 PM

from the article above...

Quote :

"Frightening Devices Visual. Stationary model hawks or owls, fake and simulated snakes, and owl and cat silhouettes are generally considered ineffective as repellents."

3/3/2010 2:02:26 PM

My parents nailed a couple rubber snakes to the side of their house.

As far as I know, they don't bother with their house any more. Who'd think it would be that simple?

[Edited on March 3, 2010 at 2:09 PM. Reason : their, not our house. I don't live there any more. ]

3/3/2010 2:08:43 PM

That's an endangered species. I'm reporting you right now.

[Edited on March 3, 2010 at 2:21 PM. Reason : motion activated sprinklers]

3/3/2010 2:20:54 PM

there was one on the outside of my bedroom at our old house when i was a kid. dad shot at him with a bb gun so he went to a tree, then shot him w/ a shotgun.

he had previously tried filling the hole with spackle and putting metal over the new board. they pecked a hole above the metal then.

the only solution is death. you could try animal control.

3/3/2010 2:26:50 PM

you have bugs

3/3/2010 2:31:25 PM

the ones at our house were roosting. they had a nest in there.

3/3/2010 2:32:04 PM

cant you just let them have the babies first

3/3/2010 2:38:47 PM

^^^ no they are roosting/nesting. because they fly in and out of the hole. if it was bugs it would be a bunch of little holes.

i guess i'll just need to get a permit and some rat shot for my .22

3/3/2010 3:53:23 PM

BB/pellet gun works fine in this situation

3/3/2010 3:55:12 PM

you got birds

i have a similar problem, woodpeckers always peckin at my STERNIN WHEEL



[Edited on March 3, 2010 at 4:33 PM. Reason : d]

3/3/2010 4:32:19 PM

This happened to me. I would fill up a cup of hot water and run out on the back porch and throw it to where it was. As soon as I got back in my bed, he started again. After 2 more times, I just started laughing.

He then went away and didnt come back.

3/3/2010 4:36:31 PM

aww u killed da babies

3/3/2010 4:41:00 PM

Quote :

"This happened to me. I would fill up a cup of hot water and run out on the back porch and throw it to where it was. As soon as I got back in my bed, he started again. After 2 more times, I just started laughing."

you're a fucked up individual

3/3/2010 5:01:12 PM

I don't know why I found this so humorous.



STOP PECKIN MAH HOUSE!

3/3/2010 5:16:45 PM

^^^^^I want that steering wheel for my car.

3/3/2010 5:19:51 PM

There was a period there where I had one that would start every morning 30 minutes before I had to get up like clockwork.

3/4/2010 12:35:19 AM

Quote :

"aww u killed da babies"

no, there were no babies. just a nest.

3/4/2010 8:35:05 AM

cat?

But ya it sounds like you might have bugs in the wood too. Check it out maybe get an exterminator to look at it for you.

3/4/2010 9:13:45 AM

Quote :

"you're a fucked up individual "

really? Throwing water at bird? Seems a bit more humane than shooting it. Wet vs. Dead? I dunno.

The funny part was the bird would go away until I got back into bed... then start pecking again. At first I was pissed...then it just made me laugh.

3/4/2010 9:49:19 AM

Master_Yoda....i already addressed thsi issue. If it were bugs the hole pattern would be a bunch of small holes. In this case it is one large hole where they roost. The activity has increased lately b/c the female is nesting.

I'm gonna pick up some rat shot for my .22 this weekend and get a permit. Then I just have to patch the holes.

3/4/2010 10:23:40 AM

3/4/2010 10:45:29 AM

Although, if I'm not mistaken, NC is a bird sanctuary. Meaning technically it would be illegal to kill it.

Quote :

"Woodpeckers are a federally protected bird under the North American Migratory Bird Act. Do not use lethal control on woodpeckers without contacting your Federal Wildlife Officer. You will need to institute non-lethal control strategies before you will receive permission to implement lethal control."

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080129135613AAYlWzB

[Edited on March 4, 2010 at 10:51 AM. Reason : a]

3/4/2010 10:47:39 AM

no, NC is not a bird sanctuary (see: hunting). only certain towns or other municipalities are. rocky mount is one, so is emerald isle. i have no clue about raleigh. the ivory-billed woodpecker is the only woodpecker on the NC Wildlife Resources Commission's list of protected wildlife. it is listed as endangered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. it's HUGE, and considered extinct by a lot of groups.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Wildlife_Species_Con/documents/protected_species.pdf

the red-cockaded woodpecker is considered endangered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, but
"While other woodpeckers bore out cavities in dead trees where the wood is rotten and soft, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker is the only one which excavates cavities exclusively in living pine trees."

your house is not a living pine tree, so i doubt it's one of those.

red-cockaded woodpecker:


[Edited on March 4, 2010 at 1:55 PM. Reason : ]

3/4/2010 1:50:45 PM

^ yes, but you still have to have a permit. you can't just walk out in the woods and shoot birds.

3/4/2010 1:52:10 PM

a hunting permit, yes.

you can get permits from cities that are bird sanctuaries to shoot birds. my neighbor did this and shot and killed my cat. the city gives you permission to shoot crows, pigeons, and other things like squirrels and rabbits. these permits are not hunting permits, not require that you take the hunter's safety course, and are not valid out of city limits.

[Edited on March 4, 2010 at 1:57 PM. Reason : ]

3/4/2010 1:55:44 PM

Quote :

"my neighbor did this and shot and killed my cat"

wtfbbq

3/4/2010 4:48:22 PM

I'd always wondered wtf a bird sanctuary was and why it was a city thing.

Thanks!

3/4/2010 4:59:21 PM

^^yeah. old man, 87 years old, lives by himself and hates the world (he will tell you this flat out). he sets up bird feeders next to his living room window and sunroom. he has a hole built into the sunroom glass to shoot from and just cracks the window in the living room. he shoots finches, cardinals, jays, anything that comes to the feeder, then they fly off and die in mine and my other neighbor's yard.

my cat went missing. the good neighbor thought something might be up. we called animal control and they found a dead cat in his yard, along with lots of other skeletons. we've reported him LOTS of times, and the cops come out to harass him, but the police chief keeps giving him a permit to shoot pest animals, which only include crows, pigeons, rabbits, & squirrels. he traps the rabbits & squirrels then takes them into his shed and shoots them. leaves them in the yard to rot.

the vet found a pellet in my other cat's leg. i marched over to the old man's house and i have never yelled so loud, used so many cuss words, or been so fucking mad at anything ever. i let him have it. he won't make eye contact with me now and i just stare him down.

i can't wait til the motherfucker dies. i hope it's painful.

we're putting the house on the market this year. moving into the county.

3/4/2010 5:19:05 PM

3/4/2010 6:21:54 PM

^^goddamn

3/5/2010 1:11:24 AM

UH OH.....this picture actually looks more like the suspect bird



I'm trying to get in touch with wildlife control to see what i can do.

3/5/2010 10:07:32 AM