How to Keep Birds From Eating Siding

Beneficial, insect-eating woodpeckers are the prime suspects if you have siding damage, and the United States is home to 45 species of the birds, including northern flickers. Woodpeckers drill into unpainted and untreated wood, frequently damaging stucco, rough pine, redwood, cedar and, less often, plywood. New construction is at greater risk, and the damage may extend to window frames, eaves and roofing. Woodpeckers create holes to nest and find food, but don’t eat the wood. The birds also drum on wood, causing little to no damage, to search out food, mark their territory and attract females. A woodpecker may run into windows accidentally or intentionally while trying to fight off the “rival” he sees in the glass. Such incidents may lead to other damage near windows.

Hammer
Nails
Fishing line or metal wire
Nesting box
Suet feeder
Expanding foam sealant or caulk
Hardware cloth
Bird netting
Wind chimes and other sound-making devices
Reflective materials, pie tins
Hawk mobile

Instructions

- 1
  Eliminate attractions such as perch sites near the damaged areas. Tightly stretch a thin metal wire or fishing line 2 inches outward along the site where the bird lands if it is using a particular foothold, recommends the Colorado State University Extension. Hang a nesting box near the damaged areas. Nesting woodpeckers drive off other woodpeckers, helping minimize the damage. Fill in damaged spots right away, or they may attract future visits. Address any pest problems, particularly the presence of carpenter ants or carpenter bees.
- 2
  Add attractions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warns that a solution is not as simple as just removing an attraction. For example, taking away a suet feeder may cause woodpeckers to leave to find food elsewhere, or it may cause them to look to your home's siding to attempt to locate food. Use the features and foods woodpeckers like to attract them away from your home. Leave dead trees standing. Place suet feeders nearby, but far away from your siding.
- 3
  Establish barriers against damage. Fill the hollow spaces behind areas of siding where woodpeckers prefer to drum with foam or caulk to deaden the sound. Screen woodpeckers out of favorite places along your home’s exterior using 1/4-inch hardware cloth or 3/4-inch mesh bird netting. Leave 3 inches between the netting and your siding, and extend the netting from the eaves to below the point on your siding where damage is occurring, recommends the Cooperative Extension System.
- 4
  Use scare devices to deter birds as soon as you notice them starting to spend time on your siding. Aluminum pie tins and reflective objects that move when they blow in the wind and wind chimes and other noise-making devices are effective options. The Cooperative Extension System warns that stationary mock predators are ineffective. Try a hawk mobile instead. Use several scare devices at the same time for greatest effect.

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