Keep Woodpeckers Off Your Trees With The Help Of A Kitchen Staple

Many homeowners use a variety of clever tips to attract bug-eating birds, like woodpeckers, to their yard, because they are good at keeping the bug problem under control. One way you know you've succeeded in bringing more woodpeckers around is their pecking and drumming behaviors. All that noise is made for three main reasons: They're looking for food, they're making nests to have babies, or they are signaling dominance over the territory while looking for a mate. Although there is a great reason to let woodpeckers drill holes into some trees — allowing hummingbirds to access sap among other reasons — there may be certain trees that you don't want them to bother. You can keep woodpeckers off of these trees with a common kitchen staple: aluminum foil. Woodpeckers don't like shiny, reflective things so hanging strips of aluminum foil in the trees, or wrapping the trunks, will deter them from pecking on those trees without causing the birds any harm.

It may relieve you to know that woodpeckers don't usually do severe damage to trees. If the trees are healthy to begin with, most of them can handle the pecking and drumming that woodpeckers subject them to. Since much of their pecking is to get insects, if you notice woodpeckers are hanging around one specific tree, you can be confident that the tree has insects they want. If you can address the bug problem and get rid of them, the woodpeckers will no longer bother that tree. In the meantime, pull out that roll of foil from the kitchen.

This aluminum foil hack is a fairly effective way to keep woodpeckers off trees and other places you don't want them pecking, such as your home's siding, without injuring the birds in any way. The foil scares them away from the places they shouldn't be. Use heavy duty aluminum foil which is much sturdier and will last a lot longer than regular foil. Cut several strips of aluminum foil about 2 to 3 feet long and 2-3 inches wide. Attach a 6-inch long string to one end of each aluminum foil strip and secure the other end of the string about 2-3 feet above where they have been pecking and drumming or where you don't want them. The foil flutters in the wind without blowing away. 

If there are spots that have already been pecked and you want to prevent them from returning to those holes, wrap the area with a wide strip of aluminum foil. Keep in mind that if the holes are large openings those can be homes for other animals you could be covering up. Alternatively, you can use Mylar reflective tape in the same way. Choose holographic rainbow tape which works better than a solid color. Even Mylar balloons left over from a party can be cut up and used as a deterrent. Once you've secured the no-peck zones, you can get back to attracting woodpeckers to your yard with a simple shelter idea, so you can reap the benefits they provide to your yard and the environment.