In the Village, we have several species of birds, which can become a nuisance drilling on and into the exterior of our homes. Various things can be tried to dissuade them, with varying degrees of success, depending on the species of bird and the extent to which a bird might have already become well-established in an area on your home. There are two issues under the heading of problem bird drilling – the noise of territorial drilling and drilling damage to the siding.
Territorial Drilling Noise
Suppose you are hearing a fast, loud, metallic drilling sound, usually early in the morning. In that case, you hear a male woodpecker (most likely a Northern Flicker) announcing his presence to his rivals and attempting to attract potential mates. Flickers pick spots high in their territory where they can make the most noise, often on metal roof flashing. Luckily, this usually happens only in spring and should not cause damage to the flashing. It can be challenging to control unless you can find and access the spots where the bird drumming occurs. Possible solutions are bird control spikes or foam attached to flashing to make it less appealing.
Drilling Damage to Siding
To best handle bird drilling issues when birds are drilling into your home’s siding, you first need to figure out what kind of bird is doing the damage. There are four bird species capable of causing drilling problems in CPV:
Pygmy Nuthatch ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pygmy_Nuthatch/id ), by far the most frequent EIFS stucco-drilling culprit, is a 4 1/2 inch, large-headed, short-tailed gray bird with a long bill.
In addition to the Pygmy Nuthatch, we also have three species of woodpeckers in the Village, which can also drill into both wood and EIPS stucco:
- Northern Flicker ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/id ) is an 11-inch long, tan, gray, and blackbird, with a prominent spotted breast, black front collar, and a red spot on the back of the head (on males).
- Hairy Woodpecker (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hairy_Woodpecker/id) is a 7-10 inch black and white bird also has a red spot on the back of the male’s head. Its chest is white, and its back is black with white stripes.
- The Downy Woodpecker (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/id) is a 6-inch-long bird with the same coloration as the Hairy Woodpecker. It can be best differentiated by the smaller size of its body and bill.
Pygmy Nuthatch Deterrence
The Pygmy Nuthatch is not a woodpecker but a nuthatch. In the wild, they usually nest in abandoned woodpecker holes or will drill their cavities out of rotten wood. They are much less likely to drill a hole through wood on home exteriors. Instead, they break through the outer crust of EIFS stucco and remove styrofoam layers underneath to build their nesting and roosting cavities. Pygmy nuthatches are bold, brilliant birds and, unfortunately, the most difficult species to dissuade from drilling. There is no time of year when an EIFS stucco home is safe. In spring, small cavities are pecked out for nesting. In fall, deeper holes are dug to allow multi-family groups to roost through the cold months. To make matters worse, it’s tough to scare these crazy drillers. Moving and flashing deterrents (mentioned below in the “woodpecker section”) seldom work. The one deterrent that does work but is invasive and complicated to apply is bird netting. Attaching it to the side of your home, however, can be one of your best bets. A good pest control person should be able to help you, or you can look online for text or video instructions.
Providing nest boxes is also an option for deterring nuthatches from drilling into home exteriors.
See below for more information.
Woodpecker Deterrence
If you determine that the bird that is doing damage to your home is a woodpecker and not a Pygmy Nuthatch, you may want to attempt to install one or more deterrents, which might be helpful. Realistic plastic owls can be effective temporarily, especially those that move and light up. It will help them to be effective if they are moved to a new spot periodically.
Also, hanging brightly colored, reflective items in the areas that are being targeted can be helpful as they can frighten away drillers: CDs, streamers, pie pans, pieces of glass mirror, etc.
By covering the area with a tarp that is not only plastic but folded so that it flaps in the wind, the plastic prevents birds from getting a grip to land, and the flapping works to frighten them as well. It is debatable whether ultrasonic devices work on birds, but it could be worth trying. Attaching netting to the sides of your home might be one of your best bets. A good pest control person should be able to apply it. You can also look online for suggestions about how to attach netting.
As with nuthatches, providing nest boxes is another option that may help deter woodpeckers from working on your house. See the document about building bird nesting boxes as a way to prevent damage to your home.
For questions, feel free to contact the Village at Castle Pines Wildlife Committee at
