Woodpeckers use their beaks to excavate cavities in trees for nesting sites and to extract insects for food. Often these birds are a symptom that the tree has an insect problem. Since federal law protects these birds, it is illegal to tamper with their nests, eggs, or young.
Options to deter woodpeckers are listed below:
Contact a professional exterminator to control insects. Once the food source is gone the birds will stop pecking.
Loose boards sound hollow and attract woodpeckers. Secure loose boards or place filler behind the boards.
Use a wood preservative containing pentachlorophenol.
Shield the roof or tree with a large sheet of heavy plastic causing the woodpecker to slip, get discouraged and relocate. Allow 2-3 weeks for this to work.
Hang up wind chimes, plastic streamers, strips of aluminum foil, Mylar balloons, or pinwheels.
