It’s hard to beat a fall walk at Cooper’s Pond in Bergenfield. The trails off West Church Street fill with color every fall, the historic waterwheel sits by the water, and the ducks don’t care who you are.
Listen for a minute and you’ll hear it. Tap-tap-tap-tap. A woodpecker, somewhere up in the trees.
Charming in the park. A lot less charming when that sound is coming from your house.
Why Woodpeckers Pick on Houses
Woodpeckers don’t drill on houses at random. Bird experts point to a few main reasons:
- Drumming. The noise stakes out territory and helps attract a mate.
- Digging a nest or a roost hole. These holes are round, smooth, and big.
- Hunting for insects living in or behind the siding. These holes are small and uneven.
There’s a fourth reason, storing acorns, but that’s a habit of a Western species.
If it’s only drumming, there’s some good news. That racket usually stops once breeding season gets going in spring. Holes are another matter. They stay put until someone fixes them.
Fall is when hole drilling tends to pick up. Connecticut’s wildlife agency notes that it increases in autumn, since a hole can serve as a winter roost. So a hole that wasn’t there in August can show up in November.
Why a Small Hole Isn’t a Small Problem
One hole looks minor. It isn’t. An open hole is an open door for rain, and water that gets behind a wall finish doesn’t leave easily. Add a few freeze and thaw cycles and a small hole tends to grow.
What’s behind the finish matters, too. Hard coat stucco is a thick cement layer. EIFS is a thin finish over foam board, so even a shallow hole can reach the foam fast. The two get fixed in different ways.
If you find holes, get them closed up before the weather turns. Plaster Pro Stucco Contractors, about three miles away in Hackensack, handles Bergenfield stucco and EIFS repair, bird holes included.
Keeping the birds from coming back is its own project. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s guide to woodpeckers on houses is worth a read. In one study it cites, shiny reflective streamers did better than plastic owls or recorded distress calls, which birds tend to get used to. It also suggests bird netting, pulled taut and set at least 3 inches out from the wall.
Paint color may matter, too. A study of more than 1,000 houses that Cornell describes found that homes with earth-tone stains had more woodpecker trouble than homes painted brighter colors. Something to keep in mind next time the house needs paint.
Why the Holes Come Back
Here’s the complaint you’ll find all over homeowner and contractor forums. The hole gets fixed. A few weeks or months later, there’s a new one a foot away.
Usually the bird still has a reason to be there. If it was hunting insects, the bugs may still be in the wall, and Cornell notes you may need an exterminator to deal with them. If it was roosting, it may keep coming back to the same spot. Patching without a deterrent in place leaves the door open.
Before sealing any roost hole, make sure nobody’s home. Cornell also suggests planning around nesting season, which runs from about late April into May.
And one thing to know before anyone gets creative: woodpeckers are protected by federal law. Killing or trapping them without a federal permit is illegal. Deterrents and good repairs are the legal route.
Then go back to Cooper’s Pond and enjoy the woodpeckers where they belong. In the trees.