How to stop woodpeckers from pecking holes in house siding
Woodpeckers drill large holes into wooden siding and columns to create nests, often targeting the sunniest sides of the house. Common quick fixes like spray foam and shiny deterrents usually fail because the birds simply tear out the foam to reclaim their space. While bird tape works occasionally, replacing the targeted wood with Hardie board is the most reliable way to keep them away permanently.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 21.4× more often in r/HomeMaintenance than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Filling holes with wood epoxy instead of easily destroyed spray foamDid this help you?
- 2Hanging reflective items like shiny dangly objects or bird tape near the holesDid this help you?
- 3Replacing wooden exterior materials with non-wood alternatives like fiber cement boardDid this help you?
- 4Installing a birdhouse nearby to offer an alternative nesting locationDid this help you?
- 5Putting up a suet feeder to distract themDid this help you?
- 6Playing predator bird sounds from YouTube on a phoneDid this help you?
- 7Covering the damaged areas with hardware cloth or sheet metalDid this help you?
- 8Fixing rotted or moist wood and eliminating the insects inside it that attract themDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Even after filling old holes with foam and adding shiny dangly objects to scare woodpeckers away, they keep coming back to make nests in the wooden columns on the front porch of our 1909 home.”source ↗
“I had this going on the western side of my house. No other side just the west because it had the most daylight for them to comeback to the nest.”source ↗
“The spray foam doesn't work - they can rip that out in a day. I ended up getting the entire west side covered in hardy board - they never came back.”source ↗
“I've dealt with woodpeckers on my soffits. This is definitely different. They are trying to nest.”source ↗
“Yes, woodpeckers did this to us at this time last year, too. It’s nesting.”source ↗
“I had a woodpecker put a couple holes in my chimney last fall, so I slapped a couple pieces of bird tape up there and haven't had them return since.”source ↗
“I live in New Hampshire and recently, the woodpeckers have been doing serious damage on the wooden siding. I do not want to hurt them. After all, this is their territory. What are some recommended methods of repelling them?”source ↗
“There was a woodpecker in my neighborhood that would peck a TV antenna on top of house. He could make a real racket, which was his goal.”source ↗
Where this came up
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