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[depglass]

We've been here in this log cabin for 10 years, this is the first year we haven't been able to curb it with those peanut things you hang up in a wire cage.  They are driving me crazy with the tapping, not to think of the damage. 

[SilleeMee]

I'm willing to bet that the birds are looking for insects to eat. I would consider an insect repellent be applied to the home's exterior.

[HLP]

Have you tried putting suet in your wire cage. ? They like that better than corn. I go to a meat butchering farm, here and buy huge slabs of suet, very cheap, and cut it to fit in tne cage. I can buy 20 lbs for around $7.00. If you go the day after butchering they won't freeze it and after I cut hunks, I bag it and freeze it and it does last nearly all winter. Hope this helps.

[RedTop]

The woodpeckers are eating the woodboring insects that are making their homes inside your logs.   It’s hard to see the situation in terms of them doing you a favor, since they are pecking holes in the logs to get the bugs out.   As long as the woodborers are there, the woodpeckers will be too.   

[Kitlynn]

We had that problem until we hung a wind sock from the corner of the house and it stopped them immediately. Ours was a very colorful flower with streamers hanging down. For some reason they don't like those so it worked great.

[StraytoStay]

My parents had this problem and my dad's solution was to take a sling shot and shoot dry dog food at it. It worked after a few times.

[SilleeMee]

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@StraytoStay wrote:

My parents had this problem and my dad's solution was to take a sling shot and shoot dry dog food at it. It worked after a few times.

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LOL!

[bowlicious]

We have that problem in the spring. Hubby bangs on the inside wall of the house. Seems to scare them away.

[itsmagic]

Your post reminded me of when we were selling our last house 15 years ago which had tongue and groove wood siding.  We had a sale agreement but hadn’t closed yet when for the first time ever I hear a woodpecker pecking on the side of our house.  At first I couldn’t figure out what was going on and by the time I realized it he had already created a hole and had started on another section of the house. I’m thinking great - the buyers are going to be backing out now with holes in the siding. So I had to get on a ladder and fill in the holes with wood putty, let it dry and then stain over it with matching stain.  I was so glad when we closed on that house. 

[novamc1]

We had a problem in our just-built neighborhood with barn-swallow-type birds nesting on ledges on our front and back porches.  They would not only become aggressive when you walked outside your door,  but would leave a big mess on the porch floors.

So...........my neighbor and I invested in a hawk and an owl decoy  and sat them in various places near our porches.   (The owl is battery-operated and periodically turns it head.)  Both look fairly intimidating.  This seemed to help ward off the birds, at least a little.  

One neighbor bought some spikes and installed them on the ledges.  

The test will be next spring, when the birds undoubtedly will return and we will fight the battle against them all over again.

Good luck with the woodpeckers.  Won't  be surprised if we get a problem with them, too, someday.

The architect who designed our houses could not have made a better home to attract the birds!