3 Reasons That Woodpeckers Keep Pecking Your House

Your House Makes A Loud Sound

Believe it or not, one of the main reasons that a woodpecker may be pecking at your house is because they like the sound it makes. If this is the cause behind the newfound drumming on your home, you’ll be glad to know that this often ends once the breeding season is over in the spring.

When it comes to the breeding season, making a loud sound is essential for the woodpecker. First, it helps the male announce where his territory is, while often warning off any potential rivals. Because the sound your house makes is often satisfyingly loud compared to natural sources like trees, a woodpecker may choose your home to make a statement. 

Woodpeckers will also use your house to find a mate. Although these interesting birds are capable of a wide variety of vocalizations, they won’t use this to find their mates. Instead, woodpecker courtship revolves around their ability to generate loud noises through pecking. Different patterns mean different things, and the best way to spread the word that a male is looking for a mate is by producing a louder sound to travel further. In the undisturbed wild, woodpeckers will often turn to hollow trees and similar areas. However, when near human habitats, they’ll often use metal signs, gutters, and, yes, your home.

It’s not just the male that uses drumming to find a mate, either. While most songbird species involve the male serenading nearby females in pursuit of a mate, for many woodpeckers, the female will also try her hand at courtship. As a result, the woodpeckers pecking your house could be male or female. 

The Woodpecker Wants To Make A Cavity For Nesting Or Roosting

Sometimes, however, the pecking on your house doesn’t end with finding a mate. Instead, the woodpecker may be attempting to create a hole in your home that they can either use for nesting or for roosting.

When it comes time for a mating pair to construct their nest and lay their eggs, they most often do so in tree cavities. However, because so many other species also rely on trees, especially birds, it can be difficult to find available nesting locations. This occurs even though the woodpecker has the ability to create nesting cavities in trees whereas other animals must find those already made or naturally occurring. With trees often limited in an area, woodpeckers may turn to the next best thing: your home.

Your home provides warmth and shelter, much like a tree would in the wild. As a result, woodpeckers may choose your home as their nesting location. In order to nest, the woodpecker will create a large cavity, which they will then line with nesting materials before laying their eggs and raising their offspring.

The Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects all species of woodpeckers. As a result, it is illegal to tamper with the birds or their nest. If you believe that the woodpecker is hammering on your home in an attempt to nest, it is best to reach out to a professional either prior to or after the nesting season. 

Thankfully, woodpeckers are not a group of birds keen on reusing their nesting sites. As a result, if you happen to find a woodpecker nesting in your home, you’ll likely be able to make repairs after the breeding season when the pair and their offspring move on.

The Woodpecker Is Looking For Food

Although the constant drumming of a woodpecker on your house may be frustrating, it can actually be an indication of a bigger problem. Woodpeckers may also peck on wood in pursuit of food. In the wild, you’ll find that woodpeckers will often peck through the bark of a tree to retrieve the insects living inside. As a result, if you have a woodpecker that keeps pecking your house, it could be because they sense insects underneath.

The holes created by a woodpecker in pursuit of a meal will be irregular. They will lack the perfect round shape of a nesting cavity. These holes are also often quite small, as the main intention is to hunt the tiny insects potentially lying underneath. In order to stop a woodpecker from this behavior, you may have to call an exterminator to handle any possible pests living inside your home’s exterior siding.

Woodpeckers may also create small cavities in which they can store food. This happens most often in acorn woodpeckers, who create several small holes for storing acorns.