Champlain Islander

I just wanted to share what has been going on at a neighbors place. Last year I helped him put up an elevated cedar shooting house on a food plot area in back of his land. It is 5' X 5' and about 25 feet off the ground. It has a ladder going up to the door with a drop down window on each side. He called me a few weeks ago and said it looked like someone blasted the side with a shotgun. I went over there and climbed up and found feathers and all sorts of wood chips and stuff in the shack. While we were looking at it a huge Pileated Woodpecker flew up and started to peck the roof. A few days went by and I went back and the window frames were all broken up and there were now several large holes where the bird did damage. Yesterday we covered the whole thingwith a Kevlar type membrane that someone gave to him. It is a tough acrylic type material that is clear and looks like a piece of Plexiglas that is about 1/8" thick. I think it is used to make a covering for solar panels or something like that. We rebuilt the windows in my work shop and covered all the exposed cedar with that Kevlar type material. We put up tin to cover the windows in a temporary way that will be easy to remove when he needs to use the shack during hunting season. I wouldn't have believed a bird could cause so much damage in such a short time.

blkpowder

My buddy went through the same thing two years ago,but with his house. He and his wife left the house at 7:30am for work and they didn't get home until 4:30pm. While at work,Mr. Pileated Woodpecker did a job on his cedar siding. The woodpecker started this on I think a Tuesday and by the end of the week,it looked like a wrecking crew starting to tear through the side of his house. [/align]

Champlain Islander

We had some people over last night for supper and they told me about a problem woodpecker at their camp that pecks a tin roof continuously. I guess it starts up right at sun up and keeps it up off and on for most of the day. Their camp is on a small mountain lake and the sound reverberates all over the place. I guess that bird will probably be dieing of a premature old age soon. If the kevlar doesn't deter my friends bird it will be SSS I am afraid since I know how he is.

bawanajim

The wood pecker is eating bugs, get rid of them and the problem is solved. If not the bugs will destroy the shack from the inside out.

Windwalker7

I've heard of people using an owl decoy (used in crow hunting) to keep away birds. Could try that!

sproulman

OWL works but you have to move it a lot.i seen holes in trees that you could stick your head into from woodpeckers.

as jim said, BUGS ARE THERE SOMEWHERE.

Champlain Islander

That is what I told my friend but he said it couldn't be since it was made of cedar which is resistant to bugs.I had to laugh because he was on the roof screwing the kevlar down and I was inside removing the broken window frames and could see ant like bugs coming out of between the roof boards when he drilled. A neighbor of his has an old fishing shack and nothing has bothered his for years and now that woodpecker has started out on the side of his place. We were both inside the shack putting the window frames back on the hinges and woody came back. We heard him try to land on the side like usual and when he hit the kevlar we could hear a big whump and then heard him flying off. He must have been surprised. I bet it will still drill through the kevlar. I told my friend to spray for bugs.

hatchet jack

They are a cool bird though! Love watching them do their thing when I'm in the spring Turkey woods, hunting Turkeys and scouting deer patterns for the fall!! LOL!!!


Hatchet Jack

sproulman

kids laugh when i call them a PECKERHEADS

bawanajim

There was a story in the Game news last year about them. "Logcocks" was the term used to describe them.
I have a pair that nest in the trees over my pond. Beautiful birds they are.