Birds Nesting In Cedar Siding

When people ask me what the best thing they can do to avoid birds pecking holes in cedar siding my answer is get aluminum siding.

Birds nesting in cedar siding. It s a real fixer upper to say the least. Woodpeckers have been known to peck away at siding and tear out the insulation to make a hole suitable for nesting. Unfortunately cedar siding seems to get a lot of damage from woodpeckers particularly if the house is adjacent to a wooded area. Place bird feeders near trees or other wooden structures to encourage woodpeckers to take up residence elsewhere.

You may be able to prevent woodpecker drilling in your cedar siding by offering a tempting alternative at a distance from your structure. These are most likely the beginnings of roosting or nesting holes. Roosting and nesting holes though similar in size and shape are specific to the type of siding in terms of their location on the house. Holes in cedar clapboards are usually drilled at the seam of two adjacent clapboards.

Another homeowner had woodpeckers pecking right through her wood siding and through the plywood underneath. I have a handyman coming in a few weeks and would like to have him seal up the hole s but for humanitarian and practical reasons i would like to wait until the babies have left the nest. Smaller birds have been known at times to nest in abandoned woodpecker holes. These holes are often placed in corners and can go into the insulation.

Woodpeckers will peck holes in wood and stucco to attract mates find or store food or establish a territory. Woodpeckers are more drawn to redwood and cedar wood types than to composite wood or masonite. The birds promptly tore the insulation out and built a nest between the wallboard and plywood. It s been a great birdbath for me to watch over the years as the roof puddles like crazy making a nice area for everything from cedar waxwings to cooper s hawks to use as a birdbath.

A dead tree is softer to carve out a hole and because wood siding or stucco walls have a hollow sound the flicker and the pygmy nuthatch think it may be a suitable nesting place. Holes larger then two inches in diameter may be drilled by the woodpecker into the siding usually between the seam of the two clapboards figure 1. Often these holes go through the siding and into the insulation. Use suet or bird feeders to lure woodpeckers away from your structure.

If you have problems with birds on the siding of a home or business it s likely one of two common bird problems woodpeckers or swallows.