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A woodpecker hammering on your home to communicate with potential mates or rivals can be loud and annoying, but it typically won’t cause structural damage. On the other hand, you might be in for a real headache if woodpeckers hunt for bugs, store nuts, or try to nest in your walls. But don't fret: Of the 22 woodpecker species in North America, only a handful—Downy, Hairy, Pileated, Acorn, and Northern Flicker—tend to cause problems. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to ward off the industrious birds without harming them. 

The simplest option is to hang something shiny in the areas where you notice birds battering. Reflected light from streamers, pie pans, or CDs hung on strings can significantly reduce their visits. You may also want to remove any nearby bird feeders, which can draw woodpeckers to your house.

Holes more than one inch wide are signs that birds are trying to create nesting cavities. Cover them before or after the spring nesting season. Smaller holes, scattered or in neat rows, indicate that the birds are looking for insects, often carpenter or leafcutter bee larvae. In this case, you may need to have an exterminator treat the wood and repair the damage. 

A more expensive but lasting solution is to paint your house a different color. Woodpeckers, it turns out, prefer earth-tone and stained-wood houses. “It replicates the color and look of a tree,” says David Drake, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Wisconsin—­Madison. Repainting with brighter hues, like white or pastels, can be enough to send the birds elsewhere. And if you’re building or remodeling a home, take the opportunity to choose woodpecker-proof siding materials like fiber cement, aluminum, or vinyl. 

While woodpeckers can be a nuisance, a little perspective may help to ease the pain: They play an important role in the ecosystem, helping to control pests and providing an important food source for other animals, including hawks, snakes, and opossums. Woodpecker cavities also create housing for many other birds, from chickadees to screech-owls. “They’re native,” Drake says. “They belong on the landscape as much as any other animal does.”

This story originally ran in the Spring 2026 issue as “When Woodpeckers Come A-Knockin’.” To receive our print magazine, become a member by .