Will a suet feeder stop woodpeckers pecking my house?

The short answer

• Not reliably. Cornell researchers tested suet feeders on 16 damaged houses in Ithaca, New York, alongside five other deterrents. None stopped new holes completely, and reflective tape did best.
• Suet can only compete with one kind of damage: a woodpecker hunting insects in the wood. Spring drumming is territorial and fall holes are winter roosts, and neither is about food.
• If you try suet, do not hang it on the damaged wall. Michigan's DNR says at least 100 yards from the house; ICWDM says near the building, in cold regions only. Most lots cannot do 100 yards, so treat suet as feeding the birds, not as the fix.
• The fix is physical: strips of reflective tape now, then 3/4 in bird netting held at least 3 in off the siding, or metal flashing over the spot. Plug holes fast, because existing holes draw more.
• Woodpeckers are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Scaring them needs no federal permit; killing or trapping one needs a federal depredation permit.

Not reliably. Cornell researchers put suet feeders on houses with active woodpecker damage in Ithaca, New York, and tested them against five other deterrents. None of the six stopped new holes completely, and the one that did best was reflective tape, not food. Suet can only compete when the bird is hunting insects in the wood, one of three reasons woodpeckers hammer on houses. Work out which one you have first.

Three agencies, three answers#

The advice you find depends on whose page you land on.

Suet keeps coming up because it is what woodpeckers want. In our preference data it is the top food for all four common feeder woodpeckers:

Top top-tier favorite Yes eats readily Some takes occasionally Rare rarely No not a feeder food

So a better meal luring the bird off the wall makes sense on its face. It fails because most pecking on a house is not a meal.

What kind of pecking is it?#

Connecticut's wildlife agency says drumming and drilling are both tied to breeding and territorial behavior, that spring is the most active period, and that hole drilling picks up again in fall because the holes may serve as winter roost cavities. ICWDM puts peak damage at February through June. Read the wall:

Connecticut says long, narrow furrows mean the bird is after wood-boring bees, carpenter ants or wasps, and Michigan's DNR says to seal and treat insect-damaged wood. If insects are in the siding, the woodpecker has found real food.

What the Ithaca study tested#

Emily Harding, Paul Curtis and Sandra Vehrencamp of Cornell picked 16 homes with active damage, visited each about three times a week from August 2003 to December 2004 to count new holes per day, then put up a deterrent and kept counting. The six were a plastic owl decoy, reflective tape, a commercial sound system, scare eyes, suet feeders and roost boxes.

The authors' summary: none was completely successful at keeping woodpeckers from creating new holes, and homes with reflective tape showed the greatest reduction in damage. ICWDM reports that tape eliminated damage at 50% of the homes tested. The abstract gives no separate figure for suet, so we quote none. It does settle that suet was tested against the problem and was not the answer. The authors put the average damage at $300 per affected house.

If you keep the suet feeder anyway#

Woodpeckers are the reason most people hang a suet feeder. You do not have to give it up. Just stop treating it as the repair.

1. Never on or beside the damaged wall. That keeps the birds at exactly the spot you want them to leave. ICWDM and Michigan disagree on distance; neither says to hang it on the house.
2. As far off as your lot allows. Michigan's 100 yards is more than most yards have. Our reading: the far edge of the yard, on its own pole, is the practical version. The placement guide covers that spot.
3. Cold months only. Suet is a winter food. ICWDM warns that suet in warm weather may harm woodpeckers, and Connecticut says not in summer. Our suet guide puts the take-down point near 70 °F for plain cakes.
4. Use a bottom-feeding cage. It keeps starlings off the cake while downy and hairy woodpeckers feed hanging underneath. A plug feeder works too.

If damage started the season you began feeding and the feeder hangs near the house, take it down, along with any peanut feeder (Virginia Tech names suet and peanut butter), for a few weeks and watch. No study we found measured whether feeders raise the risk, so that is an experiment, not a finding.

What actually stops the damage#

In the order to try them:

1. Reflective tape, now. Stretch strips across the damaged area or hang them from the eaves (ICWDM). It was the best performer in the Ithaca test. Virginia Tech warns that birds can get used to visual deterrents in as little as one to two days, so move or add strips if the pecking resumes.
2. Scare it in person. Virginia Tech says a powerful blast from a garden hose, every time the bird starts, usually curtails it. ICWDM lists clapping and banging a lid. You have to be home.
3. Netting, if it persists. UC calls bird netting the most effective method. ICWDM's spec: 3/4 in mesh, attached under the eaves and angled back to the siding below the damage, at least 3 in off the wall so the bird cannot peck through, and secured so nothing gets behind it. Virginia Tech asks for 5/8 in or smaller.
4. Cover the spot. Aluminum flashing, hard plastic or 1/4 in hardware cloth over a pecked area (ICWDM), extended 6 to 12 in beyond the damage (Virginia Tech). ICWDM notes a woodpecker can peck through aluminum if it finds a foothold.
5. Plug the holes fast. Fit wood plugs, caulk and finish them. ICWDM says woodpeckers may be stimulated to drill more by the sight of existing holes.

Skip the plastic owl. ICWDM says stationary hawks, owls, snakes and cat silhouettes are usually ineffective, and Michigan says any single visual deterrent may only work for a short time. The same habituation ruins crow decoys.

Is your house the type they pick?#

The same Cornell group surveyed 1,185 houses around Ithaca between March 2001 and April 2002, and 33% had woodpecker damage or noise problems. Siding type was the strongest predictor: grooved plywood was more likely to be damaged than tongue-and-groove, board-and-batten, clapboard or non-wood siding. Risk rose with the number of trees in the yard, and stained houses fared worse in every wooded yard. The 2007 paper adds that white, light blue and pastel houses were less likely to attract woodpeckers, and recommends avoiding natural earth-tone stains.

A stained, grooved-plywood house in the woods should expect this every spring. Netting is the lasting answer there, and a light color at the next refinish the long-term one.

What the law allows#

Woodpeckers are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Federal rule 50 CFR 21.100 says no permit is needed merely to scare or herd depredating migratory birds, except endangered or threatened species and eagles. Taking one, meaning trapping or killing it, needs a federal depredation permit, and Michigan's DNR sends serious cases to USDA Wildlife Services at 866-487-3297 for advice. Virginia Tech adds that removal is rarely a lasting fix: another bird often fills the spot soon after. The red-cockaded woodpecker is federally endangered, and California lists the Gila woodpecker and gilded flicker as endangered, so do not haze those at all without asking your state agency.

Netting and tape belong on the wall before the nesting season. ICWDM's peak damage window runs through June, which overlaps the nesting season, and an active nest should not be disturbed: Michigan's DNR says intentionally disturbing a woodpecker nest is illegal under state and federal law.

Where this page stops#

• One controlled study. The suet result comes from 16 houses in one New York town, and we quote only its abstract.
• No distance was tested. Neither ICWDM's "near the building" nor Michigan's 100 yards rests on a study we found.
• Feeders as a cause is unmeasured. We found no study comparing damage at houses with and without feeders.
• Canada. We did not check provincial rules.

A woodpecker on the house is a building problem with a bird in it. The feeder is for the downy, hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers you wanted to see; the netting is for the wall. Other things showing up at your feeders are sorted by symptom on the problems hub.

Frequently asked questions#

Does a suet feeder attract woodpeckers to my house?

It brings woodpeckers into your yard, which is the point of it. Whether it raises the risk to your siding has not been measured in any study we found. The Cornell survey of 1,185 Ithaca houses tied damage to siding type, stain and the number of trees in the yard. Virginia Tech's extension guide still lists removing suet and peanut butter feeders as a first step, and ICWDM notes that some experts think any bird feeding adds to the problem. If your house is being hit, move the suet well away from the damaged wall.

Why is a woodpecker pecking my house if I already feed suet?

Because most pecking on houses is not about hunger. Connecticut's wildlife agency says drumming and drilling are both tied to breeding and territory, which is why spring is the worst season. In fall, holes drilled into houses may be winter roost cavities. A full suet feeder answers neither. The one kind of damage it can compete with is feeding, which shows up as irregular holes or long narrow furrows where the bird is hunting insects such as carpenter ants or bees in the wood.

How far from the house should a suet feeder be to stop woodpecker damage?

Michigan's DNR says an elevated suet feeder should be at least 100 yards from the house if the aim is to discourage damage. ICWDM instead suggests suet stations near damaged buildings to entice woodpeckers away, in colder parts of the country. The two do not agree, and no study tested either distance. Our position: never hang suet on or beside the wall being damaged, put it as far off as your lot allows, and do not count on it working.

What is the fastest way to stop a woodpecker pecking my siding?

Hang strips of reflective tape across the damaged area or from the eaves above it. In the Cornell test of six deterrents on 16 houses it gave the greatest reduction in damage, and ICWDM reports it ended damage at half the homes tested. If the bird keeps working the spot, cover it: 3/4 in bird netting angled from the eaves and held at least 3 in off the siding, or aluminum flashing or 1/4 in hardware cloth over the hole. Then plug and finish the holes.

Is it legal to kill a woodpecker damaging my house?

Not without a permit. Woodpeckers are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Michigan's DNR says lethal removal is not allowed unless authorized under a federal depredation permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. You may scare them without a permit, except endangered or threatened species. Virginia Tech also points out that removal rarely gives lasting relief, because another bird often moves into the same spot soon after.

Sources and further reading

1. Assessment of Management Techniques to Reduce Woodpecker Damage to Homes, Journal of Wildlife Management 71(6):2061-2066 (2007) Harding, Curtis and Vehrencamp, Cornell University (abstract via OpenAlex and BioOne) 16 homes in the Town of Ithaca, August 2003 to December 2004, about 3 visits a week; six deterrents including suet feeders and roost boxes; none completely successful, reflective tape the greatest reduction; average $300 damage per affected house; avoid earth-tone stains
2. External Characteristics of Houses Prone to Woodpecker Damage, Human-Wildlife Interactions 3(1) (2009) Harding, Vehrencamp and Curtis, Cornell University 1,185 houses surveyed March 2001 to April 2002; 33% had damage or noise problems; grooved plywood siding most likely damaged; risk rose with tree density; stained houses worse in wooded yards
3. Woodpecker Damage Prevention and Control Methods; Woodpecker Damage Identification Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management (ICWDM) Netting 3/4 in mesh at least 3 in from the wall; tape ended damage at 50% of homes tested; suet stations near damaged buildings in colder regions, suet in warm weather may be harmful; repair holes quickly; flashing and 1/4 in hardware cloth; stationary owls usually ineffective; peak damage February through June
4. Woodpeckers Michigan Department of Natural Resources Elevated suet feeder at least 100 yards from homes; seal insect-damaged wood; visual deterrents may work only for a short time; lethal removal only under a federal depredation permit
5. Problems with Woodpeckers Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Drumming and drilling tied to breeding and territory; spring most active; fall holes may be winter roosts; furrows mean insects; suet may draw woodpeckers away, not in summer; downy, hairy, northern flicker
6. Managing Human-Wildlife Interactions: Woodpeckers (CNRE-147) Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech Remove suet or peanut butter feeders; mesh 5/8 in or smaller, hardware cloth 6 to 12 in beyond damage; birds habituate to visual deterrents in one to two days; garden hose; removal rarely lasting; red-cockaded woodpecker endangered
7. Woodpeckers, Pest Notes University of California Statewide IPM Program Acorn woodpecker storage holes; feeding suet and nest boxes do not consistently reduce problems; netting most effective; Gila woodpecker and gilded flicker state-listed endangered in California
8. 50 CFR 21.100, Depredation permits eCFR, US Fish and Wildlife Service Permit required to take migratory birds for depredation control; no permit required merely to scare or herd them, except endangered or threatened species and eagles