The first is drumming. Woodpeckers use song substitutes to announce territory and attract mates. This substitute for flickers is drumming, where they pick out a surface that resonates and peck at it rapidly. This gets the message out loud and clear. On your house this surface might be a chimney cap, gutter, or loose shingle. Drumming usually does not damage your house, but they may start drumming at 5:00 am. To reduce drumming you need to change their drumming areas by covering them or using a chicken wire halo to prevent them from reaching the "drum". Since drumming is not destructive, it makes it easier to tolerate. The need to drum will stop after the eggs are being incubated.

Flickers' truly annoying behavior is excavating nest sites (spring) and roosting sites (fall) in the side of your house. To a flicker, your house is just one big dead tree, hard on the outside and hollow on the inside. Their two favorite sidings to put holes in are synthetic stucco and cedar. Both these sidings give good texture for gripping and sound hollow. When a flicker puts a hole in a house, it wants to make about a 2 ½" hole into the wall and then dig down to make a nesting/roosting space. Sometimes construction details hinder progress so the flickers will move over a little and start again not realizing that they will hit the same obstructions. Patching holes without taking additional measures will only result in multiple holes.

How does one prevent flickers from putting holes in your house? There are many solutions given for woodpecker damage from marketers and others, but few solutions work. One of the most common "solutions" for woodpecker damage (that doesn't work) is using a plastic owl. The theory is that the woodpeckers will see the fake owl and flee immediately. It doesn't take long (on the order of minutes) for the woodpeckers to realize that the owl is a fake. After that, the "solution" is ineffective. The only time that I have heard of a plastic owl working was a customer who had a flicker drill a hole in the back of the plastic owl's head and nest inside. Which solutions really do work? Below is a list of the ones we feel have the best chances.

1. Flicker Box. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. This solution has worked well for us over the last two decades because it makes biological sense. If the flickers are trying to create a nest, why not just give them a nest box so they can leave your house alone? After the flickers take up in your box they defend your house as part of their territory from other flicker pairs. We sell flicker boxes at the Wild Bird Center and at our Online Store. You can also use the plans on our Website to make your own nest box. If you have any questions, please call: (303) 442-1322.
2. Streamers. Things moving in the breeze like streamers, CD's, balloons, pie pans, and wind socks hanging up where the flickers are putting holes can sometimes detour them. These birds may just move to a different part of the house and keep working on holes. We sell Holographic Scare Tape made of mylar and Gard'N Eye balloons at the Wild Bird Center or on-line xxxx which work for this purpose.
3. Netting. Flickers usually put their holes way up near the roof on a house. This area can be blocked to access by the flickers using garden netting. The netting needs to be attached to the eaves and to the wall about 6-8 feet below the roof line forming a "triangle" which the birds cannot access. The netting is not as conspicuous as you might think, but it is a chore to install. This solution does work well. Simply draping the netting along the wall will not work because the flickers will just excavate through the netting. At present, the Wild Bird Center does not sell garden netting, but we are looking for sources.
4. Motion Sensors. This is a high tech and expensive solution. We do not have personal experience with this solution, but it is reported to work well. This solution involves hanging a motion sensor on your wall near where the flickers are working. Whenever the birds come around, the sensor lets out a noise to scare off the birds. The downfall of this solution is, of course, the noise. Again, the flickers may just move to a different part of the house and keep excavating.
5. New Siding. Many people who have had years of flicker damage find it necessary to reside their homes. In this severe a case, we would suggest not residing with the same material (the birds obviously liked it). Use a siding that cannot be damaged like aluminum or one that does not sound so hollow when installed.

I should also note that many people want to resort to more lethal methods to solve their flicker problems. Besides being a Federal Offence, killing the flickers is not a long term solution. Very quickly after the flicker pair has been removed, another pair or pairs will move into the vacant territory.