by Alex A. KecskesWoodpeckers often do a lot of damage to vacant summer or vacation homes. Regrettably, it's not until your siding resembles Swiss cheese that you finally realize you have a woodpecker problem.The birds will drill holes into wood siding, window frames, eaves, trim and fascia boards. Woodpeckers generally like to hammer cedar and redwood siding. They'll also attack fir, pine, and cypress in a pinch. And they'll choose natural wood surfaces over painted wood. They seem to zero in on new construction and rustic, channeled plywood with cedar or redwood veneers. The birds will create holes in a narrow horizontal line looking for insects. If you have plastic parts in your rooftop water-heating solar panels or electrical solar panels, woodpeckers can cause you plenty of grief.Then there's all the drumming these annoying birds do. Woodpeckers seem enjoy drumming in the springtime and choose wood and other areas where their drumming makes the loudest most resonant sounds. Areas like metal rain gutters, downspouts, chimney caps, TV dish antennas, rooftop plumbing vents, and metal roof valleys are common targets. The birds will drum intermittently all day long—for weeks, even months at a time.If they drove you nuts last year, you may be tempted to shoot them or poison them, but be warned: Woodpeckers are migratory, non-game birds that are protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In particular, the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) are on the Endangered Species list and cannot be touched under penalty of law. All is not lost, however. For there are effective, humane woodpecker repellants you can use to keep these annoying birds at bay. One of the most effective methods of excluding woodpeckers from damaging wood siding under your eaves is to place lightweight plastic bird netting over the area. Plastic bird netting comes in a variety of mesh sizes and a 3/4-inch mesh is ideal for most woodpeckers. Leave a 3-inch space between the netting and the damaged building so that birds cannot drum their beaks through the mesh. You might also try to attach the netting to the overhanging eaves, and then reverse back to the siding below the damaged area. Be sure to secure the netting tightly so that the birds have no way to get behind it. The good thing about most bird netting is that it now comes in various colors to match your home's color scheme, so if you install it correctly, it virtually disappears from view.You might also try to install some visual woodpecker deterrents like banners that crinkle in the breeze and reflect sunlight. Balloons work too, especially the one's with large predator eyes on them. For best effect, these woodpecker deterrents should be rotated so birds don't get used to them. Woodpeckers are pretty smart.