Woodpeckers causing costly damage for Calgary homeowners

The Northern Flicker, a type of woodpecker, is causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage across Calgary, and it's not going anywhere.

An increasing number of Calgarians are reporting expensive exterior home damage thanks to one noisy culprit: the northern flicker.

The flicker, which is a type of woodpecker, is known to break through stucco homes in an attempt to find food or a place to nest.

It’s also famous for its loud wake-up calls, as it pecks to attract a mate. One couple in Douglas Glen is at their wit’s end.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

“It’s so loud,” Bradley Gosse said. “We’re struggling right now because just day-to-day activity from the bird is kind of hitting our brains and our mental pretty well.”

The Gosses count 37 holes along the side and backing of their home — with more seemingly popping up every day.

They’ve tried to use wind chimes to distract the woodpeckers, but those were picked away. And the spray foam that’s being used to fill in the gaps has suffered a similar fate.

“Nothing seems to work,” Gosse told CTV News. “It’s insulated inside (the wall), and it just provides the perfect nesting grounds for them. One of the holes, you can see all the way through the substrate.”

“It’s actually pretty much through to my bedroom.”

Siding with the birds

One siding company says requests to patch flicker holes have been coming in fast and furious.

“This year we’ve been getting 25 to 30 calls a week,” Weststar Wall Systems’ owner Eric Ararat said.

His company is using a coating to paste over side stucco and keep the birds away and insists materials are key.

“We come in, apply coating and then we have to refinish it with the same colour in the same texture to match with the existing,” Ararat said. “So (a fix) takes about a week.”

But it’s also pricey.

A patch job and preventative steps can run as high as $35,000, depending on the amount of damage.

And as the Gosses found out, insurance providers aren’t chomping at the bit to help.

“Our insurance company told us (flickers are) considered a pest, so they don’t cover pest or any damage caused by the pest,” Gosse said.

“And in the future, if the holes are left open and there’s water damage or anything like that, that’s not covered as well.”

Gosse called the province, which recommended he touch base with Fish and Wildlife. That body can come in to catch and release the birds elsewhere, but no harm can be done, as they’re a protected species.

Possible solutions

Species experts say it’s tough to completely deter the flickers, but it is possible to distract them and push them to a different area.

“Take a look at what their needs are and see if there’s a way you can provide those needs that take them away from the side of your house,” Calgary Urban Species Response Team’s Kathleen Johnson said.

“Remember: we’re in their environment.”

Johnson points out that dead trees used to act as suitable homes for the flicker, but those are increasingly rare in cities.

So, she’s recommending something else.

“Naturalize your nearby area and garden,” she said. “Maybe leave some twigs or wood around to attract the flicker away from stucco.”

She also suggests nesting boxes as a home alternative for the species. If the birds are welcomed into another area that isn’t on the exterior of a building, they might be more prone to setting up shop there.