Shooting a Woodpecker.

[MossRoad]

I have doubts.

Those don't look like any acorns that I'VE seen...

Keep looking. There's around 500 species of oaks.

Oak - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

3 years? that pecker wouldn't have lasted 3 days pecking at my house.

Neighbor shot one drumming on his house. Before pulling trigger he said "woodpecker pecking on a knotty pine, I see his pecker but he can't see mine".

 

[shooterdon]

Interesting thread.

Some laws are good and some not so good.

It seems that rural people have a more "common sense' approach to life. But regrettably, laws are made where citiots live.

There are animals that need killing or they become a problem. It could be an aggressive dog, squirrels that want to the invade the attic, porcupines near the homestead, rattle snakes near the homestead, woodpeckers etc etc.

My inclination is to follow laws even if they are silly, unless doing so does not make sense. If I need to kill a rattle snake or other protected animal, I will do what I need to do.

If someone decides hanging plastic owls, nets, mylar tape and installing ultrasonic deterrents is how they want to deal with a woodpecker that is their choice. My choice will likely be a $.02 pellet from an air rifle. But I can make that choice because I live in the country and my closest neighbor is 3/4 miles away.

I am sure there are some rural folks who will solve the problem with city solutions. But I suspect they are the ones who moved to the country to get out the cities. Strange how they cannot shed what has been brainwashed into them. What is that old saying....You can take a boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. It works in reverse too.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Rural folks I know could care less about rules and what laws are, solve with rural methods. Most have backhoes.

 

[/pine]

Interesting thread.

Some laws are good and some not so good.

It seems that rural people have a more "common sense' approach to life. But regrettably, laws are made where citiots live.

There are animals that need killing or they become a problem. It could be an aggressive dog, squirrels that want to the invade the attic, porcupines near the homestead, rattle snakes near the homestead, woodpeckers etc etc.

My inclination is to follow laws even if they are silly, unless doing so does not makes sense. If I need to kill a rattle snake or other protected animal, I will do what I need to do.

If someone decides hanging plastic owls, nets, mylar tape and installing ultrasonic deterrents is how they want to deal with a woodpecker that is their choice. My choice will likely be a $.02 pellet from an air rifle. But I can make that choice because I live in the country and my closest neighbor is 3/4 miles away.

I am sure there are some rural folks who will solve the problem with city solutions. But I suspect they are the ones who moved to the country to get out the cities. Strange how they cannot shed what has been brainwashed into them. What is that old saying....You can take a boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. It works in reverse too.

Your logic is way off the wall if you think it's a city folk / country folk thing...
First you have to be able to see the big picture...
There are smart ways to deal with problematic animals and there are not so smart ways...it's a simple fact...!

 

[/pine]

Shooting problematic animals goes back several generations the action was born mostly on ignorance...
Just because somebody's daddy shot raccoons etc. or his daddy shot hawks etc. on sight...does not make it right...

Trying to justify crimes against nature because of where you live does not hold water...it's a really lame excuse for doing something the easy way instead of the smart way...
it's not urban / rural....it's: smart / lazy

In a lot of cases irresponsibility by humans are the cause of problematic animals...

 

[Eagle1]

Your logic is way off the wall if you think it's a city folk / country folk thing...
First you have to be able to see the big picture...
There are smart ways to deal with problematic animals and there are not so smart ways...it's a simple fact...!

Yeah had someone picking up goose, duck and heron crap so they could fish at that spot on the bank. Pretty sure he was not a country boy.
Trapping and relocating a problem animal just makes it another persons problem.

Not saying shooting it the first response (well except for varmits in the coop), but it can come into play. Beavers, Muskrat and Raccoons seem to have an endless supply to fill the void.

Now tell me about this big picture, rural folks should live with problems, where in the city the government does the killing?

Pretty sure you don't live some place that does NOT have any animal control officers.

 

[shooterdon]

Your logic is way off the wall if you think it's a city folk / country folk thing...
First you have to be able to see the big picture...
There are smart ways to deal with problematic animals and there are not so smart ways...it's a simple fact...!

In my little pea brain I see this "big" picture...

Buy netting, get the ladder out, and climb the ladder. Install the net where the bird is pecking now. Put away ladder. Hope the bird does not move 10 ft away. If so...repeat process. Then need to take the netting down next time I stain the logs. Reinstall after staining. Very attractive too!!!

Buy mylar. Go through the same crap as above. Also, very attractive!!!

Buy plastic owl. Hang it. Easy peasy as I have one. But mine is defective as I still get damn birds. Mine is old so maybe a new one will work better. Another trip to the store.

Buy ultrasonic unit. Had one for mice but it did not work. Bought a "better" one. It did not work either. I am very unlucky. Two defective units from two different companies. But mice are not birds so maybe worth another shot??? BTW, do I need one on each side of the house? So get four of the things.

Or, Crosman 14.3 gr Premier pellets. $6.24 for a tin of 500. Funny thing about them. You know when they work....if you do your part.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

The idea of native species is a human construct designed to allay the fears of those who get stressed by change. Every species seeks to expand and adapt to new environments. The 'purpose' behind eliminating "non-native" species is to allow so-called native species to survive. Long before people arrived, species survived and adapted or went extinct. Humans are so full of hubris we seek to stop the natural order of life so species will continue indefinitely. I have no problem with preference of some species over others. Just not a fan of pretending that some species are entitled to survive in a particular place just because they existed when modern humans moved in. Just be honest "I like species A, better than species B". We also do stupid stuff like eliminate predators and then restrict harvesting the prey. Spoiler alert, the prey gets overpopulated.

Man Torvy, what did native species do to pi$$ you off?!? You are correct about the idea of non-native species vs native species being a human construct, but I doubt a bunch of scientists were sitting around and wondering how they can categorize these Zebra Mussels or privet bushes that will cause the most amount of fear in weak minded people. Humans either directly (kudzu, FL Everglades Pythons) or indirectly (Zebra Mussels, Brown Marmorated Stink bugs) allowed the migration of these species into an environment where they do not belong. This has caused some species that have lived in these environments for millenia serious distress, even causing some native species to go extinct. And because often times these invasive species have no natural predators in their new location, they proliferate unchecked. Ask anyone who has gotten smacked in the face by an Asian Carp while boating on the Illinois River or anyone who has a stink bug infestation every spring or maybe a boat Capt. that has his boats inlet clogged by Zebra Mussels what they think about invasive species and I am sure you will not get a very nice answer.

But I digress as this is a bit of a thread hijack. Sorry!

 

[/pine]

People that live in the country / woods etc...and can see the big picture realize they are living in "their" world...not the other way around...!

Trying to scare something off with whatever obviously works in many cases...
The intelligent way do deal with problematic animals that don't scare off easy is to find out why they are attracted to...
i.e,...you can keep shooting possums that get in your crawlspace...or you can put a panel over the opening to the crawlspace...sometimes the smart way is also the easy way...no need to always being a neanderthal...!

BTW...I live in the mountains, closest neighbor in winter is over 1/4 mile away...20 miles to closest town...