The person you are about to meet is Amy, a former city girl who married George and moved to a small town. Amy had to get used to living in a township after spending her entire life in the heart of urbanized civilization. She undoubtedly adored the sounds and sights of nature, including the lake, the trees, the grass, the flowers, and the colorful birds with their iridescent wings. Yet, how she missed the commotion and – yes – even the noise of what she had always recognized as the hub of commercial shopping, as well as the horn-blaring bus and car traffic and the way of life she had been raised to value!
The constant pecking on the side of her roof in the small town in America where she had settled did nothing to ease her nerves, even though noise had always been the center of her existence. You see, five in the morning was way too early to rudely awaken a woman of the world like her from her slumber. And it didn’t help her feelings that the pecking was being delivered by a delicately feathered “friend,” more commonly known as a woodpecker.
Then came the crunch, which really startled Amy. It seemed as though the annoying woodpecker had started to harm her lovely house! But nothing could comfort Amy when she realized that her typical homeowner’s insurance policy didn’t even cover the losses and damages she was now experiencing!
“You see, Ma’am,” explained the nice insurance agent, “insurance companies simply do not cover general home liability that has been wrought through negligence. In fact, they think that proper home upkeep could have prevented woodpecker damage.”
If only Amy had realized! She most certainly would have attacked the small danger with a vengeance. It now seemed that it was too late, and she and her husband would have to cover the losses out of their own pockets.
It’s been said that life is a great teacher. Amy has more insight than most.
“Learn from me,” says Amy, a formerly urban resident. “Avoid letting pests rule your home or your risks will increase.”
How do you solve a woodpecker issue? There are a number of hands-on methods:
• Get a tool for woodpecker deterrence off the shelf and start using it.
• Using wire fencing, enclose any exterior home locations that are connected to the roof.
• Put colorful tape around the gutters and beneath the roof.
• Caulk or other materials can be used to seal attic holes and house siding.
• Hire a pest removal company to handle the issue.
• To solve the annoying wood-pecking issue, use your own creativity.
If you ask Amy, she’ll tell you that being prepared is always preferable to being unprepared: make sure your homeowners insurance policy is personalized to your needs by talking to an independent insurance agent.