Fitting Woodpecker Protection
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In winter, woodpeckers search hives for food and peck their way through the wall.
In winter, woodpeckers search hives for food and peck their way through the wall. Hives made of polystyrene are especially vulnerable: a hole is quickly made there, and then the colony stands in a draft.
Bird protection netting from garden suppliers is effective. What matters is that it does not lie flush against the hive but has some distance from it. This is achieved by first laying laths or branches on top and then putting the netting over them. Stretched taut, it does little good; loose and hanging down at the sides, it works.
The rest of the winter protection belongs to the same round: cover weighted down and storm-proof, the hive standing dry, since colonies tolerate cold well and dampness poorly, loose parts and branches that knock against the hive removed. Against martens and raccoons there is hardly any prevention besides regular check-up walks.