Woodpeckers prefer rotting, damaged, and/or insect-infested wood, so do everything you can to ensure that nothing on your property attracts them
Replace any rotting wood on the exterior of your home, fill up holes, and remove any dead or rotting trees or logs on your land.
They also don't like wind chimes, so don't put them up in places where you've seen woodpeckers before.
If you've ever seen a bundle of CDs strung together and draped in someone's yard, they were most likely there to keep woodpeckers away.
Colorful, gleaming pinwheels are also unappealing to them.