Does anyone know about woodpeckers?

[Common Tator]

They are really bad here this year, and they are doing a lot of damage to the main house at our ranch.



Yes, the holes are filled with acorns!

We are refusing to go into debt, and making repairs as we can afford them. Our next big ticket item will be a new roof, so the siding will have to wait. Eventually, I would like to replace the cedar shake siding, with a cement product, like Hardy siding. They make a nice looking siding that looks like cedar shake. It would deter woodpeckers, and be fire retardant.

As you can see, the house is faded green. Our pioneer cabins don't have any woodpecker holes. They are iron oxide red.

Do you think that the red color of the pioneer structures is less appealing to the woodpeckers than the green? I'm leaning toward painting the house iron oxide red. Especially, if it would keep the woodpeckers from doing so much damage. It would also be in keeping with the historic structures on the property.

For now, I am squirting great stuff expanding foam insulation into the holes. I'll shave off the excess that oozes out after it hardens, and I have some roof flashing metal that I'll tack over the shake siding in the areas with holes. Not pretty, but I'm trying to winterize the house.

[goatlady]

It's my understanding that woodpeckers are pecking holes to get at insects in the wood! Better check your siding for invasive insects like maybe termites? I hear them all over my woods, see 3 different varieties here, have pine boards on the outside of the house and never have had a "peck" in the siding.

[Common Tator]

Actually, I believe they are pecking holes to stash acorns in. The acorns contain codling moth larvae. Then during the winter, they come to retrieve the acorns or peck them open to get at the larvae.

[bee]

Is this your pest?

http://www.greglasley.net/acornwood.html

At a guess your weathered siding looks like a standing dead snag..their favorite for a granery. Painting red may be a good idea.

[Common Tator]

This is what our local woodpeckers, the acorn woodpecker does to our pine trees.

They peck the tree full of holes, and fill them with acorns.



Edited to add, in the end, they kill the tree doing this.

[Common Tator]

Originally Posted by bee

Is this your pest?

http://www.greglasley.net/acornwood.html

At a guess your weathered siding looks like a standing dead snag..their favorite for a granery. Painting red may be a good idea.

Yeah, that is the culpret!

[Bearfootfarm]

I have a feeling if you don't fill those holes SOON that you're going to have rot problems in the wall.

You can get a "depredation" permit to shoot Federally protected birds that are causing damage.

I also agree with Goatlady's suggestion that they could be looking for insects.

I don't think color has anything to do with it

[bee]

if the culprit is THAT woodpecker and it is packing the holes with acorns it is not looking for insects..it is making a spot to stuff with cached acorns.

I have seen several types of holes drilled in feeding patterns. From the holes drilled to feed on sap to the excavation of carpenter bee tunnels after the larvae. Her siding is being drilled to hold acorns..any insects found during the process are just a bonus. IMO, for what it is worth.

[foxfiredidit]

Before I did anything drastic, I'd try a "garden owl". They are lifesize plastic replicas of owls that you mount in your garden to keep pests away. You may need a couple, but it might make a difference. I saw one in use that had batteries, so that every so often, the head would turn a bit like it was looking around.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...1401_200381401

[goatlady]

Most interesting. Never heard of an acorn woodpecker, guess they are not native to this area.

[julieq]

Wow! We have woodpeckers around here, but I've never seen any damage to siding like that.

It'd be interesting to try the color red and see if they leave it alone.

[Common Tator]

Originally Posted by foxfiredidit

Before I did anything drastic, I'd try a "garden owl". They are lifesize plastic replicas of owls that you mount in your garden to keep pests away. You may need a couple, but it might make a difference. I saw one in use that had batteries, so that every so often, the head would turn a bit like it was looking around.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...1401_200381401

The owls are a good idea. I think I'll try that.

[braggscowboy]

Yellow hammer sap suckers worked on my wood siding. Only when I was a work seemed like. I was going to replace and decided to go with metal. No more problems for siding, don't know about the sap suckers,

[Common Tator]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

I have a feeling if you don't fill those holes SOON that you're going to have rot problems in the wall.

You can get a "depredation" permit to shoot Federally protected birds that are causing damage.

I also agree with Goatlady's suggestion that they could be looking for insects.

I don't think color has anything to do with it

I'm not sure I could figure out how to shoot the woodpeckers without blasting even more holes in my house.

[foxfiredidit]

Originally Posted by Common Tator

The owls are a good idea. I think I'll try that.

I'd move them around as well, if they stay mounted on the same spot, those wiley looking woodpeckers may get the idea they aren't real.

[salmonslayer]

That is amazing and I had no idea they caused that kind of damage. We have a couple different types of woodpeckers around here that bore holes in our trees looking for grubs but nothing that kills the tree.

Good luck with whatever you try, I am kind of curious to find out if the garden owl works for you as they dont seem to do much for our garden.

[texican]

I leave plenty of standing dead wood and snags in my forest, and never have had problems with ----------s....

[Harry Chickpea]

First thing I would do is take a shop vac to those holes and remove the acorns and bugs.

Second thing, as a temporary measure, yeah, the expanding foam.

Third thing I would try is to hang about a dozen or more old CDs from fishline, about 10" from the wall. The constantly moving shining reflections may make the place less attractive to them. If that didn't work, free hanging open netting in front of the wall might keep them away.

[RedDirt Cowgirl]

The inflatable owls work best 'cause they move about in the wind, and they're relatively cheap. This is the best product I've ever used, they last forever, and you can hang them, then flatten for storage. http://dalenproducts.com/products/sc...nflatable-owl/ They're in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Put them up before the acorn crop hits & the birds establish their fresh digs. Red-headed woodpeckers AND flickers react to these owls IME, I hang them from rafters and do a few pole mounts too.

Shooting the individual birds isn't going to help, besides that they're protected and you would need a permit. (Shoot 1 and 2 more show up for its funeral!) Here's the UC Davis IPM sheet: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74124.html

[fishhead]

I hung disposable tin pie pans under my eaves to drive off the peckers. It seemed to work.