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Woodpecker House Damage
How to prevent Woodpecker House Damage
By
Mark J. Donovan
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Woodpecker house
damage is a common complaint with homeowners. Woodpeckers can quickly
make Swiss cheese out of house bargeboard and other wood home
siding products. I am currently dealing with this specific problem.
While recently looking up at the roof of my house, I noticed
that the bargeboard had many drilled holes in it. At first, I
thought I had a rot problem, until I climbed up on the roof and
took a closer look.
Upon closer inspection I could see that the holes were
effectively drilled into the wood. |
I also noticed many
small dents around the opening of the drilled holes. After
speaking to my wife about my observations she mentioned hearing
hammering sounds on the side of the house off and on during the
previous week. Well, putting the pieces together, I quickly
realized we were victims of woodpecker house damage.
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In my particular
situation, it was obvious the woodpecker was after carpenter bee larvae. I had
seen the bees up near the drilled bargeboard over the summer and had not
thought much about it. Apparently the carpenter bees had drilled into the back side of the
bargeboard and laid their eggs. I am unclear how the woodpecker new there was
bee larvae in the wood, however he had a field day on the bargeboard. There
are holes all up and down the bargeboard.
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I am probably going
to be forced to replace the bargeboard, as the woodpecker
house damage is quite severe in my case. If the woodpecker
damage had been limited to a few holes, I would probably just
try to get away with a wood filler or epoxy to plug the holes.
When installing the
new bargeboard, I will be sure to use lumber that has been
primed on all sides. From what I understand carpenter bees
typically don’t drill holes into painted wood surfaces. I know
from inspecting my bargeboard that it is unpainted on the
back side, and thus probably why my home fell victim to
the woodpecker.
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Though I can repair the damage done, I still will need to
prevent woodpeckers from making repeat visits, particularly
now that they know my home is a food source. To start with I
am going to apply an insecticide to all of the bargeboard
and fascia board, as this is where the carpenter bees like
to hang out. If I can prevent the carpenter bees from
nesting in my house, I can eliminate the food source for the
woodpeckers.
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Photo By: Mark
Donovan |
In addition to
applying a insecticide to rid my home of carpenter bees, I also want to try to prevent the
woodpeckers from stopping by my house. Woodpeckers are usually
frightened off by loud clanging sounds. To do this, I am going
to try a couple of reasonably loud wind chimes. I have one in
particular that sounds like a buoy bell out in the ocean. I may
also try hanging up some long aluminum strips. The ornithology
experts have suggested both these tactics are helpful in scaring
off woodpeckers. So we shall see, and I will report back my
findings next year.
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