---

The Extension Office has received some calls over the years regarding woodpeckers attacking roofs and siding. Woodpeckers peck at wood for several reasons including making a nest or roost, signaling to other woodpeckers, and to feed on insects under bark or in wood.

Woodpeckers often drill in dead and dying trees; however, for aesthetic reasons these trees are usually removed from the home landscape. Woodpeckers are very territorial, often returning to old sites to drill even though the trees are gone. After their drilling sites are removed, woodpeckers may begin drilling on houses, particularly those with cedar or redwood siding. This is because both are fairly soft and easy to drill in.

Several tactics may be used to discourage woodpeckers from damaging your house. Plug and camouflage existing holes with rope caulk, silly putty, floral clay, or similar material.

Visual or sound repellents should be used as soon as possible before the bird’s territories become well established. They include plastic toy twirlers, windmills, hanging pie pans, hanging aluminum foil streamers (2-inches wide by 3-feet long), and bird scare reflecting tape.

There are some no-nos for woodpecker control:

•No birdfeeders in the area as the woodpeckers will see other birds and think it’s a friendly place.

•Don’t use odor repellents as their olfactory abilities are limited so odor repellents are not effective.

•Don’t use fake owls as they rarely scare them, and remember––woodpeckers are protected by state and federal law.

I received two calls this fall about woodpeckers attacking live trees. I consulted another master gardener whose area of interest is trees, as well as Starr Carpenter, our county Master Gardener Program Coordinator. They both concurred that the problem is sapsuckers.

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a member of the Woodpecker family. It is a migratory bird whose summer breeding range includes the Lake States Region. The identifying field markings of the adult birds are a black crescent on the breast, pale yellow belly, white wing stripe, and a crimson crown. The male also has a crimson chin and throat, distinguishing him from the female whose chin and throat are white.

Although insects make up part of its diet, the sapsucker is better known for boring numerous holes in the bark of live trees to obtain sap, the activity for which it is named. This is the only member of the woodpecker family to cause this type of injury. More than 250 species of woody plants are known to be attacked. Birch, maple, and hemlock are the preferred species.

The sapsucker bores neat rows of holes spaced closely together through the bark of trees along and around portions of the limbs or trunk. As these holes fill with sap, the sapsucker uses its‚ brush-like tongue to draw it out.

After repeated attacks on the same area of a tree, large patches of bark may be removed. If this area is girdled, the portion of tree above this point may die. Many small limbs are killed and sometimes the trunk is girdled and the whole tree is killed.

The bleeding of sap attracts bees, hornets, and other insects. On forest trees, these wounds may attract porcupines or red squirrels that can further injure the trees through feeding.

To discourage sapsuckers from feeding on your favorite trees, wrap hardware cloth or burlap around the area being tapped or smear a sticky repellent material, such as bird tanglefoot on the bark.

In commercial forests or orchards, leave favorite feeding trees of the sapsucker untreated. This may draw them away from your protected trees.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and federal regulations prohibit shooting of sapsuckers. Shooting of this species would be an ineffective control anyway because transient birds tend to replace occasional losses to local sapsucker populations.

In Your Yard and Garden

If you have clay or cement planters outside, you can keep them from cracking by removing most of the soil. The expansion caused by freezing of moist soil will crack or weaken many of these planters. You can still use them for holiday decorating. Use a large plastic pot filled with soil inside the planter to hold your winter decorations.

When you purchase your holiday plants, be sure they are protected when you leave the store and don’t leave them sitting in a cold car. Even a few minutes of cold temperatures can cause damage to the foliage of plants like poinsettias and the buds of others such as holiday cactus may even fall off.

Ways to Access Information

The voice mail is checked year round. Leave a message at 651.674.4417 ext. 18, and a Master Gardener will return your call.

www.extension.umn.edu/county/chisago. Check out the 'Hot Topics' box in the middle of the page for current Chisago County Master Gardener news and events. You can also click on 'Ask a Master Gardener' next to the cute little flower on the right hand side of the page. Here you can search 1000's of answers from Master Gardeners around the state. If you don't find your answer you can submit a question online or search for University publications.

Bell Museum of Natural History: For information about snakes, skunks, raccoons or other wildlife around your yard, call the wildlife information line at (612) 624-1374 or www.bellmuseum.org.

To see the latest Yard and Garden newsletter, go to: http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLNews.html.

---