Woodpeckers are native birds that make holes in wood to feed and to create nesting sites.

Though rarely a problem, how can you protect your trees and property if necessary?

Pennsylvania is home to a number of year-round resident woodpecker species as well as the migratory yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Hairy and downy woodpeckers and the red-bellied woodpecker are common feeder visitors. Pileated woodpeckers and yellow-shafted flickers are also common.

These aptly named birds drum on and drill holes in trees and large shrubs as they search for insects, set up territories, prepare nesting sites, and call to mates.

Many homeowners question whether woodpeckers cause life-threatening damage to the trees they drill. In general, the answer is that they do not.

Healthy trees can withstand the minor damage woodpeckers cause unless trunks or limbs receive girdling injuries. This is rare and would generally only happen with sapsucker damage since these birds create horizontal or vertical rows of holes in search for sap and the insects that subsequently get trapped in that sap.

Sapsuckers frequently return to the same tree or shrub. To dissuade them, wrap the affected area of the tree in burlap, hardware cloth or plastic mesh. Be sure to remove the burlap during summer months when humidity is high.

Certain websites suggest painting the trunk with sticky deterrents to deter woodpeckers. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and some wildlife rehab centers warn these products can fatally injure birds if it gets into their plumage.

It is possible that woodpecker holes in less healthy trees provide access to pests and disease, but these trees are usually under stress from other factors as well. Excessive numbers of random holes in a tree might be a symptom of a tree that is already hosting high pest populations of insects.

Also, holes in the trunk are not always caused by woodpeckers. Wood-boring insects can also be the culprits.

Woodpeckers prefer dead trees or those whose heartwood is rotting to create their nest cavities. If suitable trees are not available, some birds will drill holes in wooden siding, especially redwood or cedar siding, and wooden items like fence posts and utility poles. This is rare but can become a problem.

Some birds will also drum on siding or on metal parts of houses as part of their territorial and reproductive behaviors in the spring.

Woodpeckers are protected by state and federal laws and may not legally be killed without permits.

Woodpeckers have an important ecological role in helping to control populations of insect pests, and their nest holes are used by non-drilling species of birds and mammals.

Their antics provide entertainment for scores of birdwatchers as well.

With bold colors and even bolder personalities, woodpeckers are amazing birds to have in the yard.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613