What kind of damage can woodpeckers cause

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You may watch woodpeckers in cartoons and think that they are somehow lovable and cute, but the fact remains that these animals can be very dangerous to your home. Because of the way that they hunt and gather food, as well as the manner in which they build housing structures for themselves, they can do a significant amount of damage to your home as well as cause a health risk to your family. If you are wondering what kind of damage woodpeckers can cause, here are some important information for you to know.



The way that woodpeckers gather food is by pecking away at a tree or the siding of your home. They are looking to get small insects and other kinds of organisms that are living within the grooves of the wood. This process allows them to successfully be able to get out the bugs so that they get the nutrition they need.

That is great for the woodpecker, but that sure doesn't work for you in terms of keeping your home safe. These birds are not simply tapping away at the wood. They are pounding deep inside to get out everything that they can capture, which can leave holes all the way through your siding board or wood shingle.

A hole of this nature can be quite dangerous to your house. Not only does it allow bugs and other organisms to crawl their way into the walls of your house, posing the possibility of insects such as bees or wasps making a huge hive inside those walls, but it also creates the opportunity for water to start seeping in between the walls of your house. This can eventually lead to such things as black mold, which is dangerous on many levels to you and your family. It can cause severe respiratory problems, and this all starts by a woodpecker cracking its way through the wall of your home.

There are other kinds of damage that a woodpecker can cause. Besides pecking away at the side of your home, it can do the same thing against your trees. This can cause bacteria and other organisms to be able to get deeper into the tree and can cause problems for its health.

Woodpeckers will also use their strong beaks against your deck, railings, and other wood structures that you have on your property. While they may not damage the overall structure itself, they can create a lot of small holes in the wood that can take away from the beauty of the structures, thus making your home look less appealing.

While some stay in their home for the majority of their lives, the vast majority of people will choose to sell their home at some point. Damage caused by a woodpecker can diminish the value of your home and maybe deter some from even coming around.

You also have to be concerned about woodpeckers carrying diseases and leaving these bacteria and parasites on your home in the feces they leave. This can also be a form of damage.

For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How much does bird removal cost? - get the lowdown on prices.
How to get rid of birds - my main bird removal info guide.
Example bird removal photographs - get do-it-yourself ideas.
Bird job blog - learn from great examples of bird jobs I've done.