The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a migratory bird that moves through Ohio this time of the year on its way further north. It is a woodpecker, a group of birds well-known for their skills at digging into trees for their food — insects.
This particular woodpecker supplements its diet with insects and prefers the sap in trees. What is really fascinating about this bird is the way they go after the sap in trees.
The sapsucker pecks into the bark to reach the sap and then laps it up. The feeding injury appears as very neat, rounded, tiny holes lined up horizontally and very evenly around the trunk of the tree. Perhaps you have seen these holes on a tree in your landscape?
Unfortunately, their migratory patterns are pretty consistent each year, and they seem to come back to the same trees, furthering the damage.
For the most part, light feeding won’t damage a tree; however, consistent heavy feeding could lead to decline. If you notice that sapsuckers are coming back to the same tree each year, then you may want to address the problem.
Therein lies the challenge. There are several options ,and you may have to try all of them in order to be successful.
Try to deter them from getting into the tree by using mylar tape or old CDs (something shiny and moving). Sometimes this just makes them go to the next tree.
There are repellants that can be smeared on the trunk of the tree that are sort of sticky; they don’t like this when they land. You can also wrap the trunk of the damaged area in order to exclude them. Hardware cloth or burlap can be used.
Eventually they will move on further north, but keep an eye out for these interesting birds.
Carpenter bees can be extremely damaging to exposed wood around homes, barns and other structures. Last year I had one go after one of my favorite cedar deck chairs. Not a good place to be sitting when they are working!
These bees are large and have a shiny black almost hairless abdomen. They don’t go after people, but they will dive-bomb you if you get near the nest. The females can sting.
They don’t eat the wood, but they have amazing capacity to drill holes about the size of a dime. These holes can weaken the structure, and, of course, they aren’t attractive.
Prevention is the best option for control. Paint wood or if it’s housing, keep wood completely covered (siding). If the damage is severe, pesticides can be used. I simply kept the tennis racket handy, and when I would see one buzzing, well, you know the end of the story.
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