Weirdest Noise

Look at Posts and #55

You know Shadow Tracker, she might be doing you a favor. First, she is trying to eat the destructive bees or their larvae, second, she is showing you they are there. If you watch her, she will probably be moving around tap-tapping and listening. I believe they can hear the difference in a hollow channel in wood, and will then attack that area. That is what that damage looks like to me. The bees already bored tunnels in that brace, and she is following them out for food.

I say this after having an issue with a hairy woodpecker that was damaging house siding. After a little observation I figured out that he was thinking the gaps in the plywood-type siding were bug tunnels. He would only target the places where the inside layers didn't flush up to each other and left little gaps for long lines. He would cling to the siding, sidling along tapping and listening, and when he was on one of those lines, that was where he would excavate. I started squirting calk into all the gaps I could find, and patched the ones he had already pecked out, and he finally stopped.

Good luck.

Coyote Shadow Tracker said:

I shot a bunch last year with .22 LR Bird Shot.

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It's good that you had "bird" shot……"rat" shot would have been inappropriate for the task!

You always match the ammo to the quarry! memtb

quigley257 said:

Two things being described here. First is the "territorial hammering" where the male woodpeckers drum on anything(they love metal gutters and downspouts) that will generate noise to warn other males that this is their territory. The one boring into the brace is after grubs, ants or termites. I guarantee if you cut that brace you will find a rotten/eaten spot from bugs of some sort. They don't just randomly start blasting into a piece of wood unless they know there are bugs/larvae inside. The hammering should stop as summer approaches, the one attacking the brace will continue until there is no more food to be had.

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This

quigley257 said:

Two things being described here. First is the "territorial hammering" where the male woodpeckers drum on anything(they love metal gutters and downspouts) that will generate noise to warn other males that this is their territory. The one boring into the brace is after grubs, ants or termites. I guarantee if you cut that brace you will find a rotten/eaten spot from bugs of some sort. They don't just randomly start blasting into a piece of wood unless they know there are bugs/larvae inside. The hammering should stop as summer approaches, the one attacking the brace will continue until there is no more food to be had.

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It was Carpenter Bees. If you look at the one pic the bottom has a Bore Hole from a Bee. The hole is right in the middle between those Pecker Trail so the Bee went two different directions to lay the larva and put other bugs for larva food.

Coyote Shadow Tracker said:

It a female and nice colors on the feathers. They are always in out trees eating bugs and we like that. Would rather not kill a beautiful bird that eats bugs. Just don't want our house having holes in it. First time drilling holes on our house. Now several years ago they got to our outside picnic table and drilled holes just like the picture of our deck.

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It may be a nice bird but drilling into the house is a no-no! Need to tell it to quit being such a peckerhead!!!!!!!

He's your early warning device that is telling you your house is full of bugs and will be collapsing soon. Best get cracking on the repairs before collapse.
Mike

Our big problem is flickers. They just love the metal chimney cap for drumming. It echoes 2 stories up and down, grrr. But also on joints between siding, they have had to be discouraged from drilling holes for nest cavities. When the pieces of flashing nailed over their work area don't deter them, other means are sometimes necessary. The other woodpeckers will sometimes also drum on metal as well.

The one other thing flickers have gone after was the old motion detector light fixtures here when we moved in. There must have been faint electrical clicking or humming noises. They pecked every plastic window over every light sensor to pieces. No loss, we prefer to turn on outside lights when we want them on, so those were replaced.

Handymike said:

He's your early warning device that is telling you your house is full of bugs and will be collapsing soon. Best get cracking on the repairs before collapse.
Mike

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Yep I noticed that our FirePlace had stones falling out and the one corner of our home is leaning with the sheetrock cracking.
Thanks for letting us know about the early warning system with Peckers.

Coyote Shadow Tracker said:

Yep I noticed that our FirePlace had stones falling out and the one corner of our home is leaning with the sheetrock cracking.
Thanks for letting us know about the early warning system with Peckers.

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With that thought, better get checked for termites. I'll bet you have those in that warm country. When I was repairing homes in Houston, I found termite problems periodically. If soil and vegetation can contact exterior wood, they can find entry points to structures. Light is not their friend, but covered areas, even leaf piles, can cause trouble.

Of course it could also be simple rot.

I feel your pain. I hate carpenter bees, and now I hate woodpeckers. I spent a fortune last fall having my house and decks stained and bee and woodpecker holes filled. The bees are literally drilling holes like there is no tomorrow. Someone would make a fortune if they would develop an effective way to deter the bees from drilling into wood. I guess it is the price you pay for living where woods surround your home.

POST #23
ONLY KIDDING!

Coyote Shadow Tracker said:

POST #23
ONLY KIDDING!

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Maybe over reacted. Seriously had one house infested from one end to the other, including the sheet rock having tunnels, and the shake roof shingles I was standing on - to my dismay - riddled through like lace.