Are Woodpeckers Damaging Your Home?

Woodpeckers can be a real head ace to homeowners. If your home has wood siding or EIFS stucco, (exterior insulating finishing system), you very likely have experienced the damage caused by woodpeckers. They generally favor nesting locations high up on the side of homes; like the Flicker in the photo. Chimney chases and columns of decks clad with stucco are other highly desirable locations for these birds because they resonate like hollow dead trees when they are drummed on. When a woodpecker finally opens a large enough hole to pass through, they discover a wonderful new home for themselves has been created.

Although this may not appear to be problematic for you as the homeowner, it really is the beginning of what may be a very expensive problem. When rain or snow goes through the hole, water damage inside the wall of your home is inevitable. Stucco siding has been know to completely delaminate and fall off of the home. Additionally, mold can also start growing inside the walls of your home. (See Mold - Mold - Mold And YOU and Mold - What You Should Know) Total repair expenses of such damage starts in the hundreds of dollars and can easily exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

There are two effective ways to repair woodpecker damaged areas. First, hard coat the repaired hole – over the existing softer EIFS finish. Woodpeckers will not enjoy pecking through the much harder exterior finish the second time. A second method might be to install Hardie Board over the damaged areas and then finish with hard coat stucco texture. Once the wall has been repaired and repainted, they will look like they did when they were first installed.

See additional information on Preventing Woodpecker Damage at
WOODPECKERS BOTHERING YOU? ? WHAT TO DO

Learn more about Woodpeckers .