Yes, but it was likely dead anyways. Pileated Woodpeckers target Cypress trees that are infested with beetles or termites.
Positive_Swordfish52
looks more like sapsucker holes to me, shows the tree is healthy.
Sensatina
The woodpecker knows its infested. We had a tree like this and you have to treat the issue effecting it. But it looks like you are in the late game at this point. You could try something like neem oil or maybe even a bug poison, but you are very very likely to have failed at this point.
MeasurementFirst1676
I’ve got about 6-8 trees that are the homes and feeding grounds for Pileated and Downy woodpeckers. None of them at all look like your tree. Did you actually see the pecker, pecking the wood? I don’t think that’s woodpecker work.
_Hylobatidae_
No
spaetzlechick
Woodpeckers, sapsuckers and trees have been around together for a few years, you know? Yes trees can be damaged but a tree has to be pretty severely infested to attract homicidal level birds.
juicebean21
Sapsucker not woodpecker. Woodpeckers drill large irregular holes while sapsucker form smaller, regular, patterned holes. I’ve only seen them cause damage to very juvenile arborvitae. Not an issue for this tree. If you see large holes exposing the inner tissue of the tree, you have an insect issue or possibly decay/heartwood rot
Pulaski540
Woodpeckers only attack trees for the grubs _eating_ the tree under the bark. If your tree is infested with grubs/ beetles, they _will_ kill the tree. So don’t blame the woodpeckers; they may be doing you a favour, and in the worst case scenario the tree was being killed by the grubs anyway!
9 Comments
[deleted]
Yes, but it was likely dead anyways. Pileated Woodpeckers target Cypress trees that are infested with beetles or termites.
looks more like sapsucker holes to me, shows the tree is healthy.
The woodpecker knows its infested. We had a tree like this and you have to treat the issue effecting it. But it looks like you are in the late game at this point. You could try something like neem oil or maybe even a bug poison, but you are very very likely to have failed at this point.
I’ve got about 6-8 trees that are the homes and feeding grounds for Pileated and Downy woodpeckers. None of them at all look like your tree. Did you actually see the pecker, pecking the wood? I don’t think that’s woodpecker work.
No
Woodpeckers, sapsuckers and trees have been around together for a few years, you know? Yes trees can be damaged but a tree has to be pretty severely infested to attract homicidal level birds.
Sapsucker not woodpecker. Woodpeckers drill large irregular holes while sapsucker form smaller, regular, patterned holes. I’ve only seen them cause damage to very juvenile arborvitae. Not an issue for this tree. If you see large holes exposing the inner tissue of the tree, you have an insect issue or possibly decay/heartwood rot
Woodpeckers only attack trees for the grubs _eating_ the tree under the bark. If your tree is infested with grubs/ beetles, they _will_ kill the tree. So don’t blame the woodpeckers; they may be doing you a favour, and in the worst case scenario the tree was being killed by the grubs anyway!