skip to main content

Sapsucker BAD!!

Konrad___far_north

17 years ago

Have a pair around in the neighbourhood again this year and I know just by the sound of it, tap, tap tap tap, coming

closer and closer doing allot of damage to my trees.

Does anybody know of any suet or other desert they like to distract them from doing more harm?

Have several pine and spruce tree damage, this one is bleeding pretty good.

{{gwi:97421}}

Konrad

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

bob_n_bernie_wa
17 years ago
Konrad, what you are experiencing is normal Sapsucker behavior. It will not harm your trees. We have a birch they have been working for 15 years.

The sap wells provide food for numerous critters including Hummingbirds. It is part of nature. Insects get stuck in the sap and numerous species harvest them.

Enjoy the birds. Your trees will still be here feeding these Sapsucker's descendents and others for years to come.

BnB
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
17 years ago
>> It will not harm your treesYES it will, several of my pussywillow main stem are dead because of them, I didn't know until I had a expert telling
me this and said they can kill trees. Since this visit I check my trees regular and apply tree wound dressing.

Choke cherry, it attracted allot of wasp.
{{gwi:97422}}
Konrad
Related Discussions
Loquat under attack by Sapsuckers
Q
Comments (1)
You may have to wrap the trunk in something more substantial, like hardware cloth. Your link is not working, btw. Can you re-post it? Patty S.
...See More
Sapsuckers be damned!
Q
Comments (15)
Like Konrad's area, the Sapsuckers here like to hit the birch trees but also damage many other varieties as well. Because of the smooth, white surface of the birch, it is easier to tell that the trees weren't not perviously being attacked by bugs. The sap holes attract several kinds of bugs including ants and wasps. The sapsuckers will return for both the sap and the bugs. From my observations, they seem more interested in the bugs that the sap has attracted. I would definately say "yes" to sapsuckers doing tree damage to attract a bug meal in the future. As far as the Pileated killing a tree to get bugs in the future, I don't know. That seems like a long span of time between the task and the reward. We have a lot of Pileated here as well and they just work the dead trees and occasionally my house siding. Big damage - very fast. I agree that birds can behave very differently by region.
...See More
Is this the end of my apple tree?
Q
Comments (12)
They peck holes and then the sap attracts ants which they eat--they're creating a food source. I had sapsuckers go after a Bradford pear after we had to cut down the dying tree they'd been nesting in for years. Old and dead trees have a definite place in the ecosystem, just not in my tiny yard with a house right there for it to fall on. The Bradford survived but it took it a few years to look healthy again.
...See More
Tree repair...bad crotch
Q
Comments (10)
Of course, their recommendation was to take down the whole thing, ==>> you already have the correct answer.. you have a rather honest forthright tree guy ... since it appears to be out in the middle of nowhere.. where it wont threaten property or life.. then just watch it crumble to the ground.. which may or may not happen in your lifetime ... tree time is counted in decades.. so who knows how long it will last... the other reason cement doesnt work.. is that trees are supposed to blow in the wind.. which means.. flex.. cement doenst flex..so it speeds up further collapse in the next storm.. personally.. i would not have spent money on cabling.. but that is your choice.. and all the power to ya... i might suggest... you move forward with the logic.. of we tried.. and next time something happens .... its time to go... ken
...See More
greenjewels
17 years ago
Never had this problem but was just reading an old Backyard Living or Birds and Blooms Magazine and someone had put duct tape on the tree and the birds didn't bother it anymore. They would not peck through the duct tape. Of course, I don't know how many trees you have---might take a lot of tape!
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
17 years ago
In link below is say's they put the well's into the bark one row at the time, not true to my observation, it seems allot more damage, several inches high and at least half of the trunk. In first picture, it was done all the way around in one day.

Konrad

Here is a link that might be useful: Damage

Related Stories

GARDENING FOR BIRDS Backyard Birds: Those Nutty Nuthatches

By Habitat Network

The North American songbirds, which often perch upside down, make themselves known in the winter landscape

GARDENING GUIDES Backyard Birds: Northern Cardinals in the Snow, and Other Red Birds

By Habitat Network

Brilliant crimson feathers make these friends stand out in a crowd

GARDENING FOR BIRDS Backyard Birds: How to Identify Two Common Woodpeckers

By Habitat Network

Downy and hairy woodpeckers have similar coloration and behavior. But there are two big differences that separate them

GARDENING FOR BIRDS Feed the Birds: 6 Plants for Abundant Winter Berries

By Therese Ciesinski

Be kind to your fair feathered friends during lean food times by planting a shrub or tree loaded with nutritious snacks

Sponsored

More Discussions

ID OWL IN S.E. MICHIGAN z5b

0