I don't know what the problem is with your tree (what species, by the way?) but it's not woodpecker damaage. The only woodpecker in your neck of the woods that feeds of healthy trees would be the yellow-bellied sapsucker, which makes dozens of small holes in the bark, in parallel rows, to make the sap run and attract bugss. Sapsuckers can damage trees under some circumstances -- smaller trees in fruit orchards, for example -- but that doesn't sound like your situation. If woodpeckers are digging 8" holes in your tree, there is either a good supply of insects living in your tree or else the tree is rotten enough to be a candidate for a nest hole. The bugs could either be the problem themselves or (more likely) they have moved into dead tissue caused by disease. Either way, the woodpeckers are more of an indicator of a problem than the cause. If the tree is important to you, you should hire a professional arborist to evaluate the problem.

I would wager, there are plenty around. Red bellies are very common in my part of the state. We usually have 3 pairs hanging around our feeders. Downies are the most common; hairies are rarer. Flickers are common, but we can't seem to draw them in. Pileateds and red heads are the rarest---although I had a horde of the red heads attacking my fruits last year. While we have loads of white breasted nuthatches, red bellied nuthatches have been like your red bellied woodpeckers. We've only seen one at a time.

I think if you hang them in strips, it may work! Sounds like a good idea.

thanks! I don't see him consistently but of and on...I hope it's the same one. I think I'll just build a house (it's easy enough), put it up, and keep my fingers crossed. I have 2 dead trees at the perimeter of my yard that are perfect so maybe I'll get lucky!