# Something eating holes in cedar siding



## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

A woodpecker would be my first guess. Are they prevalent in your area? Post some pictures if you can.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Perfectly round holes?
If so it's carpenter Bee's.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...oto&qpvt=carpenter+bee+damage+photo&FORM=IGRE


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## scottyv81 (Dec 23, 2010)

Wow didn't think of bees. Guess I should also find out if they appear overnight or during the day. Here are some pictures. First just shows how high up (the white is wood filler patches). Second is an unsuccessful attempt at a hole. Third pic is the latest hole. About the size of a quarter.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

It looks like bird damage to me...http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Woodpeckers














It would be nice to walk a 15/12 like the toon in the pic.


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## scottyv81 (Dec 23, 2010)

Thanks for the link! I'll pick up some of those preventative measures and hopefully that'll do the trick. Good news is I don't see any insect activity. I too wish I could walk on a roof like that cartoon but I don't like being on roofs in general do that probably won't happen 😃


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Do a Google search on Carpenter Bee control. Just filling the hole isn't going to be enough. You need to kill the bees and eggs. Might need to call a pest control outfit. 

Carpenter bees seem to like to enter wood from the bottom, which seems to be what you show. 

You might end up seeing (actually, you would hear them more likely) some woodpeckers too. Its not a coincidence...... the woodpeckers are trying to get at the bees.


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## eharri3 (Jul 31, 2013)

I am gonna bet on carpenter bees. What's happening is they're drilling new holes next to the ones you're patching, or else the ones trapped in the tunnels you seal are making new holes to get out. Sometimes they successfully create a tunnel, sometimes they hit something too hard and can't go all the way through. Occasionally they'll drill through a piece of wood that turns out to be too thin and just make a hole straight through.

Now here's the question... are the holes new or do you think you might just not have noticed them for awhile? Carpenter bees mate and drill early in the summer. Activity dies down mid summer after the eggs are laid. Then what you'll see in late summer and fall is babies popping in and out to feed one last time before going into hybernation. You won't see much other activity this time of year. The damage has already been done. Now the newly hatched bees will tend to leave the holes early in the morning then go back in late in the evening. You won't actually see them near the holes during 

If these are carpenter bees, you need to cover your siding in a repellent spray and then put insecticide dust as deep as you can into every hole you find. If you want you can put up traps while you're at it. That should kill them all pretty quickly. I personally like Seven Dust, available at home depot. Just went around to all my carpenter bee holes and found the entrances are packed with dead bees 3 or 4 deep who couldn't make it out of the whole alive. Perfect backing material for the wood putty.

I called an exterminator for the repellent but applied the dust myself when they didn't bother and further research told me it was the only sure way to get them all. If you hire someone to take care of it thety may try to tell you just spraying the area with their standard repellent spray will be enough. Don't believe them. You must puff the dust directly into the tunnels. And I wouldn't patch any holes for awhile. You want them to continue to use the holes you've dusted to come in contact with the poison. You don't want to seal them off and push them to make new ones.


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## scottyv81 (Dec 23, 2010)

Wow lots of good info. The holes are pretty recent. I was up there doing some repair on window trim and there weren't any holes at the time. I'd say they have started within the last 2-3 weeks.


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