WOODPECKER DAMAGE NO JOKE TO HOMEOWNERS

The Groesbeck family started hearing the sound a couple months ago -- the unmistakable noise of woodpeckers pounding away at a cedar-sided home.

Doug Groesbeck wasn't too concerned at first, until he went outside one day to find a sizable hole in the side of his home. Then another.

Other homeowners in the Belleridge Pike area have had even worse damage, with hole after hole drilled into their siding. They have tried filling the holes with spray insulation, blocking them with duct tape and covering them with wood, but no luck yet.

The birds continue to peck on the homes, looking for insects or just following instinct.

The Groesbecks' questions got passed back and forth between pest control services and the Missouri Department of Conservation, but only so much can be done to prevent woodpecker damage. Friends suggested the Groesbecks board up one hole and nail a rubber snake to it as a decoy.

Two weeks ago, the family put duct tape over a second hole and hung a plastic owl by it. So far, so good.

"The last thing we want is for them to get in, make a nest and lay eggs," Groesbeck said. "We wouldn't have the heart to destroy them, so we have to stop them first. It's really become a battle of wits."

Groesbeck can't even walk away from the problem each morning -- he works as a district manager for Union Electric, and the company reports notable losses from woodpecker damage. Utility poles are made of fir, and the birds hollow out large portions to make nests.

If they chip away enough of a pole, a high wind can easily knock it over and cause a major power outage.

In March, UE funded a woodpecker research project through the World Bird Sanctuary in Eureka to determine why woodpeckers choose utility poles over trees as nesting sites.

The multi-year study also will attempt to determine strategies for discouraging woodpeckers from using the poles for food, storage areas and home sites.

"I guess there's no escaping them," Groesbeck said. "Hopefully this cooperation with the sanctuary will give us some answers, but I'm not sure if there are any solutions on the home front."

Mike Cooke, business manager for the World Bird Sanctuary, has studied woodpeckers and other birds for about 30 years. He said plastic owls and rubber snakes work for a short period, but when the woodpeckers discover they aren't a real danger, they just work around the decoys.

Another problem is that woodpeckers adore cedar siding and tend to stick with homes once they have found them.

A booklet available from the bird sanctuary explained a few methods that may provide relief, including shooting Woody and his friends. However, it is illegal to shoot off any gun, even a BB gun, inside Cape Girardeau city limits.

Other suggestions included blocking a hole with hardware cloth or metal sheathing painted the color of the siding, painting the area with sticky bird repellents or filling the hole with mothballs.

The booklet warned that all of the methods have their drawbacks and none are foolproof.