If you’re seeing rectangular or oblong holes chiseled into a tree, a woodpecker is almost certainly hunting insects inside the wood, and termites are one of the most common targets. Woodpeckers don’t randomly drill into healthy trees. Their presence is a strong signal that something is already living inside the wood, whether that’s termites, carpenter ants, or wood-boring beetle larvae. The holes you’re seeing are the result, not the cause, of a pest problem.
Why Woodpeckers Target Certain Trees
Woodpeckers find food by listening. They can detect the vibrations and sounds of insects moving beneath bark and inside wood, then drill directly to the source. Their primary food is carpenter ants, which can make up 40 percent of a woodpecker’s diet and as much as 97 percent for some individuals. But termites, wood-boring beetle larvae, and other insects round out the menu. Woodpeckers use a long, barbed tongue to reach termites and larvae lying deep inside the wood, sometimes more than an inch below the surface.
This means a woodpecker hammering away at your tree is doing you a diagnostic favor. The bird is telling you the tree has an active infestation. A healthy tree with solid, pest-free wood is unlikely to attract sustained woodpecker attention. Occasional shallow holes from sapsuckers (a type of woodpecker that feeds on tree sap) are a different story, but the large, deep, often rectangular excavations are feeding holes targeting colonies inside the wood.
How to Tell Woodpecker Holes From Termite Damage
Woodpecker holes and termite damage look quite different up close. Woodpecker feeding holes are clean, chiseled openings that go inward. On larger species like the pileated woodpecker, these can be surprisingly big, sometimes several inches across and deep enough to expose interior wood. They’re typically oval or rectangular, with sharp edges and fresh wood chips scattered at the base of the tree.
Termite damage, by contrast, tends to show up as soft, crumbling wood, mud tubes running along the trunk or roots, or hollowed-out galleries just beneath the bark. Subterranean termites build distinctive mud shelter tubes from the ground upward. Drywood termites leave behind small pellet-like droppings. If you peel back loose bark near a woodpecker hole, you may find the network of tunnels the termites created, which is exactly what drew the bird in the first place.
When both are present on the same tree, the timeline is usually: termites colonize first, weaken the wood, and then woodpeckers arrive to feed. The woodpecker holes are secondary damage layered on top of the original infestation.
What This Means for Your Tree’s Health
A tree with both termite damage and woodpecker holes is dealing with two stressors, but the termites are the bigger concern. Termites hollow out structural wood over months or years, weakening the tree from the inside. The woodpecker holes themselves, while unsightly, are relatively minor. Trees can compartmentalize small wounds and grow callus tissue around them over time.
The real question is how far the termite damage has progressed. If the woodpecker is making many large holes across the trunk or major limbs, the infestation is likely extensive. A tree with widespread internal decay becomes a falling hazard, especially in storms. At that point, you’re looking at a decision about whether the tree can be saved or needs to come down. An arborist can assess internal damage using tools that measure wood density without cutting into the tree.
For trees where the damage is localized to one branch or a small section of trunk, the situation is more manageable. Removing the affected limb and addressing the termite colony can preserve the rest of the tree.
Treating the Termite Problem
Termites in a living tree are trickier to treat than termites in a house. Most standard home termite treatments involve soil-applied barriers or bait stations placed around a structure’s foundation. For trees, the approach depends on the termite species. Subterranean termites are nesting in the ground and traveling into the tree, so bait stations placed in the soil near the trunk can intercept them. A pest control professional can identify the species and recommend the right strategy.
Avoid injecting insecticides directly into the tree trunk, as this can cause more harm to living tissue than the termites themselves. Pruning away heavily damaged wood, improving drainage around the root zone, and removing dead stumps or wood debris nearby (which serve as termite food sources) all help reduce the pressure on the tree.
Deterring Woodpeckers From Your Trees
Woodpeckers are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which means you cannot trap, harm, or kill them. Deterrence is your only legal option, and it works best when you start early. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends beginning control measures as soon as you notice drumming and continuing until well after the bird leaves the area.
For ornamental trees, wrapping the trunk with burlap or another heavy fabric can block access to the wood. Visual deterrents like owl and hawk models, reflective spinners, and windsocks have inconsistent results but are worth trying in combination. Playing recorded woodpecker distress calls followed by raptor calls can also discourage them from returning to the area.
One thing to avoid: sticky gels or tactile repellents applied to the tree. These substances can coat a bird’s feathers, impairing its ability to fly and stay warm. They’re harmful and not recommended by wildlife agencies.
That said, if woodpeckers are actively feeding on termites in your tree, deterring the birds without addressing the infestation just removes your most visible early warning system. The smarter approach is to treat the termite problem first. Once the food source is gone, the woodpeckers will move on naturally.
Filling and Repairing the Holes
Once woodpecker activity stops, filling the holes helps prevent moisture, fungi, and secondary pests from entering the exposed wood. For small holes, a grafting wax or tree wound sealant works well. Larger cavities can be packed with a foam backer rod and sealed with a flexible, weather-resistant filler. The goal isn’t cosmetic perfection; it’s keeping water out so the tree can begin healing over the wound on its own.
Avoid filling holes with concrete or rigid materials. Trees flex in the wind, and rigid plugs can crack and create new entry points. The tree’s natural response is to grow new wood around the edges of a wound, gradually sealing it off. Your job is just to protect it while that process happens.