Q: What caused the damage to the fascia board on our house? This shows only a small portion of the damage, it goes all the way to the peak of the roof line.

The “cavities” or “open tunnels” are about 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide and about as deep.

I would like to have some idea as to what caused this damage so I can tell our pest control contractor.

A: The initial damage was done by carpenter bees, which tunneled into the fascia board via the lower edge. You probably noticed them hovering about last May. The females bored into the boards and laid eggs in the tunnels. The eggs developed into juicy larvae within six weeks.

At that point, a hungry pileated woodpecker came by and ripped out the surface wood covering the carpenter bee larvae. This accounts for the big holes you see in the face of the fascia.

About all you can do is spray a bit of insecticide into the holes, fill them with wood putty and paint the wood to deter the bees this spring.

See this description of carpenter bee life.