Question

Maple Tree   QUESTION: I just noticed alot of sap on the bark of my 30 year old maple leaking out. Checked it over and found probably 40-50 woodpecker holes on two sides.  We live in Oklahoma and had a massive ice storm one year ago and lost large limbs in this tree, but the tree has been healthy up till the woodpecker problem now noted.  I'm concerned the sap leakage will harm the tree or allow insects to penetrate.  Is my tree in danger, should I patch the holes, and how can I get rid of the woodpeckers?  I've had my bird feeder hanging from this tree for 20 years without problems like this occurring.  Would appreciate it if you can help me--we had damage in 29 out of 30 trees last year and this is west shade for my house. Temps here have been averaging 20 - 50 degrees and we are quite dry lately.  Thanks for the reply. (Picture included)

ANSWER: The bark of maple is thinner than most trees and the woodpeckers could damage the tree if numerous. These woodpeckers are called sap suckers and feed on the insects that come to the sap. Woodpecker them selves are sometimes hard to discourage. I would try spraying the bark with the holes with an insecticide-- this will kill or prevent  any insects that the bird feeds on and the birds will leave since they can not find insects. The wounds should heal by themselves with out applying anything but the insecticide. I would use an insecticide called Merit. This will kill the insects present and also prevent borers from attacking the wounds. Check with your local nursery for Merit. This is sprayed on the trunk where the wounds are located.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Is there anything else I can do other than poison insecticide?  I have dogs and concerned about the rains washing the Merit to the ground where they will be walking by.  Occasionally my dogs try to eat the bird seed that falls off the feeder after the birds leave for the day.  Thank you again for your answer!

Answer
Merit is safe around dogs. The active ingredient is Imidacloprid is relatively non-toxic to warm-blooded animals, as witness its use for flea control on pets. In fact, feeding studies on rats and dogs produced no observable effects at normal usage rates. Spraying the tree trunk will be just wetting the bark and it will be absorbed into the bark and the rain will not wash it off and even IF it does wash some off the concentration will be very very low and will not harm pets.

One of the formulations is for a flea spray. Imidacloprid (Advantage? is a topical insecticide. It is applied to the skin along the back of dogs and cats once a month. It kills adult fleas and larvae.