Woodpecker help

So, my son woke up from his nap screaming and then i heard this knocking on the wall. I ran outside and say a woodpecker!!! It pecked a huge hole in my house!!! Now, I am less concerned about the hole than I am about the fact that the woodpecker was gnawing at my house. I vaguely remember hearing that woodpeckers are attracted to termites or carpenter ants and that's why they are attracted to a particular house. Does anyone have any information on this? TIA

Re: Woodpecker help

I think they eat them

Re: Woodpecker help

Sometimes they just like the noise it makes and do it to attract a mate. I have vinyl siding on my house and what must be the dumbest woodpecker in the world kept pecking on it every day. We checked and we have no insects of any kind.

Have an exterminator check your house just to give you some peace of mind that you have no infestation.

Re: Woodpecker help

We have a woodpecker that pecks on my Gutters It sounds like a machine gun. Then he pecked a big hole in My mailbox and started hanging out inside it .

Re: Woodpecker help

Mating season is in the spring so I doubt that it would be doing it for attention from females. I'd get up there somehow and look at the hole, see if you see any damage.

Many of the woodpeckers that visit my feeders hang around all winter but it is fall migration right now. It might not be back, or only hang around for a week or so.

I hope you can repair the damage and that it doesn't happen again!