XX#^//%%!!! woodpeckers

[Mike Van]

I've never seen as many of my trees just bleeding sap - Must of been a banner year for the woodpecker population.

[Russell Lampron]

Sounds like sap suckers not woodpeckers. Sap suckers will make a lot of little holes while a woodpecker normally makes one big one. In my opinion sap suckers do more damage.

[Dennis H.]

Yeah I have a few trees butchered by woodpeckers.
The best one you almost stick both fists into the opening! Busy guy.

I tapped one tree and did not realize that woodpeckers at gone at it until I went onto next tree and the dark, wet bark of the backside of the tree got my attention.

Not sure how well those trees will fair in the future.

[maple flats]

If it is woodpeckers, there are bugs in those trees. They don't just make holes in case there might be a bug to eat, they can detect them before making the hole. See if you can find someone (maybe from you state's co-operative extension) to determine which bugs they are after. Some bugs are a major issue in maples, others not so much.

[Russell Lampron]

Yeah I have a few trees butchered by woodpeckers.
The best one you almost stick both fists into the opening! Busy guy.

I tapped one tree and did not realize that woodpeckers at gone at it until I went onto next tree and the dark, wet bark of the backside of the tree got my attention.

Not sure how well those trees will fair in the future.

I've got some reds here that the sap suckers have completely girdled. The tree dies from the girdled spot up and will usually break off there in a good wind storm.

[Mike Van]

I haven't seen the guilty party, sapsucker is probably right though. Years back we had one of the pilated ones ripping up a sycamore tree. I've probably got 20 trees bleeding from several holes in each one.