Thanks for your question.

In order for us to provide you our best advice, we need some additional information.  Woodpeckers generally attack trees for one of two reasons.  The tree is either infested by some type of insect pest and/or these woodpeckers are establishing their territory.  

Do you know what kind of trees you have?  Also please send us some pictures of the trees.  One or two pictures should show as much of the complete tree as possible.  Then send one or two pictures that show the areas where the woodpeckers have been pecking on the tree.

One other question.  Have these woodpeckers attacked your trees in past years or is this the first year this has happened?

We'll look forward to hearing back from you.  Many thanks.

We have 2 Elm trees. We did treat last summer for bugs etc but it didn’t seem to help. Last summer was the first time we had trouble. 

Thanks for getting back to us.

I believe that woodpeckers are being attracted to your elm because of an insect pest. The most likely candidate would be an elm bark beetle such as the Native Elm Bark Beetle (Hylurgopinus rufipes) or the European Elm Bark beetle (Scolytus multistriatus). Both are common in Minnesota. A good indicator of this type of infestation is to remove a small piece of bark surrounding the woodpecker holes and look for “tunnels” on the underlying plant tissue. It turns out that these bark beetles can also lead to the development of Dutch Elm Disease, which can be fatal for the tree. Because of this, you may be dealing with a potentially serious problem. Effective treatment for either of these two insects depends upon the type of insecticide used and when it was applied. The fact that you had your trees treated last season (2023) does not necessarily guarantee that the possible infestation was eliminated. For example, insecticidal treatment in late summer is relatively ineffective. I would suggest that you inquire around for a licensed, professional arborist who has experience with elm bark beetles to make an onsite inspection and assessment. See the following for further information.

http://cues.cfans.umn.edu/old/Web/113NativeElmBarkBeetle.pdf

http://cues.cfans.umn.edu/old/extpubs/1420ebb/DG1420.html

http://cues.cfans.umn.edu/old/extpubs/1420ebb/DG1420.html - :~:text=Sanitation%3A Proper sanitation is the,reducing bark beetle breeding sites.

https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/dutch-elm-disease

http://cues.cfans.umn.edu/old/Web/111EuropeanElmBarkBeetle.pdf

https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/how-hire-tree-care-professional

If there is an insect infestation, it will be difficult to dissuade woodpeckers from visiting your elm. Check out the following for ways that you might be able to discourage woodpeckers from doing this:

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/backyard/livingwith_wildlife/woodpecker-control.pdf

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/woodpecker-and-sapsucker-damage-trees/

https://extension.psu.edu/do-woodpeckers-damage-your-trees

Good luck. Please get back to us with any additional questions.

We have 2 Elm trees. We did treat last summer for bugs etc but it didn’t seem to help. Last summer was the first time we had trouble.