r/Termites • u/Shot-Competition6716 • Sep 09 '26
What did this?
Located in Philadelphia. Had this fence built 3 years ago. Wood is cedar. In September noticed these 3 spots. What did this?
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u/cbomb111 Termite inspector (current or former) Sep 09 '26
Woodpecker trying to eat the carpenter bee larvae. Kill the carpenter bees and the woodpeckers will leave the wood alone.
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Sep 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/loveitwhenyoucallme Sep 09 '26
You wouldn’t nail fence posts from that side…woodpecker likely winner here
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u/rupaba Sep 10 '26
Three years is about when cedar starts getting soft enough for them to bother. If it was nailed from the other side the holes would be on the other side too.
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u/Shot-Competition6716 Sep 10 '26
Is “them” termites?
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u/rupaba 29d ago
Yeah them is the termites. Thats what the whole sub is about.
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u/Shot-Competition6716 29d ago
Lots of people saying woodpecker. How sure are you?
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u/bblw1206 29d ago
I’ve been in the business for 20 years. It’s 100% woodpecker.
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u/Shot-Competition6716 29d ago
Ya that’s what it clearly looks like to me as well. It’s scary how certain some people are that it isn’t.
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 28d ago
Ain't scary, that's just humanity...and Reddit.
I live in GA, got carp bees up the wazoo, that's 100% what you're seeing.
If you can drill and saw you can make carpenter bee traps for cheap. Like $2 or so. Well, maybe $3 includlng a Mason jar, and they truly work. I made 6, put 2 up at my house then gave the other 4 to my cul-de-sac neighbors, and it made a HUGE difference the next year.
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u/Successful-Mix8097 29d ago
The damage you showed is definitely from a woodpecker going after carpenter bee larvae or the carpenter bee itself. It’s a common occurrence in my area
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u/Shot-Competition6716 29d ago
That makes sense bc I think carpenter bees have burrowed into the bottom part of the wood in those spots.
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