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Ponderosa Pine Red-Brown Needles: Sapsucker Woodpecker Damage

Neat rows of holes on your Black Hills ponderosa = sapsucker (woodpecker) feeding. Birds drill sap wells, return to eat trapped insects. No larvae present—birds are the cause.

Discouragement

Spray holes with insecticide (malathion, Sevin) to kill attracted insects. No bugs = no bird buffet. Holes heal naturally; don't fill them.

Damage is cosmetic unless extreme. See UAEX guide for details.

Trees: Selling Mature Ponderosa Pines in Southern Colorado; Trenching Near Mature Ponderosa Pine: Root Cutting Assessment; Pine Wind Resistance in Louisiana: Species Differences and Root Architecture; Sapsucker Woodpecker Damage on Pine: Identification and Simple Control; Orange Powder on Pine Trunk: Fusiform Rust, Not Lawnmower Damage; Thinning Ponderosa Pine in Denver: Stop Overwatering, Fertilize; Pine Sap Function: Natural Wound Defense; Sapsucker Holes Don't Cause Scale Insects; Saving a Ponderosa Pine Buried by Construction Fill; Managing Surface Roots on a Ponderosa Pine: Why Cutting Roots Is a Mistake

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