Flyers got me stumped

This house had 1 hole when I set up. I figured GREAT put up a colony trap and be done. 1st check had zero flyers. I walked around the house again to see if I missed a hole and another one was fresh on the other side of the house. I know it wasnt there before because of where it is. So I set a baited trap and marked the hole. Nothing went in or out. Now today a new hole is chewed back on the side I started on. I shoved my camera down the hole and it goes about 16 inches and stops. This client bought this cabin a year ago. I got to noticing patches all around the house so the problem existed before. It appears the flyers are just creating cavity's and not calling it home or returning. Has anyone seen this? This is where per animal charge will bite you in the pooper!

that is a nice neat round hole in the middle of the board was it a knot hole? are you sure it is not peckers the insulation is not even disturbed. Do they hear anything?

Paul,

That looks like a woodpecker, I would put an excluder up where the roof junctions meet, are they going to seal it? Or just want trapping? BTW, just got back from Cades Cove.

Chad I thought I seen your truck in Townsend a couple days ago at the only light we have you were headed into the park. Did you enjoy the cove!?

The picture doesnt show it there is insulation stuck to the siding below the hole. And also you can see there little teeth marks. The owner seen the flyers the last night they were there. (in there head lights at the hole) So its flyers.

If you've ruled out birds I would screw a snap trap each side of that hole.

Warrior thats the thing, They aren't returning to the whole they created.

Flyers are fairly new here so I need to ask questions. Have any of you seen a hole like that created by flyers? ( Because all of the holes like that are made by woodpeckers around here ) I have never seen a hole chewed by flyers. They may enlarge an existing crack but I've never seen a hole that was completely done by them.

Just about every flyer hole in a facia board or other flat surface will be pretty much perfectly round..about the size of a half dollar ...at least every one i ever ran across..and thats alot. i have seen them use pre existing hole that wern't so neat and round.

The siding is about 1/4 inch in the areas where they make the holes. This wood is really soft. Its cedar and behind is that insulated wall board. I would of thought peckers also(from the ground). But close inspection you can see the teeth marks. Also the owner was there when the 1st hole was made and she never heard a pecker but seen the flyers.
Paul yes. But not very often. They will usually open a hole larger. The first hole was a knot.

The thing I do not see is a reason to chew at that spot. that is why I asked if it was a knot hole. when a squirrel chews any squirrel there is normally, not always, a edge of a gap that lets them get their teeth on. Also gives them a starting point as air currents or visual starting point. the upper edge has been rounded off but the spot really just looks like why here? if it was a knot hole or loose knot then I would say could be, but the grain does not indicate a circular or wave that would be around a knot. also the top edge looks at least from the pic that the wood is splintered off rather than having teeth marks. but again it is soft cedar. Is that a return the trap is sitting on or is that a platform for the trap? if you put it there then that would explain why there is no wood chips or dust there. In my area this type of hole most of the time comes from the Downy. Seems they hear the hollow sound and go through to hit the insulation then go to another spot. I am not saying is is not a flyer but again going back to habitats and behaviour when a squirrel makes a hole it is to go in and check things out, insulation is not moved and it seems to be like that on all of them like you stated.

Jonesie,
It's a platform for the trap.

Perhaps the woodpeckers are preferring insects over the seeds.

I'm with Jonesie in that the hole looks exactly like what I see from Downy Woodpeckers, that plus the size is just a touch small (based on the mesh size of the trap) for fliers but right in line with Downys. Now I do not have any doubt that the client saw fliers using the hole as I see that all the time, too.
JMO, but what I see is fliers that use holes like those, and they do use them, are one time use or intermittant enough to make trapping questionable on the hole. Generally these wall voids are sealed top bottom and sides (barring electrical or plumbing cuts of course) and really do not interest fliers except for temporary shelter, nut caches or litter boxes. These can be the most frustrating presentations as you can only catch the flier on those few nights they might show up.
I've basically gone to just sealing up those holes, after verifying non occupancy of course, and movong on to the attic if fliers are there.

Here is the 1st hole.
Warrior thats what I'm doing. I believe ya'll are right. Peckers open it up and flyers move in for a spell. Thanks for all the advice.

Reminds me of a frustrating flier job several years back.

Clients calls with a creature in a fart fan. Her cleaning lady went into an upstairs bathroom to clean up some fecal matter on the floor around the commode, she thought it was mice. Whe she entered the bathroom she turned the fan on and got an instant recation and when she looked up realized the feces were coming from the fan and the creature was still there.
I arrive and it's a flying squirrel trapped on my side of the fan so I safely remove it. When asked what it was doing up there I dead panned my response while looking at the feces and urine on the floor around the commode, "missing, must be a male".

Upon inspecting the attic I founr the fan vented to the outside and the duct intact. Exterior inspection revaled a missing guard.

Two weeks of trapping in the attic resulted in zero fliers and the client let her father talk her out of the full exclusion. I did install a deflecto (plastic) vent guard and new duct though.

Client was satified as there was zero new activity.

A year later, the feces hit the occilator again as the same problem reoccured. I returned and inspected the vent guard and found a perfect round hole chewed through the mesh, the duct was also perfectly intact. This time as I was replacing it with a fields stainless guard I had the guilty party run out to me by the tech replacing the duct on the inside. This time she went with the full exclusion, I did not charge her for the guard and duct.

Client just called me. There are 7 new holes that opened up since yesterday. Hmmm looks like I will be back out monday

Seven holes in one day? Has the client seen the flyers chewing yet?

There's something missing in this (w)hole scenario...

Yeah sqs, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, too.

She was frantic, She's in nashvegas and her daughter visited the cabin today and gave the news. She thinks there won't be nothing left of the cabin when she gets back to it. It will be my 1st stop monday morning.

7 holes lol. Somebody can't count. I found one hole the same as the others. I put a colony up and gona leave it for 2 days then check. The wood is so soft I had trouble keeping 3/4 inch screws in.

Flyers don't chew nearly as much as other squirrels. In my experience, they rarely even create their own holes. See the single scratches above the hole in the 10/19 photo - those are NOT tooth marks!
I'm a-bettin' on a woodpecker, especially considering the number of holes.

i have to disagree Dave. our flyers are chewing machines and ive even had them chew through aluminum soffit venting.

Dave those scratches are from my colony trap. You can see the screw hole where I fastened it. But I believe your right on the wood peckers. Tim Julian and I had a great conversation today about it