Knowledgebase
Hole pattern in my holly tree #928170
Asked April 12, 2026, 4:47 PM EDT
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
Hi Jay,
It looks like your holly has become a favored tree for Yellow Bellied sapsuckers to repetitively feed on over time. Although they do eat insects, when those are scarce in early spring or later fall/winter periods they start relying more on tree sap. Holly is considered a thin barked tree, a characteristic preferred by the sapsuckers. It becomes more of an issue when their feeding holes go completely around a trunk or branch since that does disrupt a tree's vascular system for transporting sugars. There are some claims that wrapping the areas with burlap (they will revisit the same holes) will help but there isn't much else aside from decoys that scare most birds off. Sapsuckers will be moving north for breeding now, so the tree will get a respite until cooler weather returns.
Sue
On Apr 13, 2026, at 8:46 AM, Ask Extension wrote:
Glad to help!
Sue
