whats eating my fence?

If it was a one-time hit then probably a woodpecker. I doubt he'd come back unless there are bugs in there for him to eat. Or she may be looking for a place to nest. Is it hollow?

May be carpenter bees with woodpeckers tearing up the perimeter of the hole, but carpenter bees wouldn't cause the perimeter damage like that. Have any other pics?

I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not carpenter bees. I have them, and they make a small, perfectly round hole that looks like it was drilled. There would be lots of those holes, and eventually the inside of the wood would rot away, but you would see the holes first.

May be carpenter bees with woodpeckers tearing up the perimeter of the hole, but carpenter bees wouldn't cause the perimeter damage like that. Have any other pics?

Probably not termites because they hate being exposed to sunlight, and I would say that hole is some kind of exposure.

If it was a one-time hit then probably a woodpecker. I doubt he'd come back unless there are bugs in there for him to eat. Or she may be looking for a place to nest. Is it hollow?

dont think its a woodpecker Kurt...this pic is just one of 4 or 5 spots like this, some are worse too. It looks like there's a channel of sorts on the interior of the hole. and its PT wood as well.

I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not carpenter bees. I have them, and they make a small, perfectly round hole that looks like it was drilled. There would be lots of those holes, and eventually the inside of the wood would rot away, but you would see the holes first.

:wub: Not trying to be argumentative or a know it all...but
Carpenter bees do make holes like this as they tunnel through the wood...don't see these quite as often as the normal 1inch holes that they use to enter

One of my former clients is in pest control business and I had to go through their normal training and licensing to train their sales team. Never thought I would actually use a lot of that knowledge....LOL

dont think its a woodpecker Kurt...this pic is just one of 4 or 5 spots like this, some are worse too. It looks like there's a channel of sorts on the interior of the hole. and its PT wood as well.

Do all of the holes have the damage to the perimeter like this one?

I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not carpenter bees. I have them, and they make a small, perfectly round hole that looks like it was drilled. There would be lots of those holes, and eventually the inside of the wood would rot away, but you would see the holes first.

It looks like there is a perfectly round hole in the center of this and then there's all the chewed up wood outside of the hole...weird!
taking more pics soon...(battery in camera is dead)

I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not carpenter bees. I have them, and they make a small, perfectly round hole that looks like it was drilled. There would be lots of those holes, and eventually the inside of the wood would rot away, but you would see the holes first.

I have carpenter bees chewing on my house and they seem to make single clean drilled holes.

Anyone know what this could possibly be? its devouring my fence,,,termites? ,,,carpenter bee?

It looks like there's a lot of chewed areas before it gets to the tunnel/hollowed out part. Could it be something chewing on the wood to get to the carpenter bee larvae/eggs? Would squirrels do this ?
thanks for ideas/info everyone!

Do all of the holes have the damage to the perimeter like this one?

Yes it seems they do.

Wesman has a point. Now that you say there is a tunnel inside the mess, I retract my earlier certainty. I kind of like the idea that something is after the carpenter bee larvae. But, I really don't know what that would be. :idontno: I'm thinking not woodpeckers - seems like that much damage, you would have heard them.
Something with claws that eats bugs?

Wesman has a point. Now that you say there is a tunnel inside the mess, I retract my earlier certainty. I kind of like the idea that something is after the carpenter bee larvae. But, I really don't know what that would be. :idontno: I'm thinking not woodpeckers - seems like that much damage, you would have heard them.
Something with claws that eats bugs?

and / or with teeth that likes bugs?? what would that be? It must be happening at night because I never see it happening....crazy! and you would think I would have heard it if it was a woodpecker. The one section of fence has been gnawed on both sides of the board and its the top rail part which makes it really hard if not imposible to replace without mangling the fence!

With so many dogs in the 'hood, maybe it's a lab. 8)

From my observations of carpenter bees, their holes are usually on the bottom side of the wood so that their holes don't fill with water. Termite holes are the size of termites, while carpenter bees are the size of carpenter bees. Photo 2 hole seems to be a larger interior hole like a carpenter bee would make. I bet if you checked the bottom side of the fence near the exposed holes, you will find carpenter bee holes. I'd also guess that the interior holes are made by the bees and the exterior (exposed) holes on the sides are made by another animal trying to get to the bees.

With so many dogs in the 'hood, maybe it's a lab. 8)

From my observations of carpenter bees, their holes are usually on the bottom side of the wood so that their holes don't fill with water. Termite holes are the size of termites, while carpenter bees are the size of carpenter bees. Photo 2 hole seems to be a larger interior hole like a carpenter bee would make. I bet if you checked the bottom side of the fence near the exposed holes, you will find carpenter bee holes. I'd also guess that the interior holes are made by the bees and the exterior (exposed) holes on the sides are made by another animal trying to get to the bees.

Haha! georgie street and the hood seems to be a dog lovin' place! (specially Labs) its turning into Dogville for sure! and GraYton has nothin' on us..."Nice dogs-strange people"...
Smiling Joe upon further inspection the carpenter bee holes are not on the bottom but on the sides of the boards. One of the other boards is just starting to be chewed upon by the bees, you can see perfectly round shallow holes and some are only fresh bee chews (not really a hole yet) so after the bees get inside something must be going after the larvae, but what in the world is doing all that extensive chewing? and what do I DO ABOUT IT?

This is quite a mystery!

Found this blog about carp.bees & woodpeckers (w/ pics that appear similar to yours) . There are some comments at the end of the blog post that propose deterrent solutions.

nonna's nonsense: wanted: woody woodpecker, preferably dead, wednesday

This is quite a mystery!

Found this blog about carp.bees & woodpeckers (w/ pics that appear similar to yours) . There are some comments at the end of the blog post that propose deterrent solutions.

nonna's nonsense: wanted: woody woodpecker, preferably dead, wednesday

BEE WACKING! I LOVE IT! yes it does look similar but pretty sure its not woodpecker follow up, I would hear some kind of wood peckering if it was. It must be raccoons? Do squirrels eat bees larvae?

I am so going to do the bee wacking this spring...and I will name the bees all "BP" so I will enjoy this immensely....FU_BP!

FU BP :lol:, love it.

Raccoons or bears?

This actually happened to a deck we had a my childhood home. Carpenter bees laid eggs in the wood, and the woodpeckers figued it out. It looked like someone drove by with a Tommy gun and blew holes in it.