What could be eating my wood siding ?

Question

It started with just the corner of a fascia board and now has appeared in a bunch of other places. The fascia is cypress and the shingles are cedar. The only place the damage is being done is on the south or west side of the structure (an "out" building). It looks like it's being chewed. The attached pictures give you a pretty good idea what it looks like.
The house, which has the same siding and is about 50 feet away, is not affected at all.
Any clues and solutions gladly accepted !
Regards,
Rick Taylor
Moyock, NC

q what could be eating my wood siding, curb appeal, home maintenance repairs, pest control

The house, which has the same siding and is about 50 feet away, is not affected at all.

Any clues and solutions gladly accepted !

Regards,
Rick Taylor
Moyock, NC

HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC · Answer

Looks like squirrels...they're not so much eating it as trying to make a new home!  If the area isn't too high up...try some bitter apple from the local pet store and add white pepper to it....works like a charm

Walter Reeves · Answer

I agree: squirrels

Nancy L · Answer

i say racoons i had trouble eating the side of my house

Barb A · Answer

I have been told that squirrels that are getting their food sources from bird feeders do not ' grind' down their teeth as a natural response to their natural diet. Therefore, they find other sources to grind their teeth. Is anyone around you feeding the birds?

Kelly F · Answer

Termites maybe?  Do you see any shell type casings lying on the ground below- like sawdust looking stuff?

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Yep, looks like squirrels Rick.
Try trimming the trees back so they do not have an easy ladder to jump to the roof.
Nice monkey.

Becky H · Answer

For sure you're getting good answers!  I had squirrels attack my gazebo; I'd never seen anything like it before, nor ever dreamed they would.  In speaking with the wildlife division, they advised I put hot sauce on the wood they were attacking to stop the activity.  I couldn't imagine covering my gazebo in 'hot sauce'.........never did, but the squirrels finally quit knawing on the wood.  Weird!

Aric V · Answer

many times its for squirrels to gain access to your attic to make a new home, might check to see if you have any trapped up there

Rick T · Answer

Thanks all for the input....I suspected squirrels but wanted some other opinions in case it was something else. To answer some replies :

@Barb A - Yup, we feed birds right there at that outbuilding...coincidentally on the south and west side of the structure !
@Peace Painting - Yup, there are a few trees that either touch or are jumpable for the little critters. And yes, those wily Capuchin monkeys are real cute and equally devious...
@Becky H - Indeed !

Thanks again !
Rick

Susan S · Answer

Hey Rick - nothing to add, I think everyone else pretty well covered it!  But, I just had to comment on your 'friend'!  Sure is a cute fellow, however, I thought it was illegal to have monkeys as pets or does it depend on the state and what type of monkey?  I'm sure you wouldn't post a pic for the whole world to see  if everything wasn't on the up & up!!

Rick T · Answer

@Susan S - This l'il fella and about 5 of his cohorts were beach bums down in Roatan, Honduras. We were sailing up to Fort Lauderdale from Panama and stopped there for a few days. They were perfectly happy living where they were as they would swing into the lobby bar at the beachfront hotel, grab a can of beer and head up to a tree to drink it...

Rick T · Answer

Said monkey in a tree with a beer...

Susan S · Answer

LOL Rick,  That's sooo funny!  Sure couldn't be prosecuted for shoplifting could they???  Probably not very good candidates for AA either!!  So if he was part of the beach bum gang, did he just sorta accidentally on purpose stow away on your boat???

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Monkeys and Monks, aficionados both.
Roatan is supposed to be beautiful and a nice place to snorkel.

Rick T · Answer

@Peace....they're supposed to have the 2nd largest coral reef in the world, behind the Great Barrier Reef, so it's kinda a dive haven. Nice place, enjoyed our few days there.

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Too, the Honduranos are such a wonderful, humble people in general.  
I have had the pleasure of working with a handful.  There are a good number in Atlanta.

Mikey F · Answer

. . . .the day the squirrel went berserk. . .

Becky H · Answer

Make that 'gnawing' on the wood.   Ooops!

Kelly F · Answer

So Rick- have you decided it is squirrels eating the house?  Maybe just try putting a squirrel feeder in the yard?   I gather up walnuts every year and put them on the garage floor- the squirrels eat them instead of my tools and wires and wood on the wood rack.  LOL  I have given up trying to squirrel proof.  Now I just feed the damn things!

Susan S · Answer

@Becky H. -  HA HA - I like your 'original' way of spelling knawing!!!

@Kelly F. -  Somestimes if ya can't beat 'em ya might as well join 'em, right??  I keep telling my other half that it's an impossible task to try and keep the squirrels from raiding our bird feeders so we should just buy dried corn and put it out.  It's either that or continue the futile battle of them emptying the feeders!!

Shannon Moloney · Answer

Woodpecker on the shingles. Not sure about the fascia...

Cindy Thompson Carrell · Answer

Squirrels are known to eat wood like that - - and lots of other things around here: swing awning, bicycle cover, shingles...

Susan Bechamp · Answer

When we moved to the rural countryside, I was warned by a neighbor not to side the shed we were building with manmade wood products such as T-11 siding. Apparently skunks and possums like the taste of the wood glue used in these products. Some critters also like the salt from sweaty hands that collects on the handles of yard tools. Ever find the rakes or hoes have been chewed up if left in an accessible spot? Don't store them under the roof overhang. (My overhang is generously sized for a potting bench and garden staging area).

Polly Fuller · Answer

a  woodpecker did that kind of damage to my shingles when we loved in Indiana.

Vanda wright · Answer

squirrels

Connie wedding · Answer

Termites or wood bees maybe? You need an exterminator to take a look. Get one that gives free estimates.

Pbt6639961 · Answer

Woodpeckers

Carol Zahn Eberle · Answer

Woodpeckers!

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