Woodpecker drilling damages 6,000 electricity poles in UK

LONDON: Woodpeckers have damaged some 6,000 electricity posts in East Anglia and southeast England in the past year, forcing a utility firm to test a wood filler containing a scent that repels the birds, the British media reported on Friday.

The birds are mistaking the electricity poles in East Anglia and south-east England for trees, the UK Power Networks said. Woodpeckers often return to the same spot so the escalating damage can result in power cuts or the need to replace the posts, the BBC quoted the company as saying.

The utility company is currently testing a wood filler containing a scent that repels the birds. Woodpecker damage generally occurs 6ft above ground level and continues all the way to the top of the pole, Ipswich- based UK Power Networks said. About 25 per cent of the pole can be lost to the damage, but if the holes are not filled rot can set in leading to further problems.

“There is... some thought that the woodpeckers are attracted to certain poles because they vibrate at a frequency similar to where mites nest,” the company said.

Ian Cameron, head of innovation at UK Power Networks, said in an attempt to deter the birds from coming back to their old holes to search for insects or worms, they have been trialling a new product developed in the US.

The resin fills the holes and emits a harmless scent to persuade woodpeckers to pick a more suitable home, Cameron said. The new resin, which is a blend of natural oils, had been trialled successfully in the Brighton area for several years before being rolled out across the network, he added.