He has encountered many strange situations throughout his career, but one recent discovery surprised him.
Nick Castro, an owner of Nick’s Extreme Pest Control in California, has been in the pest control business for over 20 years.
He had seen many strange things during his profession, but recently he learned of a discovery that surprised him.
Castro was called to the home to deal with a woodpecker that was damaging the siding by depositing acorns in holes it drilled into it.
As he hacked into the wall to remove the nuts, a seemingly endless stream of acorns poured forth.
The Dodo quoted Castro as saying, “They just kept coming and coming, non-stop.”
The acorns were said to be only about a quarter of the height of the wall. They were actually stacked so high that they reached the attic of the house.
Castro dug more holes around the house, but the acorns kept pouring in, filling eight huge garbage bags and weighing a total of over 700 pounds.
According to a pest control expert, the bird scattered acorns all over the property, leaving glaring woodpecker holes everywhere.
Castro observed the bird and said, “You’d think this bird had food supplies everywhere.”
“The front of the house was completely destroyed by the holes the bird had made. Acorns were piled high on the siding and paneling.”
Castro described the bird as “crazy.”
The guy said, “He was actually there when we were, filling the holes he made.”
The bird soared through the attic vents after drilling countless holes in the wood paneling surrounding the acorn chimney.
Castro noted, “The acorns were piled up from the bottom floor about 20 feet up into the attic.”
According to company policy, “all animals are treated humanely and are never euthanized,” and nothing has changed in this case.
The homeowners just filled in the holes in the yard and ignored the woodpeckers.
By adding fresh vinyl siding, it was hoped that the bird would be motivated to find a new place to store food. The bird would benefit from this as its laborious search for acorns was fruitless.
Castro said, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
In this case, the homeowners decided to repair the holes on the outside of the house and leave the woodpeckers undisturbed. It was hoped that by installing the new vinyl siding, the bird would be encouraged to choose another place to store the acorn, thereby saving both the house and the bird’s efforts from going to waste.
Nick Castro, with all his experience in the industry, admitted that he had never encountered a similar situation. The tireless determination of the woodpecker and the huge number of acorns discovered in the walls of the house left a lasting impression on him.
As a pest control specialist, Castro continues to meet unique challenges, ensuring that both clients needs and the welfare of the animals involved are handled with care and expertise.