A while back they succeeded in pecking their way through to an an attic. This allowed the bats in. When the bat urine began to soak through the ceiling and stinking up the place I discovered the hole and at no small cost, I had the bats removed and the hole patched.

Every morning shortly after sun up, there is a ratta tat tat tat somewhere on a side of the house. The really staccato racket is the red-shafted flickers. They are the most destructive. Both flickers and acorn woodpeckers are very intelligent birds and they hear the shotgun being chambered through the walls and are usually gone by the time I get outside. If I get a shot off the target is almost always too far away. If I'm am stealthy and get the jump on them I will get one or two every now and then. It helps keep the damage down. Most mornings (I'm NOT a morning person) I will just roll over with my deaf ear up. The redheads are just looking for bugs hiding in the overlaps. Their damage is minimal compared to the flickers.

I hope that answers your concerns. If not, I will let you come and replace my siding and put your heart at ease.