My sabal palmetto has few holes made from birds. Should I be worried?

[Gardy78]

Hi there. I have a 17 ft palmetto that has been doing fine for that past six years. However I saw this week some holes in the trunk, probably caused by birds. Is there anything I can do like patch those holes , or just leave them like that? I am in zone 7b and this tree has survived some rough winters. I just don't want to lose it. Please any advise would be greatly appreciated. I will post a pic as well. Thank you

[Jeff985]

There’s nothing you can do to patch the holes, but weather or not it’ll be a problem depends on the depth. Try to stick something in them to see how deep they are. If it’s not too deep it’ll probably be okay. 

[jimmyt]

Who did that?   Woodpeckers?   Dang nasty birds!    Man I hope it survives.  

[pin38]

What if you treated it with hydrogen peroxide and then just used a wood filler? Any experts on here see an issue with doing that?

[Gardy78]

The bottom hole(biggest one) is kind of hollow. I am thinking maybe wrap some burlap for now until I can come up with some sort of patching. Wood filler might work. 

[Jeff985]

There are a lot of them around here that are probably 50 years old or more that have been through all kinds of stuff over the decades. Hurricanes, weed eaters, lawnmowers, people driving nails through them, who knows what else. As a result some of them have some pretty significant trunk damage and they’re still growing. I wouldn’t guarantee yours will be okay, but I think it’s chances are pretty good. 

[Jeff985]

Also when testing/inoculating for tppd/lethal bronzing, holes have to be drilled into the trunk. I recently spoke with an arborist about that. I don’t remember how big he said the hole is but it was big enough to make me cringe. He said they drill a hole in the trunk and collect the shavings to be analyzed for the disease. Then they inject the vaccine into the hole to be absorbed by the trunk. I want to say the hole is like 3/8 inches in diameter and a couple inches deep. I asked him about leaving a hole in the trunk and he said the walls of the hole will rot and create a seal. It will never be as good as a trunk that doesn’t have a hole in it but it will normally be okay. He said they start to rot/seal fairly quickly which is why they have to drill a new hole every 3 or 4 months to administer another injection. If the holes in yours are close to the top of the trunk, where the bud is, I’d worry. Otherwise I think it’ll be okay. I would definitely try to figure out a way to keep the birds off of it though. Good luck. 

[Gardy78]

Jeff985, THANK YOU . Definitely there is hope now.  This Sabal Palmetto has started my passion for palm trees. I have so many now, different sizes and types, but this one is special. I hope it keeps growing and fighting. And those birds man , going to have to figure something out. Thank you everybody once again.