Woodpeckers cause thousands of dollars of damage annually in the U.S. Image via Wikipedia

Financial Statistics about Wildlife Damage

The Cost of Wildlife Damage to Human Interests

Feral Hogs

Cost of feral hog damage to crops and the environment in the U.S. is 1.5 billion dollars (Tegt, J. et al. 2011. Plowing Through North America. The Wildlife Professional 5:2(Summer): 36-39.

Cornell Study on Woodpecker Damage

Their study took place around Cornell University in the Lakes region of New York. In that part of the country six woodpeckers are commonly implicated in damaging homes namely the pileated woodpecker, Northern flicker, red bellied woodpecker, Harry woodpecker, downy woodpecker, and yellow bellied sapsucker. Interestingly they explain that some researchers found that the average homeowner who suffers from woodpecker damage sustains about $300 worth of damage to his/her home. Emily G Harding, Paul D. Curtis and Sandra L Vehrencamp. 2007.  Assessment of management techniques to reduce woodpecker damage to homes published in the Journal of Wildlife Management.