Polyurea Elastomer Protects Utility Pole Crossarms From Damage by Pileated Woodpeckers

摘要

Woodpeckers cause severe damage to utility poles and crossarms, resulting in substantial economic losses to utility companies. We evaluated effectiveness of a polyurea elastomer coating material for reducing damage by captive pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) to utility pole crossarms. Because woodpeckers inflicted essentially no damage to the fully coated crossarms, we infer that the coating material holds substantial promise for protecting utility pole crossarms. Additional research should be conducted to evaluate the coating under field conditions.