For a small bird, woodpeckers can sure cause quite the ruckus.

You’ve likely heard the jackhammer like sound of a woodpecker hammering into the exterior insulation finish systems (EIFS) that clad so many commercial and condominium buildings in the Okanagan.

It’s not a pleasant sound, but the damage these woodpeckers inflict upon a building's EIFS system is the real issue.

Enter EIFS Armour, a technology that was patented in the Okanagan and is now booming in popularity everywhere woodpeckers wreak havoc.

“Six years ago I had a customer with the ongoing issue of woodpeckers destroying the EIFS system on his building,” said Keith Eisenkrein, CEO and founder of EIFS Armour Wall Systems. "The problem is that the styrofoam used for building the EIFS system sounds the same to a woodpecker as the hollow trees they like to burrow holes in, and this customer was routinely finding over 50 large holes in his building due to woodpeckers"

Photo Credit: www.eifsarmour.com

Eisenkrein visited the building and gave the property manager a quote to patch up the holes, but quickly learned the issue was the birds and not the holes.

“The customer said ‘you don’t understand, they will just keep coming back’, then a lightbulb went off in my head,” explained Eisenkrein. "The EIFS system is very common for buildings and I had patched hundreds of these holes without realizing that the real solution was stopping the woodpeckers." 

Making the connection between woodpeckers and the thousands of holes in EIFS systems around the Okanagan turned on the lightbulb, but it took some quality time between husband and wife fully to realize EIFS Armour.

Photo Credit: www.eifsarmour.comThe majority of the eastern United States and Canada are home to several species of woodpecker or flicker and the birds can also be found in the Pacific Northwest, throughout British Columbia and into the northern and wooded areas of the Canadian prairies.

“We were going through stuff in the garage together and my wife came across some steel diamond mesh, similar to a lath used for masonry work on homes,” recalls Eisenkrein. “The patent we have today started there, with that steel mesh, and we realized the mesh could possibly protect EIFS systems from woodpeckers.”

Turned out the idea worked and has now created an entirely new industry that has EIFS Amour being installed in building projects across North America.

“It really started in 2012 when I did 5 test panels at the Centuria highrise, which had over 200 woodpecker holes," said Eisenkrein. "The test panels worked very well so word spread quickly and that’s when I realized how many buildings in the Okanagan have a woodpecker problem.”

The next step was to visit a patent lawyer where Eisenkrein discovered nothing like EIFS Amour existed on the market. Now, following a nearly six-year process, Eisenkrein now owns the patent and trademark for the EIFS Armour.

But how does EIFS Armour protect a building’s EIFS system from the pesky woodpeckers?

“With regular EIFS, a woodpecker will tap and it sounds like a hollow tree, but when a woodpecker taps EIFS Armour it can hear the metal, so immediately it doesn't like the acoustics or vibration so it moves on,” explained Eisenkrein. "If it does decide to try hammering into the building the steel will stop its beak before the siding is damaged."

It’s a simple but effective concept, and the invention has caught the eye of former Dragon’s Den judge and esteemed Canadian businessman, Brett Wilson.

“Brett Wilson from Dragon’s Den, owns some properties in Kelowna and he came to me about six months ago with a woodpecker problem. He's been more than happy with the job we did for him, and he’s now endorsed us and EIFS Armour is working towards doing more projects for him.”

Photo Credit: www.eifsarmour.com/

EIFS Armour can be found protecting the West Kelowna Fire Department, Centurian Highrise detachment, the Vernon Performing Art’s Centre and several other buildings around the Okanagan and North America.

“I was doing just regular stucco and masonry before starting EIFS Armour and business the last few years has been amazing. It has honestly changed my life.”