Meet the Kelowna man who outwitted the well-known woodpeckers

One of the best parts of living in British Columbia is the wildlife. However, when you notice that the top of your building is starting to resemble swiss cheese because the woodpeckers have taken a liking to it, you need to find a solution.

Today we sat down with Keith Elsenkrein, creator of EIFS Armour, to talk about what inspired the idea that finally beat the woodpeckers once and for all, and the story of what brought him to where he is today.

Keith knows all too well how life takes you in different directions to bring you to where you need to eventually be. He spent his teen years playing football, but then switched directions and got into computers, even though he also wanted to be a fireman at the time.

He worked for Shaw, then moved on to own a computer store, and then when Y2K hit he ended up getting out of computers for good. Then, nearly a decade later, he and his wife decided to move to Kelowna - in the middle of a recession.

Sometime in 2012, he was contacted by a client from Playa Del Sol Resort desperately needing repairs on his building because of all the holes the woodpeckers were leaving.

Keith gave them a price to patch the holes, but the owner insisted, saying “you don’t understand, the woodpeckers will come back in a couple of hours and put a hole in the exact same spot! You have to come up with something that will stop them permanently!”

And that’s when the inspiration hit him.

To learn about the inner workings of Keith’s idea that has stopped the outside of over 657 buildings from looking like a saltine cracker from the woodpecker holes, watch the full video.