How Can Animals Damage Your Trees in the Winter?

November 15, 2021
Right Click Digital, Inc.

To safeguard the trees on your Troy, IL, property, it’s important to take precautions against animal damage. Deer damage the twigs and buds on the upper parts of your trees, while squirrels, rabbits, and voles do immeasurable damage to the bottom of the trunk.

Just as you give TLC to your perennial and annual flowers each year, it’s important to conduct tree maintenance in the winter, too. Our experts at A-Unlimited Tree Service can help you maintain your trees and protect them from winter damage. Keep reading below for insight on how animals can damage your trees, and what you can do to prevent it.

A residential tree that has been damaged and had bark removed due to wild animals in Troy, IL.

Oh, Deer! Bark Rubbing Season

During rutting season, which precedes early spring, male deer rub the velvet off their antlers, making your trees great candidates to help them do the job. Birch and redbud, along with other thin-bark trees, often cannot withstand the onslaught of this kind of damage. If bark loss occurs around the circumference of the tree, a condition called girding, it makes it very hard for the tree to transfer energy up and down its trunk and branches.

Animals like Voles, Squirrels, and Rabbits Will Feast on Your Trees

While deer damage the upper portion of the tree, squirrels, voles, and rabbits chew on tree bark to survive the harsh winter. Tree damage caused by animals is especially harmful to small, thin trees, therefore, it’s critical to continue tree care throughout the winter to monitor the health and welfare of trees on your property in Troy, IL.

Here are a few tips to protect your trees this winter:

Use chicken wire or another physical barrier to protect the first two feet of the tree.
Wrap fabric, white paper, or plastic from the foot of the tree to the first branch.
Move mulch several inches away from the tree trunk to discourage mice and voles from nesting there.

Note that it’s a bad idea to pile mulch against the tree trunk any time of year. This makes it easy for mice and voles to burrow in and girdle the tree. You may never even notice the damage until it’s too late. Damp mulch can also rot the bark if piled too close to the trunk or exposed roots. Call A-Unlimited Tree Care for winter tree removal and maintenance.

Tree care and tree trimming experts using their professional equipment to maintain a residential tree in Troy, IL.

Winter Tree Maintenance

It’s a good idea to hire an arborist if you want to maintain healthy trees year-round. We can inspect your trees and determine how to save them or remove them, if necessary. Our team has the expertise needed to protect your trees, allowing them to bloom in spring and provide ample shade for your yard when the weather is warmer.

Need help rehabilitating or removing damaged trees? We perform the following tree maintenance services and more: