Vegetable Garden Layout Using Raised Beds, Seed Sowing 101: How to Start Your Seeds Right, Summer Gardening Tips (Pests, Propagation, and Planning), 5 Frugal Fall Garden Tips for Gardening Cheap, 5 Tips to Organize a Vegetable Garden Layout, 4 Tomato Growing Tips for Growing Tasty Tomatoes, How to Kill Weeds Naturally – 5 Natural Weed Killing Tips, List of Pawpaw Tree Varieties (Asimina triloba), Japanese Dappled Willow Sculpture (Salix integra), Tonight Is The Night I Nearly Blew Up the Mower. How to Protect Your Tree From Deer and Rodent Damage By Wendy Kjeldbjerg, 25th January 2018 Filed under: Seasonal Plant Care, Tree Care Comments: None Deer, rabbits, mice, and voles have the potential to cause considerable damage to our trees and shrubs throughout the winter months. By using this website you consent to cookies. Damage to bark usually occurs between December and February, when snow cover is deepest. Browsing deer inflict significant damage to young pine trees. Generally speaking, if the damage to the tree's bark spans less than 25 percent or the circumference of the trunk in the area of damage, the tree should repair itself with only minimum help. The more extensive the damage, the less likely the tree will survive, especially with smaller trees. When deer rub off bark from trees, survival is doubtful: Ask OSU Extension. Broken arborvitae branches need to be pruned to repair the tree’s structure. All you can do is put a tree guard around the trunk and see if the tree can heal. Young trees are helpless victims of the courtship ritual between bucks and does. It does not look cleanly clipped. Physical Repair. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. What to Do When a Deer Eats Your Arborvitae Branches. GDPR Privacy Statement. Bucks may also return to the same tree to “re-mark” their territory, so repair to a specific tree may not help it survive over a growing season. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.. GrowingTheHomeGarden.com Copyright 2007 to Present. I didn't realize what was causing it. Since it was a young tree the damage should be repaired very fast, maybe even by next year. Deer feed on dormant shoots as well as growing trees. Select the largest and straightest stem and remove the others. Hi Dave, such good news that your favorite tree is healing. Asked March 1, 2017, 1:32 PM EST. If just one section of the tree’s cambium is damaged, it might survive, but deer will often rub most of the way around a tree, causing the plant to slowly starve. Deer don't read "deer resistant" plant recommendations and may browse on any tree, especially in winter when food is scarce. Whether the deer rubbing has damaged the cambium layer (located just beneath the bark) and the severity of the damage will determine if the tree will die. Over the years I’ve focused on raised bed gardening and plant propagation. Proper care of tree wounds encourages callus growth and wound closure. That way, the tree can gradually grow new wood and take shape without the threat of piling snow or hungry deer. Ask an Expert is made up of groups and individual experts. What to Do When a Deer Eats Your Arborvitae Branches. Now I do thanks to you. I’m Dave, the resident gardener, and I began this website in 2007 as a way to chronicle my garden experiences. Protecting trees from damage is essential in areas populated with deer. The tree seems to have survived the damage or the damage is not as bad as it looks, every branch is blooming and seems to be doing well, my question is this, should I do something that helps the tree, like a coating over the rubbed area, I remember my grandfather use to use tar pitch when he cut off large branches, should I put some kind of coating over the area that was rubbed, as I said, the tree is doing well and I wonder what I can do to help heal the damaged area. That way, the tree can gradually grow new wood and take shape without the threat of piling snow or hungry deer. Thank You. 1, 2). Here is a link to a publication about deer damage by rubbing. When the patch of bark is one-half or greater, the chances of tree death increase. I have been known to spray bug spray on the wound, but it probably isn't necessary and would wash off in the rain anyway.Frances. Thank goodness we don't have the deer problem here in my garden. When a tree has been damaged by removing a ring of bark, the tree may die depending on how completely it was girdled. The more extensive the damage, the less likely the tree will survive, especially with smaller trees. If you do try it let me know how it works! Fortunately, hardwoods can be coppiced (cutting the tree at the ground). Made of environmentally friendly materials that will not damage your plants, the Buck Bio-Balls are simple to hang and provide up to 6 months worth of protection (seasonal protection)! No matter how much of the tree bark has been damaged, you will need to repair the wound. The parts of the tree above the wound would be irrevocably dead. It’s a plastic wrap that will go around the trunk of your young trees to prevent deer from rubbing against it. During the winter months, when snow covers low-growing shrubs and grasses, deer will munch on the tender branches, twigs and foliage of resinous evergreen trees. Rabbit droppings may also be found around the tree. You can help repair a tree's scraped bark or other bark damage by using a sharp knife to clean the edge of the wound, leaving the bark smooth and tight against the wood. Multiple stems will emerge at ground level. Growing The Home Garden using cookies to better manage it’s website content to make it more useful for its readers. A new tree could grow from below the damage but it would be a long process to turn it into as great of a tree as this Yoshino was. The tree will quickly develop; continue pruning to shape the tree. If the tree is damaged around 100 percent of the tree, this is called girdling. Fortunately, hardwoods can be coppiced (cutting the tree at the ground). THIS TAPE WILL EXPLAIN HOW THE TREE BARK REPAIR TAPE WORKS IT WILL SAVE YOUR TREES FROM DRYING OUT AND DYING AND WILL KEEP THE BUGS FROM GOING INTO THE TREE FROM THE MISSING BARK.