40 yr old live oak trees - Ask Extension
Dead areas have suddenly appeared in my oak trees. Some are fairly large and others are small. The yard has been well watered on a weekly basis. These...
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40 yr old live oak trees #272718
Asked August 24, 2015, 7:33 PM EDT
Dead areas have suddenly appeared in my oak trees. Some are fairly large and others are small. The yard has been well watered on a weekly basis. These areas are also in neighboring yards. We do have a large population of squirrels, but have always had squirrels & never seen this before.
Tarrant County Texas
Expert Response
In the past few weeks I have received around 30 photos like yours. I do believe squirrels are to blame. If you can reach the branch with a pole pruner and cut it down, you should be able to see the tooth marks. I don't know enough about squirrel behavior to understand why they just start gnawing away at trees all over town sometimes, but they do. One theory is that they are looking for moisture when moisture is scarce. Some people put out squirrel water, but I myself don't especially want to make them feel at home. Another theory is that they are sharpening their teeth in anticipation of gorging on acorns and pecans, and yet another theory is that pregnant female squirrels do most of the chewing for reasons only they know and don't care to explain.
While I am sure your trees would prefer not to have this squirrel pruning going on, a large tree will not be set back very much at all and the problems is mostly cosmetic.
While I am sure your trees would prefer not to have this squirrel pruning going on, a large tree will not be set back very much at all and the problems is mostly cosmetic.
