Young tree bark stripped by squirrels - Ask Extension
Hello,
I recently had 4 mountain sentinel aspen planted by a landscaping company and some of the trunks were slightly damaged, one of them being da...
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Young tree bark stripped by squirrels #810510
Asked September 12, 2022, 6:01 PM EDT
Hello,
I recently had 4 mountain sentinel aspen planted by a landscaping company and some of the trunks were slightly damaged, one of them being damaged worse than the others soon after planting by squirrels stripping the bark. The landscape company told me to apply a wound bandage or seal and that it should be fine. I want to make sure this is the correct thing to do? I have put a guard around them since so the damage is not continued. See attached photo of worst damaged tree. Thank you,
Leslie Hovda
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
Thank you for writing.
That tree is so badly damaged that I would have it replaced. On picture 2816, the damage can be seen 6 inches above where the bark is stripped. If it is guaranteed, you could have it replaced next spring. Tape and wound dressing does nothing. There should be a cage of hardware cloth that is firmly fixed to the ground and is about 3 feet high and does not touch the tree. You could wrap that to get some heat protection.
That tree is so badly damaged that I would have it replaced. On picture 2816, the damage can be seen 6 inches above where the bark is stripped. If it is guaranteed, you could have it replaced next spring. Tape and wound dressing does nothing. There should be a cage of hardware cloth that is firmly fixed to the ground and is about 3 feet high and does not touch the tree. You could wrap that to get some heat protection.
