In the winter, how do animals harm your trees?

​While it's fascinating to witness how Elk Grove, CA winter wildlife prepares for and endures the harsh cold, snow, and ice, seeing how trees and animals interact in the winter can be an annoyance in the spring. Deer, squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks are just a few of the animals that are active all year and can withstand the cold.

During the spring and summer, we spend a lot of time safeguarding the plants that are the most vulnerable in our gardens. To keep deer from gnawing on new growth, buds, and fully established segments, we wrap wire around our hydrangea and rose plants. Similarly, we look for tunnels and burrows in our gardens where rabbits, moles, and voles might be looking for a home. We typically take preventative precautions to protect our smaller plants, but we often forget to protect large trees in the winter.

Is it rubbing season or rutting season?
Male deer are on the move in the early fall to participate in the rutting season. With over a million deer, it's no surprise that deer are one of the most common dangers to your trees during the fall and early winter months. Rutting season is the time of year when male deer rub their antlers against trees to wear off their velvet. Deer are more likely to destroy thin-barked trees like birch and redbud than other trees.

Girdling is more likely in these thin-barked trees if bark loss occurs along the whole circumference of a part of the trunk. Girdling is a condition in which a tree dies. Most trees will recover from this damage, but limbs above the exacerbated area will be lost. Experts recommend emergency tree service in Elk Grove, CA.

You're probably wondering what exactly girdling is. When an animal removes the bark off a tree's full circumference, the energy transfer up and down the tree is disrupted.

Damage to Trees by Rabbits, Squirrels, Moles, and Voles
Deer injure the top half of the trunk, leaving the bottom half open to attack by lesser animals. Because the majority of tree damage occurs beneath the surface, it typically passes unreported. Voles gnawing on the tree's bark beneath the surface cause significant harm, and the tree's health gradually deteriorates. Rabbit damage is more evident since they nibble at the bark above the surface level, causing visible damage to the exterior of the bark. 

Animal damage to the bottom of a tree's trunk can be unseen in Elk Grove due to the rapid accumulation of snow. Voles animal harm is often undetected because it occurs beneath the surface. Rabbit damage, on the other hand, is discovered in the spring, when external causes may have threatened the health of your tree. Elk Grove Tree Pros has a system in place to keep your trees safe during the winter with the best tree care services in Elk Grove, CA. Consider contacting our team of trained arborists in Elk Grove, CA if you currently live on a property that has a lot of critter visitors. Our arborists will either construct physical barriers, wrap your trees, or reposition the mulch around them. Each of these strategies will help to keep your trees safe from winter wildlife. Contact Elk Grove Tree Pros at 916-512-8505 to protect the safety of your tree until spring arrives, which seems to be a long time away.