Tree protectors ... Good or Bad?

[Tree Spud]

Has anyone had rabbit or mice problems in the deep south on here? Currently using tubes on my trees and this has never crossed my mind. Hell that hurt my feelings looking at wildthing's pictures of him pulling up those trees. You learn something new every day.

Mice will chew holes in the tubes and build nests at the base.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I use the same exact screening method as Tree Spud shows in post #18 on page 1. No problems as I plant the screens below soil level to prevent tunneling mice & voles. We've used plastic guards and spiral tree wraps and corrugated black drain pipes for tree protection previously. ALL FAILED. The spiral wraps opened up as the trunks expanded, and the mice chewed a perfect spiral pattern where the wraps exposed the bark. Once the spiral wraps were removed, the chewed bark showed the spiral pattern of where the plastic wraps had been open enough to allow the mice access to the bark. Plastic tubes and drain pipe just made great nesting "hotels" for the mice and voles to set up shop. - - - - - - Aluminum window screen or 1/4" hardware cloth are tops IMO. Good air circulation with them too.

 

[blueKYstream]

I guess I've been fortunate. I've been overall happy with tubes. The only downside for me has been wasps (nuisance but never killed/harmed a tree). The other downside is that during an 8-week drought, anything that hadn't made it out of the tube got fried. Leaves above the tube were fine. Fortunately for me, most re-sprouted from the base the following Spring. I've never had mice nests in tubes. I have had a rabbit bite off caged pear trees above one of my aluminum screens for fruit trees. That's never happened in tubes.

 

[weekender21]

Bears like them. So do bucks and wasps.

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