Rabbit damage and apple trees

[BC Buck]

I have a golden delicious that is 15 years old. Looks like a rabbit ate about 25% of the bark at ground level. Do mature trees need to be protected and what do you use?

 

[Prof.Kent]

Any tree young enough to have smooth bark near the ground can become a victim of rodents.
1/4"x1/4" Wire Mesh (ie garden cloth) is the best method I have found to deter rodents. Tie it on with a shoe knot because you will have to remove it every few years to clean out any water sprouts or suckers that grow up inside the mesh. As a tree gets older the bark gets rough and rodents usually leave it alone.

 

[cavey]

It will break your heart to come out to your land in the spring only to find a bunch of your 15 plus year old trees girthed by mice or rabbits. Wire screen your trees for as long as you can afford to. I have proof that mice find old apple trees just as tasty as young ones. Have one bad/long winter with deep snow and limited food and the mice will find them.

I had trees wrapped in paper bark wrap, double layered and they chewed through them plus I had a number of other older trees that I thought would be fine due to their age and rougher bark - well, their firewood now. One thing I noticed before going to almost exclusively aluminum window screen is that when I wrapped the trees with paper wrap over a period of years the bark that was under the wrap tended to remain a smoother softer looking bark which I believe made them more of a target later in life.
I have some trees that have bark that is so rough and barky that I doubt they would get hit - but I thought that about the others too.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I just lost one 10 years old completely chewed near ground level. The tree diameter had to be at least 5 inches. Really ticks me off. Tree has been fruiting very well for many years

 

[Corey Peterson]

Yup I think everyone has learned this lesson the hard way! Has anybody ever put any effort into killing voles?

 

[Northbound]

Yup I think everyone has learned this lesson the hard way! Has anybody ever put any effort into killing voles?

Yep, I've got barn cats just because of mice, bunnies and voles. I used to hate cats until I watched them killing bunnies in tyne orchard. Plus you need a cat to toss through your trees to check pruning

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Yup I think everyone has learned this lesson the hard way! Has anybody ever put any effort into killing voles?

Have used the pellets but I thought my trees were mature enough. So wrong

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Mice / voles will eat old trees. We lost 3 BIG old trees - probably 35 - 40 years old. They got completely girdled one winter with deep snow and crust on it. Gonzo !! Bark was rough - it didn't matter. Stripped right down to white wood.

War on voles / mice ?? Don't shoot owls, hawks, snakes, foxes. We tried pellets and they didn't even touch them. Build nesting boxes/structures to encourage barn owls to move in.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Yep, I've got barn cats just because of mice, bunnies and voles. I used to hate cats until I watched them killing bunnies in tyne orchard. Plus you need a cat to toss through your trees to check pruning

Used to see the neighbor's black barn kitty on my hill fairly often, haven't seen it in awhile. Now I get these pics mostly this winter. Must be a coincidence...and yes the bunny population is down. My dog is getting bummed. And what am I gonna do to check pruning haha.

 

[cavey]

When I stake my mesh cages I leave them almost a foot off the ground so the foxes and coyotes can get under the cages (but I use more stakes that way)... no safe havens for the little rat-b@#$!!'s .... I kill the grass to the bare dirt to lessen the chances of mice being around the base plus weed whipping the perimeter is a snap. I'm not saying my weeds don't ever get out of control when I don't have time to spray - so those that put ground cover down may be ahead of me on that one but my concern is that mice will take up residence under the weed block. Others can tell you how that has worked for them.

 

[Mahindra3016]

I have never seen rabbit damage to any apple tree trunks around here, but as soon as i prune the rabbits eat the bark off of the pruned branches, they must like the younger wood.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I have never seen rabbit damage to any apple tree trunks around here, but as soon as i prune the rabbits eat the bark off of the pruned branches, they must like the younger wood.

Could be the deer also. I leave the pruning sfo right the deer to eat the buds for a week and I don’t think it takes a day. I think moles and voles are the bigger problems than the rabbits. Keep the base of tree debris free and cut around them and the hawks and eagles should take care of the rest of the problem

 

[andrew bullard]

I get lots of bobcat pictures on my place with an occasional fox and coyote, glad to have them around!

 

[Telemark]

Pine Martens are the most viscious predators of rodents I have ever seen. In Europe they will run down and kill a full-grown hare.

All mustelids are pretty good at rodent control. When I lived in Beijing, it was Siberian weasels that kept the rats in check.

Is there any way to lure or relocate mustelids to your orchard?

 

[TCW]

I place a 36"x20" piece of aluminum window screen around each of my fruit/nut trees. I have never had anything chew on my trunks

 

[kubes14060]

Has anyone ever tried using latex paint mixed with red pepper flakes to deter rodents? I saw on another hunting site I visit. The guys name was Eli Cook from Spring Valley Farm and Orchard in West Virginia. He swears by it.