Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC

You are here: Home / Archives for tree

by

Correcting Deer Rub Damage

Correcting Deer Rub Damage

Bucks damage young trees when they use the trees to scrape off the felt on their antlers. Sometimes the scraping damages the tree’s bark severely enough to kill the tree. More often, the tree can survive, provided the damage does not exceed 50% of the tree’s circumference.  If you have a tree that has been damaged, you can help its chances of surviving by following these steps.

Buck scrape that has severely damaged this tree. It will likely die. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
Buck scrape that has severely damaged this tree. It will likely die. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.

1. Remove loose strips of bark to make the surface smooth. This helps the tree heal faster.

2. Trim any broken branches to 1/4-inch from trunk.

3. Do not apply any wraps or paint. Wrapping attracts insects.

Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a CWCP. He provides consulting, research, writing, and other services to companies and individuals.

Tags

animal rights AVMA bait baiting bats birds book review Box traps business cage trapping Cage traps canada geese Canis latrans cats coyote deer disease euthanasia Featured feral cats frightening devices house mice inspection mice Mus musculus NWCOA Pest Geek Podcast rabies research rodent control rodents safety Stephen M. Vantassel toxicants training trapping traps wco wcos wildlife wildlife control wildlife control operator Wildlife control operators wildlife damage management zoonotics
%d bloggers like this: