Mice and Tree Bark: A Problem and Its Solutions
Introduction
During winter, when food is scarce, mice will eat whatever they can find to survive. Unfortunately, this can include the bark of your trees. Mice chewing on trees can cause serious damage, so it’s important to take steps to prevent it.
Identifying Mouse Bark Damage
The first step is to determine if mice are actually eating the bark of your trees. You can do this by looking for gnawing damage at the base of the tree trunk, near the ground. If you see this type of damage, it’s likely that mice are the culprits.
Why Mice Chew on Tree Bark
Mice chew on tree bark because it’s a source of food for them. When other food sources are scarce, mice will turn to tree bark as a last resort.
Preventing Mice from Eating Tree Bark
There are a number of things you can do to prevent mice from eating the bark of your trees.
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Provide Mice with Other Food Sources: One way to protect your trees is to provide mice with other food sources. This could include leaving autumn branch trimmings on the ground beneath trees, or sprinkling sunflower seeds or other food for rodents during the coldest months.
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Remove Vegetation Around Trees: Mice don’t like being in the open where they can be spotted by hawks and other predators. Removing vegetation from around the base of trees will make it less appealing to mice and help to prevent mouse bark damage.
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Encourage Predators: You can also encourage predators to hang around your yard to help keep mice away. Putting in perch poles will attract birds of prey like hawks and owls, which can help to reduce the mouse population.
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Physical Tree Trunk Protections: You can also prevent mice from chewing on trees by placing physical protections around the tree trunk. Tree guards are plastic tubes that you can position around your tree trunks to keep them safe from mice.
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Rodent Repellents: There are also a number of rodent repellents available that can help to deter mice from eating tree bark. These repellents typically contain ingredients that taste bad to mice, but don’t actually harm them.
Conclusion
Mouse bark damage can be a serious problem, but it can be prevented by taking the right steps. By providing mice with other food sources, removing vegetation around trees, encouraging predators, using physical tree trunk protections, and using rodent repellents, you can help to protect your trees from these pests.
