What to do if rodents have chewed through the bark of an apple tree in winter and how to treat the trunk

Apple

With the arrival of winter, the struggle for the future harvest does not end. Defenseless trees are vulnerable to attacks by rodents, who are forced to search for food. Mice are the main pests, and they are the most difficult to get rid of. They tunnel under the snow and gnaw at the bark. Damage can be noticed and assessed in the spring if you occasionally neglect to clear the snow around the trunks during the winter.

What are the dangers of damaged apple tree bark?

Small mice can ruin plans for a high-quality harvest next year, which took so much effort. Bark is their favorite delicacy, and if the garden isn't maintained over the winter, it can be irreparably damaged. Of all garden trees, apple trees are the most favored, especially young ones with their soft bark.

It's possible to save a tree with damaged bark, but immediate action is needed. It's crucial to make every effort to preserve your garden "pets" so they can delight you with a bountiful harvest in the future. Only timely protection will prevent garden plants from dying. Annual preventative maintenance is essential.

Treatment

Timely treatment of damaged trees is one of the most important factors for recovery. Pest activity increases in early spring, and this is the time when the garden requires the most attention. If minor wounds are detected, applying a healing bandage is recommended. In the case of severe damage, much more effort will be required to save the plant, such as grafting or bark grafting.

Garters

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Minor damage to the apple tree bark can be treated with staking if fresh wounds are detected promptly. If a damaged trunk is noticed in winter, it's important to insulate the trunk by wrapping it with plastic or other insulating material. When the weather warms up, restoration work should begin immediately.

The most common methods of garters:

Clay slurry is a popular method. Clay is dissolved in water and mixed with mullein in a 1:4 ratio. A thick layer is applied to the damaged area, then the trunk is tied with natural fabric. An additional layer of clay is placed on top. It's important to leave this slurry in place until the end of the following winter. In the spring, the trunk will grow new bark.
You can treat wounds with a ready-made solution purchased at the store. It's an antibacterial lubricant that promotes healing. This solution is applied to the wounds with a brush and then wrapped in a cloth.
A linden decoction (200 g of linden, one liter of water, boil for 30 minutes) soaks and heals wounds well. Apply the decoction to the apple tree trunk, wrap it in a cloth, and leave the garter in place for the summer.

Advice!

A three percent solution of copper sulfate will help restore the bark: apply it to the trunk, and after drying, wrap it in dark plastic, which will protect the wounds from exposure to sunlight and water.

Remove the garter before winter.

Wound grafting

The wound grafting method is primarily used for severe damage. It involves allowing young shoots to take root and nourish the tree. To ensure successful wound grafting, avoid removing root shoots in the fall. If such shoots are not available, young branches are used. One or two shoots or twigs are sufficient for grafting a young tree; at least five are needed for an older tree.

Bridge grafting is the most popular and effective method. It's performed as follows:

the wound is cleaned;
disinfect with copper sulfate;
young shoots are divided into cuttings;
the cuttings are cut on both sides at an angle;
the bark around the damage is cut in the shape of the letter "T";
all buds are removed from the cuttings;
the cuttings are inserted into the cuts on the trunk with their sharp ends;
The junction of the trunk and the cutting is sealed with garden solution, secured with natural fabric, and wrapped with polyethylene.

After a few years, the grafted shoots will strengthen and become a full-fledged part of the trunk.

Engraftment of the bark

If mice or hares have caused extensive damage to a tree, the grafting method is used. This method is complex: new bark must be grafted onto the damaged bark, and this may not be feasible for everyone. If the apple tree trunk is exposed all around due to damage, this method is especially effective. This can be called a bark patch; it requires finding a "donor" or taking bark from a strong branch of the damaged tree. The grafted bark should be 5 cm larger on all sides than the wound.

Note!

It's important to perform the grafting process before the sap begins to flow. Apply the patch to the cleaned wound, following the direction of growth, and secure it with electrical tape. Remove the tape before the onset of cold weather.

For recovery, care is required:

periodic watering;
top dressing.

But it is important to remember that if an apple tree has been gnawed, the bark is severely damaged, it rarely recovers completely, and the volume of fruiting will irreversibly change for the worse.

Trunk cut for reverse growth

Hares gnawing the bark of young deciduous trees can have disastrous consequences for gardeners. It's possible to save the tree, but drastic measures will be necessary. Trunk pruning involves cutting the trunk above the lowest bud. This method is suitable for plants over five years old, as they have well-developed roots, which is an advantage of this treatment. It's important to carry out the work before the sap begins to flow!

In spring, a strong tree will produce many new shoots. All that's left is to select one—it will become the future tree. The remaining shoots are removed.

How to protect apple trees from mice in winter

Completely protecting an orchard from rodents is difficult, if not impossible. Experienced gardeners use a variety of prevention and control methods, honed through experience, to save their apple trees. If mice have chewed the bark of an apple tree in winter, it's difficult to spot and restore it, but the fruit will never be as good as before. You can prevent mice from attacking by installing barriers, using poisonous bait, and various deterrents.

Barrel wrapping

Trunk wrapping is a method that uses improvised materials, anything you can find at home: burlap, roofing felt, polycarbonate, and even nylon tights. Any of these materials can be used to wrap the trunk; this is a reliable method that will keep the apple tree's bark intact.

It's important to press the material deep into the soil for additional root protection. If you choose a dense, air-impermeable material, be sure to remove it in the spring to prevent damping off.

Mechanical barrier for rodents

The apple tree's bark can be protected by creating an additional barrier. This barrier can be made of spruce branches tied to the trunk, needle-side down, covering the tree's roots. Fine mesh can also be used. It should be dug into the ground to a depth of approximately 0.5-0.6 meters, 1.5-2 meters above ground, and 5-10 cm from the trunk. A mesh width of 10-15 mm is acceptable. This barrier will prevent even the smallest mice from accessing the roots and trunk of a young apple tree.

The following can be used as a mechanical barrier:

Plastic bottles. Cut off the neck and bottom of the bottle, then slit it lengthwise to create a kind of plastic sheet. Once you've made several sheets, tape them to the apple tree trunk in several layers. Tamp the soil around them to provide additional protection against underground mouse holes.
A mousetrap is the most popular mechanical barrier, and you can make one yourself. For example, grease the inside of a plastic bottle with vegetable oil and place it upside down at an angle. A mouse, smelling the oil, will crawl into the bottle and won't be able to escape.

Regularly compacting the snow around the tree promotes the formation of an ice crust. Mice will be unable to tunnel or reach the roots or trunk.

Poisonous baits for rodents

Mice gnaw on trees to avoid starvation. To prevent them from devouring apple trees while searching for food, you can provide them with a different food source—a poisonous one. Place portions of poison, typically used to exterminate rodents at home or in the garden, around the area.

Important!

Don't forget to hide them from the rain, otherwise the poison will get into the ground and the portions themselves will lose their properties.

This method of rodent control is not entirely humane and is not always beneficial, as pets may enter the garden, and the poisoned packages may also have a certain effect on them.

Repelling rodents with smell

This method of mouse control can involve both natural and chemical means. Plants such as cilantro and elderberry can repel mice with their scent. You can plant them near the tree and leave them uncut before winter, or lay cut branches on the ground near the apple tree and tie them to the trunk.

Mice cannot stand the smell of mothballs:

It can be used either in its pure form (place or hang containers with liquid) or mixed, for example, with fish oil (mix 1 portion of naphthalene with 8 portions of fish oil.
The composition is applied to the parts of the trunk in the risk zone, but after the rain it will have to be treated again).

Store-bought products can be soaked in sawdust, rags, coated around the tree trunk, or simply poured into bowls and left near the apple tree. Modern products have a strong odor and are very effective in the fight against rodents.

Spraying apple trees against rodents

For those who occasionally visit their dacha during the winter, spraying the apple tree is a good way to control mice. For this procedure, you can use:

water-based paint - it creates a protective film on the bark;
A 1% copper sulfate solution – mice dislike its smell. Apply the solution in dry weather;
A 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture will help fight mice and insects that overwinter on apple tree bark and in its roots.

Noise repellent for rodents

This type of barrier will help protect your garden from mice and timid hares. Anything that produces sound in the wind can be used as a noise-making device:

steel mugs;
rustling plastic bags;
aluminum cans and so on.

The device is very simple to construct: hang any of the listed items on a taut rope near the trees you want to protect. If a hare decides to sneak into the garden and chew on them, this deterrent will work, but only if there's a breeze.

Prevention

Everyone knows that the best defense against disease is prevention. Before winter, every gardener should focus all their efforts on preventing rodent infestations, preventing them from devouring their beloved, treasured plants. By protecting your apple tree in advance, you won't need treatment in the spring, and you'll enjoy a delightful fall harvest. Keeping the garden clean is essential. After all, you never know which pile of uncollected trash might harbor a swarm of mice overwintering, potentially causing irreparable damage to your garden plants.

Note!

In areas where cleaning, digging and weed control are carried out in a timely manner, mice are encountered less frequently.

To prevent harmful actions of rodents in the fall, you need to:

fallen leaves and fruits must be taken out of the garden, preferably burned;
Treat the trunks with lime or a solution of copper sulfate, the smell of which repels mice;
If a compost heap or pit is created in the garden, it should be tightly sealed for the winter;
dig up the ground near the trunk;
Don't forget to spray the apple tree with solutions that have an unpleasant odor for mice after the first frost.

It's best to prevent rodents from appearing in your garden. While you can and should treat a damaged tree, once it's damaged, it won't produce the same amount of fruit. Don't be lazy about regularly inspecting your garden in winter. Mice and rabbits are dangerous pests that can catch you off guard at any time.

To best preserve a tree, you don't need to rely on just one method; a comprehensive approach is key: spray, install barriers, seal the trunks, scatter sawdust—no single step is too much. Yes, more work will be required in the fall, but this is the only way to ensure healthy and fruitful trees and shrubs in your beloved garden.