This Maple (could be a Blaze Maple, but pretty sure we settled on Silver) was planted about 6 years ago. It has doubled in size over that time.
Just this afternoon, I noticed that several sections of bark have been peeled away. Any idea as to what is happening? I’ve seen some squirrels running around but have no clue what would have caused this in the last 8-10 hours.
I should be better about having it pruned or thinned out. Any advice on next steps?
by OhAvgdad
7 Comments
That isn’t falling off, looks like torn or chewed
Squirrels. Looking for that sugar.
Get a pellet gun
Do you have bears in the area? Looks like animals are the problem not disease
Mandatory maple response, probably not what’s causing your bark to fall off but your tree is planted too deep.
Measure the width of the tooth striations. You can tell what animal it is by how wide the teeth are. Put close up photos of the teeth marks on iNaturalist. Someone there will recognize the tooth marks.
The bite angle will tell you if the animal chewed the bark while upside down or not. For example, porcupines like to keep their beds above their bodies while they chew on trees. Squirrels do not seem to care which way is up.
Do you have porcupine in your area? I’m not an expert on their dietary preferences, but I know they’ll strip and eat bark up in trees.