Bark damage on horse chestnut

[peder-d]

Hi.
I pruned 4 horse chestnuts yesterday. They all had a lot of bark damages, like you can see in the picture.
I have no clue what it is????

 

[peder-d]

The leaves had some symptoms too... ???????????

 

[peder-d]

next one

 

[peder-d]

last one...

 

[Toparboring]

Looks like the squirrel damage to me. The like to sharpen their teeth on some branches with a knot or dead spot. I have found this on Oaks, Maples, and other trees.

 

[peder-d]

Thanks!
I work with an english guy (here in Denmark) and he thought it was squirrels too.
So you think there have been a dead spot before they started sharpening there teeth?
The four trees had a lot (!) of these kinds of bark damage...!

 

[tomthetreeman]

I agree, it looks like squirrels. They are probably using the stringy bark material for their nests. They are pretty resourceful animals! Look in the immediate area for nests, I bet you'll find one or two.

-Tom

 

[DSMc]

I am not familiar with the habits of your squirrels in Denmark, but here, Rocky Mountains of Western United States, squirrels cause an extensive amount of damage.

Where they will go through and shred bark for nesting material, this is usually from shreddy-barked trees such as Tilia, Thujas, and Populus. Damage caused by this activity will appear as scratches on the bark, different from your photos.

The real damage occurs with their chewing. Which looks exactly like your pictures. They don't do this just to sharpen their teeth. They like the taste of the young cambial tissues of some trees and once they find a tree they like, they can really hammer it.

We have seen serious flagging in Norway maples and upon examination found entire limbs, up to 4" in size completely girdled by chewing.

Dave

 

[tomthetreeman]

I have a Tilia in my backyard that they absoulutely love for nesting material. By the Fall of every year I have a truckload of debarked white twigs that fall out of the tree. They tend to like the small stuff, so there isn't alot of damage to the tree, just sucker and twig pruning LOL.

-Tom

 

[peder-d]

Thanks!
That was really usefull

As you said, it really looks like bitemarks.
I did not disagree with my english mate, I just hadn't seen that kind of bark damage before.

I have always considered squirrels to bee "tree-friendly" animals...

 

[stephen]

Almost certainly squirrels. Shoot em and eat em. (As long as they're not Red Squirrels that is!!). We have felled many a tree because of extensive die back caused from squirrel ring barking. They also cause localised decay onset at the bark stripped area, which leads to branch failure, esp due to the fact they sit ontop of the branch to have their dinner, just where you don't want a stress riser type weakness on a tip loaded limb-SNAP!!