DIYbanter - View Single Post

Matt[_7_]

On 12/30/2011 12:17 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:54:21 -0600, Matt
wrote:

I have a couple of big silver maples, 40 years old and about three feet
in diameter.

I've noticed in the past few years that fox squirrels are trying to dig
a hole in each tree by clawing and biting. Each wound is in the trunk,
about chest high, where a small limb has been removed years ago and the
trunk is growing out around the stub. So there is already a kind of
recess in the trunk, and they are trying to turn it into a hole. I have
noticed that sometimes a lot of thin sap runs out of the wound and wets
the side of the trunk. Sometimes woodpeckers also do their work on the
same wound.

What is the best way to stop the damage and make the trees live longer?

Spread some roofing tar on the bare wood. Not the stuff called
roofing cement (thick stuff), but the thin tar. Just paint it on with
a cheap brush. Two coats is better than one.

They also sell a similar product made for trees, and costs a lot more.
I've used tar when branches were cut and rotting was starting. I
cleaned out the rot and coated with the tar. End of rotting!

Thanks. That's about the same as my first guess at a solution, but I
didn't know whether it would work.

I called some tree-trimming guys for advice too.

One guy said right away I should put a piece of sheet metal over the
wound and hold it down with screws. He said squirrels would tear up screen.

The second guy said the squirrels were probably digging out rot and that
I might easily have a carpenter ant infestation too. He didn't look at
it though. He said I should look for carpenter ants when it is above
seventy degrees at night, so I will check it in the summer. He didn't
mention sheet metal until I did, but he agreed that that might work.

Sounds like I should use either tar or pruning paint to stop rot and
also cover the wound with sheet metal to stop the squirrels.