What the...???

lordy

lordy

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I went to start taking some trees out of winter storage and found some damage. It looks like someone took a concave cutter to the branches. I think I have a rabbit, except on a trident in the ground, the damage was a full 36 inches above ground. WTF??
 

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That is really strange. So pic 3, you made none of those cuts? They are so clean. Will this set the trees back style wise?

Rob
 
october said:
That is really strange. So pic 3, you made none of those cuts? They are so clean. Will this set the trees back style wise?

Rob
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I made NONE of these cuts. They look like some beaver who has really sharp teeth. Only I dont live near any water. Not a beaver. Chances are, in order of likelihood based on sightings in my yard: rabbit, squirrel, ?????. My back yard is about 3/4 acre fenced by a 4foot wooden fence. I have never seen a deer in my back yard in almost 10 years of living here. I did see about a dozen bound thru the front yard once. I would bet money that it was a rabbit, except for the damage to the trident 3 feet off the ground. Must have one of those jumping piranha rabbits.
I found my Kitohime maple that was damaged, a ROR elm with the roots chewed. None of the azaleas or conifers were touched that I can see. A larger zelcova nor elm was touched. Looks like they concentrated in potted and in-the-ground maples. Little bastard is looking to become Hasenpfeffer.
 
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I'm thinking you've got both deer and rabbit issues to deal with. It's been an incredibly harsh winter and this is the leanest time of year for all wild animals as there's absolutely nothing left to eat. Deer, in particular, will be eating the shrubbery along your foundation if that's all there is around. I suspect many here will find similar issues with in ground material once the snow melts. I hope the damage to your trees is minimal.
 
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On a serious note, critter damage stinks and hopefully you can prevent damage in the future.


On a lighter note, this looks like the work of the honey badger...
 
That looks like deer poop, and they could hop your fences pretty easily I would bet. My money is on deer.


edit: Didn't consider snow banks (Vance vvvv), I don't have to worry much about those around here lol. It could be rabbits.
 
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Dav4 said:
I'm thinking you've got both deer and rabbit issues to deal with. It's been an incredibly harsh winter and this is the leanest time of year for all wild animals as there's absolutely nothing left to eat. Deer, in particular, will be eating the shrubbery along your foundation if that's all there is around. I suspect many here will find similar issues with in ground material once the snow melts. I hope the damage to your trees were minimal.
Click to expand...

Okay...deer could reach up that high...but no rabbit.
 
lordy said:
I made NONE of these cuts. They look like some beaver who has really sharp teeth. Only I dont live near any water. Not a beaver. Chances are, in order of likelihood based on sightings in my yard: rabbit, squirrel, ?????. My back yard is about 3/4 acre fenced by a 4foot wooden fence. I have never seen a deer in my back yard in almost 10 years of living here. I did see about a dozen bound thru the front yard once. I would bet money that it was a rabbit, except for the damage to the trident 3 feet off the ground. Must have one of those jumping piranha rabbits.
I found my Kitohime maple that was damaged, a ROR elm with the roots chewed. None of the azaleas or conifers were touched that I can see. A larger zelcova nor elm was touched. Looks like they concentrated in potted and in-the-ground maples. Little bastard is looking to become Hasenpfeffer.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure its rabbits. The damage can show up at 36" if the rabbit stood on a snow bank to chew on the trees. And yes rodent teeth are extremely sharp and efficient in their use.
 
Vance Wood said:
I'm pretty sure its rabbits. The damage can show up at 36" if the rabbit stood on a snow bank to chew on the trees. And yes rodent teeth are extremely sharp and efficient in their use.
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Standing on snow! Vance you may have something there. We had a lot of snow this year, and most recently a 6" on top of what was left of a 19" snowfall. Most of the damage looks somewhat fresh too...Never had this happen before. next year the whole crop might just get wire mesh, and let the foxhound out more.
 
It's rabbit damage. They used to trim my burning bushes until a fox came to our neighborhood for a few weeks. Rent a fox, that'll take care of it
 
lordy hope your trees are ok, but Vance that was really clever thought, seriously kudos. As someone who likes puzzles my hat's off to you.The snowbank adding to the rabbit size, that sounds like a really likely culprit.
 
All you really need is a life size picture of the world famous hunter Elmer J. Fudd and rabbits will avoid your place by a mile radius, oh yeah, be " vewwy, vewwy quiet ".


Sorry to hear about your trees man.

ed
 
I have the same exact scenario! Identical poop. And those buggers went nuts. What animal eats pine needles and shoots? They did a number on some developing trees and ate a few needles off a finished ponderosa. Luckily that needle damage is pretty minimal. Those suckers really went to town on some trees. Bastards!
 
Rabbits make clean, angled cuts just like the ones you show (and the pellets match as well). Deer damage generally results in rougher cuts, they tend to tear/mash the vegetation rather than cut it cleanly.

Sorry to see. I've had rabbits gnawing on some of my trees in my growing bed this winter. I also had some mice/vole damage on trees I stored in my barn. Obviously I need to beef up my security for next winter.

Chris
 
I hope it doesn't put you too far back. At least the conifers are ok. If they get damaged, it could be years, if ever, that you can get the original style. I still can't believe how clean and angled those cuts are.

Rob
 
WANTED​
by a bonsai grower near you​

"BAD WABBIT"
 

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Clearly it was a fellow bonsai artist who knew your trees needed a good winter trimming, hopped your fence, did the work and hopped back out. Remember, the simple answer is usually the right answer.

Zach
 
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