Kelly's Korner: How to Protect Your Plants From Animals

As you look out your windows or walk around your yard, you may notice that you have some winter animal damage.  Even at this point in the winter season, there are still a few things that you can do to mitigate this.

Physical Barriers

• Plastic tree guards are effective for small trees.
• For larger trees, the University of Minnesota recommends a cylinder/fencing made from ¼” hardware cloth around the trunk about 6 inches from the trunk.
• Protect shrubs by fencing the beds with hardware cloth.
• Fencing should be buried 2 to 3 inches below the ground line.
• The fencing should be 4 feet tall to accommodate average snow depths.
• Make sure there are no gaps between the bottom of the mesh cylinder/fencing and the ground where animals can crawl through.

‍Repellents

• Powders, granules, or ready-to-use liquids.
• For best results, choose one that is applicable to your situation and rotate between a few different products. Animals can develop a tolerance, which can reduce their effectiveness.
• The repellent will need re-application after snow or heavy rain.

If you have had some animal damage, there is still hope.  If at least 25% of bark is left on the tree trunk, it can recover with time.  If your shrubs have been de-barked, you can cut them all the way down to any healthy area with bark.  Often times this means cutting them down to the ground.  The shrubs will re-grow again from the roots. If you need any assistance with caging trees or shrubs or repellent application, just give us a call!

For the Love of Plants - Kelly