In winter, when food sources are scarce, small rodents eat what they can find to survive. This becomes a problem when the bark of your tree becomes mouse food. Unfortunately, mice that bite into trees can cause serious damage. Read on for information on mouse bark damage, as well as tips to prevent mice from eating the bark of trees in your yard.
Determining When Mice Eat Tree Bark
Trees add a lot to a garden or backyard. They can be expensive to install and require regular watering and maintenance, but most homeowners find them worth it. When you first see mouse bark damage, you may feel like your home is under attack. Just keep in mind that small rodents also need food to survive the winter. Mice eat tree bark as a last resort, not to bother you.
First, make sure they are actually mice eating the bark of the tree. It is important to be sure of the problem before taking action. Typically, if mice eat the bark, you will see damage at the base of the tree trunk near the ground.
When mice eat tree bark, they can chew through the bark to the cambium beneath. This disrupts the trunk’s water and nutrient transport system. When mouse tree damage girds the tree , the tree may not be able to recover
Prevent mice from eating tree bark
Don’t think you have to set out poison or traps to prevent mice from chewing on your trees. You can usually start to prevent mice from eating tree bark without killing them. When mice eat bark, especially the hard bark of the trunk, it is because other food sources have dried out. One way to protect your trees is to provide mice with other foods.
Many gardeners leave fall branch clippings on the ground under trees. The bark on the branches is more tender than the bark on the trunk and mice will prefer it. Alternatively, you can sprinkle sunflower seeds or other rodent foods during the colder months.
Another idea to prevent mice from eating tree bark is to remove all weeds and other vegetation from around the base of the trees. Mice don’t like to be outdoors where hawks and other predators can see them, so removing the cover is a cheap and effective way to prevent damage from mouse bark, and also works well to keep mice out . from the garden too.
While you’re thinking about mouse predators, you can also encourage them to prowl your yard. Placing perch posts is likely to be a welcome mat by attracting birds of prey such as hawks and owls , which in itself can keep mice away.
You can also prevent mice from chewing on trees by placing physical guards around the tree trunk. For example, look for tree guards, plastic tubes that you can place around tree trunks to keep them safe.
Look for mice and rodent repellents in your garden or hardware store. These taste bad to the mice that eat the bark of your tree, but they don’t actually harm them. Still, it may be enough to prevent damage to the cortex of mice.