Personally speaking, we here at Toms Tree Ties love rabbits and other wild animals. There is something deeply calming about seeing a rabbit filled field on a sunny summer morning (accidental tongue twister there) and so it is always a frustration to see ring-barking one of our saplings.
<a href="http://www.jtoms.co cialis per nachnahme.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbit-small_2e0c2f62e3ff5aa36086e8eb40ab4445.jpeg.jpg” rel=”lightbox[11098]”>After all, whilst we don’t want to cause any harm to the animals, they are causing damage to our saplings and it need to be stopped – so what can be done?
For those of you lucky enough to not be affected by it, ring-barking (or girdling as it is sometimes known) is the total removal of a ring of bark from around a branch or trunk of a tree (or sapling). It is commonly caused by rabbits, mice and voles, although birds and deer can also cause ring-barking.
The problem with ring barking is that it kills the plant by depriving it from carrying water to the part of the plant that is above the ring-barked area – it is a bit like cutting the tree in half without actually felling it. In fact, ring-barking is so effective in killing plants, some foresters use the technique to thin forests and thus improve the overall well-being of the woodland area.
And so, back to our problem of how to deal with unwanted ring-barking from our woodland friends. There are a number of various solutions on the market for countering ring-barking, ranging from potentially poisonous herbicides to store bought chicken wire. We don’t recommend or use any of them. We recommend using tree guards.
Tree guards are reliable, time tested and importantly, safe protection against ring-barking. They provide the needed protection against ring-barking without putting the animal at risk and they are very easy to install. Most foresters use tree guards to protect saplings whilst remaining animal friendly and we see no reason to use anything else.
Essentially, if like us you love plants but don’t want to hurt Thumper, tree guards are the best solution to a frustrating problem.