Should I Wrap a Wounded Trunk?

[JaneG]

I have two Sunburst Honey Locust trees that were planted 3 years ago when they were just 6 feet tall with skinny trunks. They are more than double that size now and the trunk diameter is probably 4 inches. Last weekend I noticed that the bark had freshly been scraped off a big chunk of the trunk on one tree. It starts about a foot from the ground and goes up 18 inches or so on one side. It's entirely contained to this spot, nothing elsewhere on this tree or the other tree. We are baffled by what could have happened. The bark is scraped off down to the hardwood core. There are no obvious bite or claw marks, and there was a small pile of shavings at the base of the trunk, but not enough to account for all the damage. There was no snow cover and still lots of green vegetation, so there was no reason for an animal to resort to eating tree bark. We are puzzled.

But here's the question . . . with winter coming and an open wound like this, should I wrap it? Or will wrapping just cause moisture and bugs and bad things to stay in there and cause trouble?

Suggestions??

Thanks!

[Chris_W]

Hi Jane,

Sounds like a deer was rubbing its antlers on your little tree - damage that is pretty common this time of year.

As you thought, wrapping the tree could invite more problems and could actually interfere with the tree's healing ability. Usually it is best to just leave it alone, although if the deer continue to rub, you could put loose chicken wire or hardware cloth around the tree to try and protect it a little.

If there is any loose or jagged bark at the edges of the damage you could trim it off with a sharp knife to help it heal more easily, but I wouldn't do anything else to it. Hopefully they will heal for you.

Chris

[JaneG]

Thanks Chris! Based on the damage, I'll be you're right. I've seen deer do that, but it never occurred to me the damage it could cause. Also, we have seen fewer and fewer deer here lately, so that didn't cross my mind. But I'm pretty sure that was it.

Thanks for the information, too. I'll just keep an eye on it. These have been growing pretty fast, so hopefully it will heal itself over in a season or two.