It’s time to open up about a big issue that can affect your trees going into 2026. With Spring getting ready to start up here in March, we want to give you a look into examples of how to preserve your trees and keep tree preservation a goal to attain amongst all the customers we work with and anyone else we manage to help.
Animals picking apart your trees and other plants for nutrition is one of the most common forms of tree damage during this time of the year. Many different types of animals come out of hibernation to start their feeding, and this can prevent your trees from growing out well enough to sustain them for the two seasons where they grow the most.
In this blog, we want to educate and give you a guide to tree preservation in 2026 by exploring tree damage from animals in the spring.
Some Common Animals Causing Tree Damage in Spring
Several common animals around springtime dig into your trees that we want to look at. Some of these examples include deer, rabbits, voles, and more. There are plenty of other animals that go around and pick at certain types of trees and cause them damage, but we want to give focus to some examples that might be the most common that we will work with in the nearby areas around Holland, Orchard Park, Elma, East Aurora, and the rest of WNY.
Voles
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/animal-water-rat-european-water-vole-7394556/ (russ2019)
These little guys are the sneakiest of all the smaller animal breeds that can get in and out of damaging your trees, and you’ll never know it. For an animal like this one, trees offer voles immense comfort because they provide a major source of shelter.
Some of the voles you might deal with create tunneling systems that give them access around your yard through to a tree, and stuff like this can cause damage to young trees in the process. Damage that we are looking to fix and educate more about, because you might not always realize that this is why your tree is damaged.
Photo credit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/vole-management-for-michigan-crop-producers (Photo by Brenda Lucas)
So how can you identify this? If you take a look at the picture above, this is an example of the voles doing the most amount of damage. It makes the tree look like it has a chunk of its skin ripped right off in the cleanest way possible. The voles will gnaw on the bark via a process called girdling. It’s just a term to describe the removal of a ring of bark around a tree trunk, which stops nutrient transport to roots and water flow to leaves. This could kill a tree very quickly if not handled as soon as possible.
Deer
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/fallow-deer-deer-animal-buck-4381666/ (congerdesign)
Deer are the most common animal breed you’ll find munching on those trees of yours. They are elusive eaters; they come in during the night when everyone is asleep, and they pick away at what’s left if another animal hasn’t taken it already. Of course, deer are active during the day too, but they are primarily active at night because they want to avoid us humans and any predators lurking around to bother them.
When combating deer from ripping up your trees, it’s important to keep in mind that a good-sized deer can tear through them and take a lot out. Other than just eating them with their mouths, they might also tear off the bark by using their antlers to remove it. There are plenty of tips and tricks out there, but if you’ve got some curious deer nibbling on your trees, we have solutions to help eradicate the problem without harming the deer or your trees.
Rabbits
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/rabbit-bunny-tree-animal-pet-6566339/ (BlackPaw)
Finally, let’s take a look at those pesky rabbits! Something to note here, rabbits are an animal that do not hibernate, they usually come out during winter to take advantage of the weather and cold, and bring damage to your trees when you aren’t looking. In the early springtime, they will come out and girdle just like voles do, and take apart your bark and primarily chew on the branches.
Rabbits will also target a tree if it produces any one type of fruit, apples, berries, and more. So in a way, if you are a homeowner and you have these trees around you in a garden, you may already know that they will target those. Rabbits will nip at those stems and buds that keep everything working together and allow a shrub or tree to flourish for many years after.
Why Spring Is the Most Vulnerable Season for Trees
The most integral part of this blog that should be noted is why spring can act as the most vulnerable season for trees to receive the most amount of damage. Early growth stages make trees more susceptible to the damage that is caused by animals. Animals don’t take that long to come out and start their feeding, and trees will take a little bit to regrow everything they lost during the winter.
Animals can take advantage of that, and some of the tree types that are most susceptible to that are:
- Cherry trees, peach trees, plum trees, and olive trees (voles)
- Oak trees, chestnut trees, apple trees, and maple trees (deer)
- Fruit trees like apple trees, pear trees, plum trees, cherry trees, and maple trees (rabbits)
There are a couple of other factors involved, one example is the role of sap flow and nutrient cycles that trees go through. When spring starts, they are able to start going through their regular nutrient cycles once again, and that leaves them open as a target to feed on, depending on what they produce. The stress of younger, more newly planted trees is also something to consider. Animals will eat them up, and given how young and small they are, it won’t take long before it’s all gone.
If you have those kinds of trees around you, definitely give us a call, and we will be there to help! If you have any other striking questions related to this topic, reach out to us today through our contact form. We are here to make sure this process is handled with care and to make sure you know what’s best in order to prevent these animals from destroying those beautiful trees.
Spring Tree Damage FAQ
How can I prevent animals from eating my trees in the spring?
So how can you prevent animals from eating away at your trees as spring is ready to begin? Many different methods work for this, and we have a list below with some added details:
Physical Intervention: Tree guards and trunk wraps
Tree guards are small fence structures around the perimeter of a tree pit. You’ve probably seen them before, especially in more city-like areas. Trunk wraps are the fabric that you see wrapped around a tree that helps protect the tree bark, as you see above in the picture.
Arborist Application: Tree safe repellents and sprays
This method of prevention should come with an analysis from a professional arborist like Bradley, who can come out to inspect your trees and diagnose which sprays and repellents are safe for them. This method can work if you’re not interested in building a tree guard or using trunk wrap on it.