Late fall brings rutting season to West Michigan, and young trees in yards around Ada, Forest Hills, and Lowell take a beating from bucks rubbing their antlers on slender trunks.
A single night of rubbing can strip bark all the way around a trunk, cutting off the flow of water and nutrients. Young maples, redbuds, and fruit trees with trunks between one and four inches across are the most common targets. Once bark is lost around the full trunk, the tree usually cannot recover.
Simple protection goes a long way: plastic trunk guards, or a ring of welded wire fencing staked a few inches off the trunk through winter. The same guards help deter rabbits and voles once snow cover arrives.
If a tree has already been rubbed, our plant health care team can evaluate the wound and whether the tree is likely to recover. Protecting a young tree now saves years of growth that a single rough night could undo.
#GrandRapidsMI #TreeCare #WestMichigan #PlantHealthCare
An authentic photo of a young yard tree with a trunk guard or wire cage installed, or a close-up of fresh buck rub damage on a young trunk. Real local photos outperform stock wildlife images.
Canva text suggestion: "Buck Rub Season Is Here" or "Guard Young Trees Before Winter"