Apple trees rabbit damaged

[davidroberts30]

Neighbour has a lot of trees about 8 to 10 year old , rabbits have chewed the bark off right round

Will they survive/be any good again?

Chewed up a good 20 inches

 

[Lincs Lass]

Must be some big bunnies to get that high up ,,sure its not deer

 

[___\0/___]

I would say wasted take them out and replant.

 

[Kidds]

Yes they will survive. Need tree guards though, wire mesh ones from Agricare are best. Fasten them so the cut edge is on top

 

[Lincs Lass]

Wrap them in sticky bands and then make a chicken wire fence round each one ,,catch the early before any diseases get a chance

 

[___\0/___]

Yes they will survive. Need tree guards though, wire mesh ones from Agricare are best. Fasten them so the cut edge is on top

Wow, I stand corrected

 

[Kidds]

Wow, I stand corrected

I have had a lot of trees damaged by rabbits over the years but apart from some very young trees I can't remember any actually dying. Tree in bottom pic does look pretty hammered though and not 100% convinced it is rabbit on that one in particular (could be though).

Control the rabbits too, they need shooting and especially if we are getting some snow and the trees are the only thing not covered by it.
We used to spray thiram on them back in the day to keep them off but not available now. Garlic spray works to some extent, certainly discourages them.

 

[Treecreeper]

If they are ring barked they have no chance, guard anything in the future up to 60cm. This often happens when there is snow or a hard frost

 

[A1an]

That's not rabbit damage, that's deer damage, we get it every spring on willow.

 

[DrWazzock]

We had that sort of damage. It was deer. Dad tied old plastic bags tightly round them (old 50 kg) fertiliser bags. They have fruited well for another 2 years now. God knows how they survived. Ringed right round. I am not sure if I dare disturb the plastic bags now but they are starting to disintegrate.

 

[TheTallGuy]

Looking at the damage, I would agree with the above that it's more likely deer/muntjac as they seem to have been stripped vertically, whereas bunnies tend to strip more laterally. At 8-10 year old the have a chance of surviving, but do need protecting - wrap an old fert bag around packed with a bit of straw to keep the damp & frost off, in warmer weather the bag can be opened out to allow air to circulate and allow the damaged areas to season up a bit.

 

[davidroberts30]

Definitely not deer!
Be a first for Milford haven!!
Neighbour has seen rabbit chewing some prunings ?‍

 

[davidroberts30]

If they are ring barked they have no chance, guard anything in the future up to 60cm. This often happens when there is snow or a hard frost

Dont get snow or hard frosts here....

 

[ajcc]

Sheep? Horses?

 

[davidroberts30]

Sheep? Horses?

Horses close by but no access,sheep nowhere near

 

[Canada Farmer]

Eh, not goat's??

 

[Veryfruity]

Doesn’t look like just rabbits, there’s enough to keep the frost off!
They willl live but should be guarded. Wire mesh.
Leave the prunings until grass grows away. Baited rabbit cage traps will be very effective while they’re this hungry.

 

[egbert]

Doesn't look like rabbits to me.
Survival depends on how deep the bark is stripped. looks terminal to me.
It's possible the above comments about surviving and wrapping em are right - I've no experience of apple trees.

This won't kill the tree in any case, cos they'll grow from the stump again.
But then the shoots that grow might be from the root stock rather than the grafted stock.

For guards, I prefer buying a roll of plastic net, and cutting to what dimensions suit.