I have one squirrel in my Georgia Garden which I adore. Meet my little friend Squirrely! This little guy stays on his swing blowing in the wind and does not bother one thing in my Garden. Such a sweet and good squirrel my little pal Squirrely is to me. 
Too bad that squirrely is not the only squirrel in my life. We have nut trees, we feed the birds and I have flowers, therefore, we have tons of squirrels in our yard. On any given morning, I can usually count a dozen or so scampering about looking for trouble. 
The Saint had wanted us to get a Crabapple tree from the time we moved into this house. I did not think that was a good idea due to the deer in our yard. One day as a surprise, I brought home a Robinson Crabapple for the Saint. He was so proud of his new tree and gladly posed with it shortly after planting her back in April of 2005. 
She was in full bloom and pretty in no time at all. That has been the only time we have seen such beautiful blossoms on her. 
She is much larger being 4 years old but I have been a bad mommy to the Saint's Crabapple. I don't have any updated pictures of her in her full green clothing. Here she stands naked as a Jay Bird but much taller. If you look closely, you can see the branches all the way to the top of the picture. I know, difficult to see but use your imagination today.... 
Even though this tree is in the main pathway for the deer to get to their corn we provide them, they do not bother this tree. I hung Dial Soap on it the first two years of its life with us and I assume it worked. The issue we are having with our little tree is the squirrels. 
When the tree starts to bloom, the squirrels climb it and eat all the blossoms. When the blossoms are gone, they start to chew on the trunk! As if to say, "more, more, we want more blossoms"
This little tree is tough and keep on healing its wounds but we don't know how much longer this tree will survive at this rate. Every spring there is a new wound from the pesky critters. 
We had some warm temps so the tree popped out a few blossoms and the squirrels found them right away. Here is this years new wound on the poor Crabapple. I was thinking of putting a mesh wire fence around it as we did to the little dogwood tree. Click HERE to see that process. That seems to be keeping the deer and squirrels at bay for the little dogwood tree. Or maybe a slick stovepipe such as on our bird feeders. 
The squirrels are slowly destroying our little Crabapple and we need help. Any suggestions on how to keep the squirrels off a tree?We have another issue with the wonderful wildlife which surrounds us. This time, the squirrels are causing a CRABAPPLE DILEMMA, In the Garden...
Hi Skeeter, that is just awful, and being the Saints tree and all, it needs special treatment. I suggest the hardware cloth around the trunk as tall as you can go, very loosely and use your ever useful ever present twist ties! Doggone squirrels!
ReplyDeleteFrances
Skeeter,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tree! I wonder if circling the base of the tree with plastic pipe or metal would help keep them from damaging it. I didn't realize they would eat blossoms, the little buggers!
Good morning all! Naughty little squirrels. I would definitely put something on the trunk quickly. If you put a slick stove pipe that might keep them from climbing up and chewing the blossoms. Urgh! Hate it that the lovely wildlife is so destructive!
ReplyDeleteSkeeter,
ReplyDeleteI would go ahead and put a guard around the trunk. Three critters will hurt a tree trunk -- squirrels, rabbits will chew a trunk and deer will rub on a tree trunk.
Sorry about your tree, but I think you can save it. Tell the squirrels that if they leave the blossoms, the fruit will be tasty and fill up their little tummies, too.
Cameron
Skeeter, my neighbor put a metal ring around the bottom of his pecan tree--would that help you? The thing is though--his tree was a stand alone and I bet yours is with others so the pesky little fellows could jump from tree to tree. The metal ring did help my neighbor. Good luck!!! I love the blossoms on crabapples! :)
ReplyDeleteDrastic measures are required! And I think you know what I mean. But perhaps that's not an option if you have neighbors (and you'd want to put an identifying collar on Squirrely). Unfortunately, I don't think you can squirrel proof the crabapple. You can probably find a way to protect the trunk, but I don't see how you can save the blossoms without covering the entire tree with some type of netting.
ReplyDeleteSkeeter, Looks like others have some good ideas for keeping these ornery critters off your tree--I hope they work. I never knew squirrels liked crabapple blossoms. We have several crabs lining our driveway, but the squirrels never bother them. In fact, they usually don't get too close to the house--due to the outdoor cats and when the dog goes outside, I assume. I would be very upset, too, if the squirrels bothered my crabapples!
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough one as others have already stated. I wonder how some sort of sticky tape would work. Just to annoy the squirrels enough that they won't be tempted to climb again. Maybe a reversed cone shaped netting underneath the limbs so they can't have access to the main tree. That's a tough one, or maybe you could get a cat!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Skeeter, I have never seen such damage from squirrels! Man! My husband calles them rats with furry tails. I think I would use most all of the suggestions... some sort of tree guard and think I would try some pepper spray on the blooms too.
ReplyDeleteLooks like everyone was full of helpful advice for you Skeeter. I can't believe they ate the blossoms, but it shouldn't surprise me. ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Seeter, that's a new one on me. I have several crabapples and the squirrels have never bothered them. I would definitely protect that trunk. It is already very badly damaged. Have you tried Ropel, which is a spray on that is supposed to keep animals from chewing. Might be worth a look. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Maybe you should move that swinging squirrel out of sight. It might be like a flashing neon sign, telling the live ones to "party on, dudes!"
ReplyDeleteI have nothing to add to the suggestion pool Skeeter...I am here for support! Here goes~~ Poor Baby!
ReplyDeleteI hope something can be worked out to save The Saints pretty tree. gail
Wow, they sure are doing some damage to the Saint's pretty crabapple tree Skeeter!
ReplyDeleteHere they usually eat ALL the bark off our two cedar trees every winter. Although I wouldn't say these two trees are thriving, somehow they do survive. I suspect these cedars are very tough - maybe tougher than a young crabapple.
Feeding the squirrels over the winter has so far kept them from eating the cedar bark this year. Since your squirrels are already enjoying your bird feeders, ground feeding them might not make any difference.
Sounds like you've got a lot of useful tips here, hopefully you'll find a strategy or two that will work for the crabapple. Those little varmints are cute, but so destructive!
I would try all the suggestions but the best is....demise. I know alot won't do that. They don't bother the house? Maybe it's only up here but I went to school with a girl, her house burnt flat due to squirrels in the eaves and walls. I rented a place that had them, constently like that. They make me fearful, the cats help. Dog , no, they only tease him.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone! The sun is finally out and hopefully will dry up some of the 4 inches of rain dropped onto our yard. We sure do have a soggy mess out there. Hope all you folks seeing white today did not have any damage from the snow! We had some flurries and thats about it but the Saints parents in Fredericksburg, VA area had a nice snow fall and sent me pics this morning. Beautiful but a mess for them if they need to be out...
ReplyDeleteFrances, I know it is horrible what those little stinkers have done to the Saint’s beloved tree. A good idea with the cloth but fear my mean critters will chew it in half and take it to build their nest more secure! I am wondering if it is metal or some type of manmade fiber.
Liisa, I was thinking of the metal stove pipe type materials also. We must check out all avenues as we dont want this little tree to succumb to the pesky critters.
Tina, Yes indeed those cute little furry ones can be stinkers! I am thinking about the stove pipe idea as the trunk is so small now and should work but will consider other suggestions offered today. I may let the Saint pick the course of action.
Cameron, I have been trying to explain to them that the fruit will be much better then the blossoms if they just wait. lol But we seem to have squirrels that think the blossoms are candy! Arg, we must get something done to deter them and quickly....
Meadowview, I would love the blossoms also if I could get some! lol. This tree is a stand alone and I knew it would be trouble when we planted it where we did. I was thinking the deer though. The Saint wanted it planted there for the deer to enjoy the fruit some day. I do think the pipe will work but will let the Saint read all the suggestions and make the decision of what to do for his tree...
TC, Yes I hear you and we can shoot a gun in our yard as we are in the country but I dont care for Squirrel Stew! If you would like some, come on down while I am not home and take all the Tree Rats you like as they are grain fed with corn and sunflower seed so am sure they would make a good meal for you! We have a hunter living two doors down from us but I just cannot bring myself to ask him to do his magic to make them disappear. I love my wildlife too much and want us to live in harmony so I will just be creative and find a way to deter them from the tree...
Rose, An outside pet in the ultimate answer to a lot of my wildlife issues but our fur babies are indoor only cats. Before we took them in as strays, they took care of the squirrels and Cheetah chased them up the tree like a monkey. That is where she got her name being after Tarzans monkey! I am hoping that OJ the kitty next door will be company for me in the garden this year and maybe he will take care of some of the squirrel issues but fear he may be more interested in the birds!
Dave, Sticky tape, Are you kidding? These stinkers would take it off the tree and reconstruct their nest with tape. I can see it now, As the fake snow falls from their nest, they would get the tape and tape it up! lol, I am thinking the pipe suggestion may be the way to go as the trunk is still small enough for that to work. Netting may have to go on the lower branches to keep them from jumping though. Taking care of two indoor cats is enough work for me so no outside pets for us. maybe the new kitty OJ next door will help me out on this issue...
Janet, We call them tree rats, bushy tails, varmints and some other choice names that I cannot mention here as we do want to keep this a family blog. lol. They are little stinkers for eating the blooms. They seem to get to them as soon as the bloom pops open and sometimes just go for the buds! Arg, we must do something and soon to salvage what little we can for the tree...
Raquel, nothing the squirrels do surprise us any more! They are not predictable or we could have gotten a handle on this beforehand. Now it is time for tree help and squirrel control...
Marnie, Thanks for the luck. As you can see we will need it as the wildlife has once again given us a hurdle to jump! They sure do keep us on our toes around here but the price one pays for living in the middle of the woods with wildlife. If we are not being bothered by pesky loud neighbors and traffic living in the city, we are being bothered by wildlife. Such challenges in life but I think I will take the animals over loud music and traffic any day :-) ..
Walk2Write, You are too funny! Maybe I should take Squirrely out of the Crepe Myrtle and move it to the crabapple in hopes they think it is a big giant killer squirrel! Run, run for your lives everyone! I just need to allow King Kong Kitty to go outside and take care of the problem but I keep my fur babies inside. Arg, it stinks to be an overprotective mommy to fur babies at times such as this...
Gail, Who is the poor baby, me or the Saint? He may be reading the comments today and I dont want him to feel undermacho ya know so I must prepare him for the baby talk. tee hee. I am looking out the window as I type and I see our neighbors yellow cat OJ up in a tree by our boat shed. I am wondering if he chased a squirrel up the tree or just exploring today. Maybe we need to feed him treats in the backyard so he will hang around more closely to the destruction from squirrels and be my deterrent. But then the birds would be an issue. Always something with the wildlife around here. So baby talk or not, keep the support coming, we need it :-)...
Geez I have never had that problem with mine and we have a ton of squirrels. I feed the squirrels maybe that is why? Maybe you should try putting sunflower seeds or peanuts out for them and maybe they won't bother the tree? The fence might work if they can't climb it or dig under it. They are crafty critters! That is a strange one. Crab Apple trees are so beautiful when they bloom! We got ours when we first moved in. It is 18 years old now! It is not blooming yet but when it does I will share a picture!
ReplyDeleteoh no. That tree is really amazing to keep on healing after all those injuries. I would want to protect it too. I wish I had some great advice but everything I can think of has already been suggested. Good luck. I hope you can find a way to protect it and keep it alive. They're beautiful in bloom.
ReplyDeleteGarden Girl, so right you are! They are cute as can be so do so much damage at times such as this. They get corn from the deer feeders and black oil seed that drops from the feeders but apparently that is not enough to satisfy them. I think the issue is we have so many of them that they fight for the fallen treats so they move elsewhere for food. And soon they will be having babies and more to deal with. Gee, it is a never ending story. If your cedars survive this, maybe our crabapple will make a comeback once we decide the method of security for her...
ReplyDeleteDawn, There is no way they can get onto the house unless they can climb up the brick but Lord lets dont tell them that as they will surely do it! When growing up in TN as a child, we had a really bad ice storm which sent the squirrels into the walls of our old farmhouse! My dad would patch up the holes in the house when he would find them but they would try their best to get back inside. I guess I have no fear of animals because I grew up being so close to them. I dont even recall my dad ever hurting one so guess that trait was passed along to me as well. We had to remove one small Silver maple by this house as it was a ladder for the critters and the day I heard one jump on the roof, the tree came down! It was diseased from a Yellow Belly Sap Sucker doing woodpecker damage anyway so no great loss. How much snow did you get? News reports some major snowfalls still to come in that area….
Cindee, When we first had the tree we were feeding the squirrels as well as everything else that came into our yard. They still went to the crabapple tree for buds and blossoms! They get corn from the deer feeder and also fallen seed from the bird feeders so they do get good sources of food. I just think we have so many that they want more food and we refuse to feed them any more as it seems to attract even more. We will come up with a method to keep them off the tree with all the suggestions here today. That is until they crack the code and figure out how to penetrate the system lol. They are smart things...
Kathleen, Thanks and surely with all the suggestions here today, we can help this tree. They do have such beautiful blooms and we miss them after that first year...
ReplyDeleteAmazing that such cute little buggars with all their cute antics can also be such stinkers!!! Hope you figure it out before it is too late.
ReplyDeletehallo, ich schenke euerem blog einen award, I have an award for you, please look at the hearts at ruhezone !!!herzlich Kathrin
ReplyDeleteThe poor crabapple, they are so pretty in bloom. Is there any way you could do something like one of those squirrel baffles people use on bird feeders? I'm not sure if someone has suggested that or not. I hope you can figure out a way to protect it so you can enjoy it in bloom!
ReplyDeleteHi Skeeter, yes, an ongoing problem. I don't have any answers for you with the Saints tree. Seems you have a lot of options to go with. I hope one of them works.
ReplyDeleteI purchased a squirrel proof feeder--not so. They ate through. They will chew anything off that gets in their way. Feeding them will take you to the poor house. If you only have a couple to start with not long till you have a hundred. They invite all their relatives. Even in town they are a nuisance. But they are cute.
Good luck.
And I thought my squirrels were bad! Mine just clip off thin branches in their quest to get all the crabapples. Run, don't walk, to the garden center and buy several bottles of critter repellent, in various brands. 2 I like are Liquid Fence and Deer Off! Red pepper wax is also useful, but I would spray that only on the trunk. When you get home from the store, figure out which way the wind is blowing & stand on the opposite side. Then coat as much of the tree as you can with the stuff. Your yard will reek for a couple of days, then the smell will fade, but the squirrel will smell it. It also tastes really bad to them. When the new buds appear, coat them with the repellant. It lasts for several months, but you have to keep putting it on the new growth. This has worked for me on things they do attack, such as my Witch Hazel buds. Good luck!
ReplyDeletePoor crabapple! I would do whatever fence you have around your dogwood, in addition to the sprays recommended.
ReplyDeleteHoping for good news in another post, showing a patient on the mend.
Poor crabapple! I would do whatever fence you have around your dogwood, in addition to the sprays recommended.
ReplyDeleteHoping for good news in another post, showing a patient on the mend.
Hi Skeeter, you've got some good suggestions but I just wanted to tell you that I hope this can be solved soon. Also the blossoms are so pretty. It makes me feel bad seeing the photos of the tree in several stages of damage.
ReplyDeleteEVERYONE, I ran back to Wal-Mart today for more bargain daffys, tulips and I found 3 hyacinths for .50 each container! Good bargain indeed and not many left. I am determined to have luck with bulbs this year…
ReplyDeleteJean, we will be working on a solution soon!
Kathrin, the Quiet Zone is not working for me today. I will try again later....
Catherine, Yep several have suggested them and that is what I was thinking. But I will let the Saint solve this problem as there are many good suggestions today...
Lola, Yep, they even chew on the wood that makes the tree house. Now why would they feel the need to chew on the tree-house? I think they need to gnaw on stuff to keep their teeth shaved down but not sure. We have found the same thing, if you feed one then there are two and three and before you know it, an entire colony of the critters standing in line waiting for a hand out from us....
Mr. McGregor’s daughter, I have found a spray that works well on other stuff but must be resJean, we will be working on a solution soon!
Kathrin, the Quiet Zone is not working for me today. I will try again later....
Catherine, Yep several have suggested them and that is what I was thinking. But I will let the Saint solve this problem as there are many good suggestions today...
Lola, Yep, they even chew on the wood that makes the tree house. Now why would they feel the need to chew on the treehouse? I think they need to knaw on stuff to keep their teeth shaved down but not sure. We have found the same thing, if you feed one then there are two and three and before you know it, an entire colony of the critters standing in line waiting for a hand out from us....
Mr. McGregors daughter, I have found a spray that works well on other stuff but must be reapplied each time it rains. That is a pain and costly as well. I have heard of a lot of people using the liquid fence solution and also egg/water in spray bottle with luck. The Saint and I will work on this once he reads all the suggestions and decides what defense strategy we will go with. Plus some spray. Do you have to re-spray the Liquid Fencing after a rain fall???
Daffodil planter, I too hope for a speedy recovery in this poor pitiful patient of ours. Hopefully, we will get it worked out and soon...
Kanak, it really is a sad sight to see this happen year after year. We hope to solve this issue and soon. Hopefully the yard will dry up a bit by the weekend so we can get to work on it...
Now that is a kind of squirrel I could take a liking too. Maybe you should wrap the trunk of your tree with someone they can't bite into?
ReplyDeleteSkeeter,
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I would put a guard on the tree trunk. That is the only thing that I have heard to work. Those darn Squirrels are a pain in the...well you know where.
They are so cute, those squirrels. Yes, we have some in our garden, and they do a great job by sowing the 'walnut seeds' all over the garden ;-).
ReplyDeleteBut we're lucky: it's only the native red squirrels in our garden. In the UK, the Eastern grey squirrel is becoming a problem, but here, we have just enough of our red ones to find them just cute.
Squirrels - what devilish little minds they have.
ReplyDeleteIf you protect the trunk at least the tree should survive - and hopefully grow big enough to produce more buds than they can eat.
WoW! They really have messed with your tree. What a shame. I understand completely as we have wildlife problems where we are. But understanding doesn't help does it? We started using Liquid Fence and it seemed to repel the deer - they walk through and let us enjoy seeing them but they keep their jaws shut and walk a little more rapidly - cause it is really stinky!!! It might work for squirrels.
ReplyDeleteThat's one tough little tree I sure hope it makes it.
I have a couple of rat terriers that wouldlove to help you with your squirrel problem ;)
ReplyDeleteOh poor, poor tree - can you sprinkle chili powder around it or on some hessian tied loosely around the trunk - they don't like chili powder much,
ReplyDeletegood luck
K
Phillip, we picked up some metal stove piping tonight so we will be working on that project this weekend when the yard dries out a bit. Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy tree and soon!
ReplyDeleteSweet Basil, we have the guard in hand as we picked up a metal stove pipe tonight at hardware store. Yeah, we may win this battle after all...
Anne, They are cute but so destructive in the garden at times. If only they would behave in the garden then I would totally enjoy them but today they are on my bad list...
Easygardener, We picked up a stove pipe for the trunk tonight so soon the tree will be protected. Well, we hope anyway, they are a bit difficult to concur with their smart ways. Only time will tell…
Raingardener, It is a bit tough on us when the wildlife interferes with our gardens but we do enjoy the wildlife. We looked for the liquid fence tonight while at two stores but with little luck. I do have a spray which works on the deer but not sure if it will work for the squirrels. But once we get the stove pipe, (we bought tonight) on the trunk, maybe that will work for us and the tree can flourish in time...
My little family, Send those little cutie pies on up as I can use their help! Zip the Rat Terrier next door helps out when he comes over to visit but he does not come to visit us often enough...
Karen, we need all the luck we can get for our poor tree so thanks for sending some luck our way! We plan to put a stove pipe (purchased tonight) on it as soon as the yard dries a bit. So with a bit more luck, maybe the tree will survive after all…
I sure didn't know they would eat blossoms. Pesty little critters for sure.
ReplyDeleteDot, they sure are little pests at times even though so cute to observe. They entertain me as well as pester me lol....
ReplyDeleteEVERYONE,
ReplyDeleteWe purchased Stovepipe for the tree trunk so hopefully, it will survive! Stay tuned...