If you are a tree person or have trees in your area, there are things you need to know about their maintenance. It is when you see damage on a tree, and there are different causes of it. For the sake of treatment, you need to recognize the exact cause of tree damage. And if it’s confusing, you can find an arborist, who can inspect your tree.
If there are chewed areas on a branch, they show squirrel damage. Furthermore, there are other sources of damage, such as floods, lightning strikes, tornadoes, and animal damage. And by having a piece of useful information regarding tree damage, you can look after them properly. So, here’s a list below of the major types of damage that trees usually come across.
Damage Caused By Floods
Even though water is essential for trees, extra water is heavily damaging to them. In areas where floods occur, it is difficult for the trees to survive. The flood can cause three significant types of damage to the trees:
- Soil harm due to water saturation
- The major environmental changes affecting the trees
- Toppling Trees
Moreover, when it rains heavily after a drought, the falling raindrops bring soil damage. And you know well, the soil is the one that holds the tree in its place. Plus, the flooding weakens the roots as well. The extra water inhibits root growth and suffocates the seeds. Also, it deprives the trees and the soil of the oxygen. All this damage can cause a tree to decline and fall like a leaf. Furthermore, watch out for the standing water of the flood, it also causes damage.
Lightning Damage
You may never even have considered this thing, but the lightning can damage the trees. If the lightning strikes the root system, your tree will most likely be dead. But, most of the time, a tree can handle a lightning strike. And it can heal.
The damage only occurs when the lightning strikes the roots. So, if you live in an area where your trees are exposed to lightning strikes, more often, then, you should consider installing a copper wire system to reflect electricity away from the roots. It is a great preventive measure. Also, hire a professional to perform this task.
What Damage A Tornado Will Cause To The Trees?
A tornado is damaging to everything that comes in its path. It damages trees in multiple ways. Some of the damages are visible, and others are difficult to spot. The visible injuries are:
- Broken branches
- Exposed trunks
- Broken limbs
Moreover, some weak trees will fall as well due to the heavily flowing winds. And those damages that are difficult to spot are more harmful to the trees, some of them are:
- Twisted tree trunks
- Bent or leaning trees
- Wind-stripped bark
The bent trees and the twisted tree trunks will weaken the trees, causing them to fall. Also, the twisting is quite damaging for the wood fibers. And striped bark is attractive for pests and other diseases.
The Types Of Animal Damage
There are different types of damage animals can cause to the trees. Here’s a list of the few:
Squirrel Damage
If you see a chewed tree or branch, it is probably chewed by the squirrels. And a tree can heal out of it on its own. Mostly, you can see damage on upper parts of the tree. And unless the chewing is not encircling the branch, the tree can heal.
Bird Damage
Birds can damage the shaggy barks of the trees to build their nests. And unless you see a bird shredding the tree, you won’t believe birds do it. This kind of damage is most common in soft hairy barked shrubs and honeysuckles. The cats can also shred the bark of a tree, such as in case of honeysuckles.
Porcupine Damage
If you see long chiseled tooth marks on the tree, that’s probably done by a porcupine. Most of the diet of porcupines depends on eating barks and twigs. And they cause extensive damage to the trees, killing the trees in extreme conditions.
Sapsucker Damage
If you see evenly spaced rows of holes, that’s probably done by a sapsucker. It is damaging to the tree, and most commonly occurs in a Birch tree.
If your tree is severely damaged, you might need to cut it down by hiring tree removal companies Chevy Chase.
