Bark Stripped From Trees: Squirrels, Deer, Voles, or Birds?

The height of the damage tells you the most: bark gnawed at ground level is usually voles or rabbits, shredded bark from 1 to 4 feet up is deer rubbing their antlers, and stripped patches on upper branches point to squirrels. Neat horizontal rows of shallow holes are a sapsucker's work — and any damage that circles the whole trunk (girdling) puts the tree at real risk.

Most likely causes

  • Squirrels — patches stripped from upper branches and trunk, shredded bark bits on the ground
  • Deer buck rubs — vertical shredding 1–4 feet up on young trees in fall
  • Voles — fine gnawing girdling the base, revealed at the snow line in early spring
  • Rabbits — clean tooth marks up to 2 feet high in winter, often to snow depth
  • Yellow-bellied sapsuckers — tidy horizontal rows of shallow, evenly spaced holes

Compare the possible causes

Possible cause Key signs When it happens How likely
Squirrels Irregular stripped patches on branches and the upper trunk, with curls and shreds of bark littering the ground beneath the tree Late winter through early summer, peaking when squirrels are building nests and food is short Very common
Deer antler rubbing Bark shredded and hanging in vertical strips between roughly 1 and 4 feet up the trunk, usually on saplings 1–4 inches in diameter September through November, when bucks rub velvet off their antlers and mark territory Common
Voles A band of fine gnawing at the very base of the trunk, with tiny paired tooth marks about 1/16 inch wide, often hidden by grass, mulch, or snow until spring Winter under snow cover; discovered at snow melt in early spring Common
Rabbits Bark cleanly gnawed away up to about 2 feet high — higher if they stood on snowpack — with paired tooth marks roughly 1/8 inch wide and pea-sized droppings nearby Winter, especially prolonged snow cover when green food is buried Common
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers Neat horizontal rows of shallow, uniform holes about 1/4 inch across, sometimes covering bands of trunk, with sap weeping from fresh rows Migration and winter, roughly fall through early spring in most of the U.S. Common

Visual clues to check

  • Measure the height of the damage: ground level says voles, up to 2 feet says rabbits, 1–4 feet of vertical shredding says buck rub, upper branches say squirrels
  • Examine tooth marks with your phone camera zoomed in: about 1/16 inch paired grooves are vole, about 1/8 inch are rabbit, wider scattered gouges are squirrel
  • Look for pattern: neat horizontal rows of identical shallow holes mean sapsucker, not insects
  • Check the ground: bark shreds under the canopy point to squirrels overhead; droppings identify rabbits
  • Note the season it appeared: fall shredding is deer rub; damage revealed at snow melt is vole or rabbit work from the winter
  • Walk all the way around the trunk and estimate how much of the circumference is stripped — this number decides how serious the situation is

The causes in detail

Squirrels

Squirrels strip bark for two reasons: to line their nests with the soft inner fibers, and to eat the sweet cambium layer in late winter when other food runs out. Maples, honeylocusts, and other thin-barked trees are favorites. Damage high in the canopy on branch tops — places no ground animal can reach — is effectively a squirrel signature. Most trees tolerate it, though heavily stripped individual branches can die back.

Deer antler rubbing

A buck rub is unmistakable once you know it: one face of a young trunk polished bare with frayed bark above and below, often with snapped lower branches. Bucks return to the same rub lines each fall, so a tree hit once will likely be hit again. A single hard rub can girdle and kill a young tree, which is why new plantings in deer country need trunk guards up before September.

Voles

Voles do their worst work invisibly, tunneling under snow and gnawing bark at the snow line and below all winter. Homeowners discover a complete ring of bare wood at the base of fruit trees and young ornamentals in March — often too late, since a full girdle severs the tree's supply lines. Deep mulch piled against trunks and unmowed grass are standing invitations; hardware-cloth trunk guards are the reliable defense.

Rabbits

In hard winters rabbits turn to bark, favoring young fruit trees, crabapples, burning bush, and brambles. Their tooth marks are noticeably wider than a vole's, and the gnawed band often sits oddly high because the rabbit was standing on packed snow. Like vole damage, rabbit gnawing that rings the trunk is a girdling emergency for a young tree.

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers

Sapsuckers are woodpeckers that drill orderly grids of sap wells and return to lick the sap and the insects it traps. The geometric pattern separates them instantly from insect borers, whose exit holes are scattered at random. Most trees shrug off sapsucker wells; only repeated heavy drilling on the same tree year after year — they do play favorites — merits protection like wrapping the drilled zone in burlap for the season.

When to worry

  • Bark removed in a ring around 50% or more of the trunk's circumference — girdling interrupts the flow between roots and canopy and can kill the tree
  • Any girdling on a young or newly planted tree, which has no spare capacity to route around the wound
  • Sap flow, fungus, or insect activity moving into a large stripped area
  • A buck rub that returns to the same young tree each fall — repeat rubs finish what the first one started
  • Sapsucker drilling so heavy on one favorite tree that bands of bark are dying between the rows

What to do now

  1. Photograph the damage and estimate the percentage of trunk circumference affected — under a third, most trees recover on their own
  2. Leave the wound alone to air-dry; clean up loose hanging bark flaps with a sharp knife back to attached bark, and nothing more
  3. Install a hardware-cloth cylinder (1/4-inch mesh) around the base of young trees, 18–24 inches tall plus your usual snow depth, buried a couple inches
  4. Pull mulch back 6 inches from every trunk and keep surrounding grass mowed short going into winter to remove vole cover
  5. In deer country, put plastic trunk guards or welded-wire cages on young trees before September and leave them on through fall
  6. Wrap a sapsucker's favorite drilling zone loosely in burlap during its active season rather than harming the bird — sapsuckers are federally protected
  7. If bark loss circles more than a third of the trunk, or the tree is valuable, call a certified arborist quickly — bridge grafting can sometimes save a girdled tree if done early in the growing season

What not to do

  • Don't paint wounds with tar or sealer — modern arboriculture is clear that sealants trap moisture and slow the tree's own compartmentalizing
  • Don't trap, poison, or shoot at sapsuckers or other woodpeckers; they're protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
  • Don't pile mulch back against a trunk that voles just girdled — that mulch was the cover they worked under
  • Don't wait and see on a girdled young tree; by the time the canopy wilts, the window for an arborist to help has mostly closed
  • Don't wrap trunks in plastic film or solid wraps left on year-round, which hold moisture and invite decay and insects

Think you know the suspect?

These animals commonly cause this clue — see their full sign profiles:

Frequently asked questions

Will a tree survive having its bark stripped?

It depends almost entirely on how much of the circumference is gone. Patches covering under a third of the way around usually seal over within a few seasons. Damage circling half or more interrupts the tree's internal plumbing, and a complete ring — full girdling — is usually fatal to that trunk or branch without professional intervention like bridge grafting.

What strips bark high up in a tree where nothing can climb?

Squirrels — they're the only common culprit working in the canopy. They peel bark for nest lining and gnaw the sweet inner layer in late winter, leaving stripped patches on branch tops and a litter of bark shreds on the ground below. Porcupines do similar high work in some regions, but squirrels are the overwhelmingly common answer in yards.

How do I stop deer from rubbing my young trees?

Physical barriers, in place before rubbing season starts in September. A plastic trunk guard, a spiral wrap, or a cage of welded wire staked a few inches out from the trunk all work; repellent sprays do not stop rubbing, because the buck isn't there to eat. Trees between 1 and 4 inches in trunk diameter are the prime targets and need protection most.

Are the rows of small holes in my tree trunk from insects?

If the holes are shallow, uniform, and lined up in neat horizontal rows, that's a yellow-bellied sapsucker, a migratory woodpecker drilling sap wells. Insect borer holes are scattered randomly and often show sawdust. Sapsucker damage is usually harmless and the bird is federally protected, so deterrence — like burlap over the drilled band — is the right response, not treatment.

Related yard clues

Plant Damage Plant Stems Cut Near the Ground: Cutworms or Rabbits? A seedling toppled with its stem severed right at the soil line is the classic signature of cutworms, night-feeding caterpillars that curl in the soil by day. Clean 45-degree cuts a few inches higher point to rabbits, while stems gnawed through at the base — often with the plant left uneaten — suggest voles or, less often, squirrels. Read the guide → Plant Damage Leaves Chewed From the Edges: How to Read the Bite Marks Leaves eaten inward from the edges are usually caterpillars, grasshoppers, or — if the edges show neat crescent-shaped notches — adult weevils feeding at night. When whole leaf sections or stems are missing, the cut itself is the clue: a clean angled snip means rabbits, while ragged torn edges mean deer. Read the guide → Plant Damage Flowers Eaten Overnight: Who Raided Your Garden Beds? Flowers that vanish overnight are most often deer or rabbits, and which flowers were taken narrows it fast — tulip and hosta blooms nipped off whole point to deer, while low plants clipped at a clean angle point to rabbits. Petals riddled with ragged holes but still attached usually mean earwigs or slugs working after dark, and shredded rose blooms are Japanese beetles feeding into dusk. Read the guide →

Still not sure? Compare with these clues

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