Mature Green Ash tree. There are mornings where I walk out and find dozens of leaves cut off at the node. The summer hasn't been too hot and we've had plenty of rain in Minnesota. The tree is treated for EAB currently and at last check, the arborist didn't think it had the bug yet.
Any idea what could be trimming my canopy?
by gloeworm127
10 Comments
Squirrels in my yard do this to make nests and such.
i too have seen squirrels do this… maybe they are making squirrel highways in the trees
Squirrels. I always attributed this to my trees being healthy. Because the trees the squirrels did this to always were my healthy trees. It’s like they pruned them for the better.
Do you have cicadas in your area this summer? I remember seeing on another post a few weeks ago that cicadas were having a similar effect on someone’s oak trees.
What they said. However, it looks like it does have EAB in it already.
If you haven’t had this tree treated for EAB, you should do so immediately. And do what you can to reduce the squirrel population by any means necessary.
I can’t help you with the EAB question because we don’t have those in my area as of yet.
I just wanted to say that in addition to cicadas, and squirrels, there is also an insect called a twig girdler.
Which causes stem dropp similar to what you are experiencing.
It does not do major damage to your tree just causes aesthetic problems
Me
Twig pruner beetles are also a possible culprit but the break is usually much cleaner so I am leaning toward squirrels
Tree rats