Tree Question.

[Erol Kartal]

Tree similar to a pine tree in front of home has been stripped of all it's bark and has holes about the size of BB's, some in perfect horizontal rows. Any ideas what caused this damage? Poor tree looked like it's dead.

[Mark Nahrgang]

Erol,
That looks like cedar. The tree probably had died or is in the process of dying. It probably has an infestation of some type that isn't doing it any good. The holes are from woodpeckers trying to get at the bugs. Since the tree is in bad shape (dead or dying) the bark is falling off as a result.

[Erol Kartal]

Thanks Mark.

[Mark Nahrgang]

BTW, I don't think it's dead yet... There's a lot of green on those branches.

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by ekartal

Tree similar to a pine tree in front of home has been stripped of all it's bark and has holes about the size of BB's, some in perfect horizontal rows. Any ideas what caused this damage? Poor tree looked like it's dead.

I'll bet there was a metal fence stapled or nailed to that location when it was a baby...way-back-when....I have seen old trees like that on farms with marking like that, have cut down trees with markings like that, and guess what the chain-saw finds....Barbed-Wire----.....from many many years ago.

[Kenneth Lott]

Woodpecker.

[Erol Kartal]

Originally Posted by dduffy

I'll bet there was a metal fence stapled or nailed to that location

Organic dart board.

[Steven C. Waskewicz]

Cedar (I can tell by the redheart, and the needle structure) and probably Woodpecker holes looking for subsurface insects... I'm with Mark

[Erol Kartal]

duplicate

[Richard A. Hetzel]

Woodpecker(s) for sure.

Although, I know of a tree in Westwood, New Jersey, that has a brass hose nozzle completely entombed in the crotch of the two main trunks. It was visible 50 years ago, and I may well be the last person on earth who knows it's there. Another surprise for a chain-saw operator some day. Should I go and erect a plaque on the tree? What is my ethical duty in this case?

[jkogel]

Originally Posted by Richard A. Hetzel

Woodpecker(s) for sure.

Although, I know of a tree in Westwood, New Jersey, that has a brass hose nozzle completely entombed in the crotch of the two main trunks. It was visible 50 years ago, and I may well be the last person on earth who knows it's there. Another surprise for a chain-saw operator some day. Should I go and erect a plaque on the tree? What is my ethical duty in this case?

Well you've told all of us, so now you can relax.

The cutting chain, if it hits the brass nozzle at all, will probably just cut a notch in it and dull out. I've cut lots of nails with a chainsaw, demolitions. It's at the sawmill where people are at risk, IMO, high speed circular saws.

[Linda J. Foster]

Stripping the bark - If the tree was in a pasture with goats -- the goats love the bark and will strip a tree,,, then it dies. it's like dessert to them !

Woodpecker holes is my best guess.

[David A. Andersen]

My Vote is with Duffy!

1. Cedar does not get bugs like other trees.
2. I have never seen pecker holes in cedar.
3. The holes are even numbered and symmetrical like a row of staples.

I have several huge cedars lying out back on the ground that have been there for 5 yrs waiting to become fence posts. Not a bug one!

[sspradling]

.22 bullet holes.
Shooting at the wood pecker that drilled a thousand holes in the siding on the house.
Maybe
Stu

[Mark Nahrgang]

Originally Posted by dandersen

My Vote is with Duffy!

1. Cedar does not get bugs like other trees.
2. I have never seen pecker holes in cedar.
3. The holes are even numbered and symmetrical like a row of staples.

I have several huge cedars lying out back on the ground that have been there for 5 yrs waiting to become fence posts. Not a bug one!

David, I have.

1. Cedar gets old, and sick like any other tree.
2. When the bark sloughs off, even if it's not "infested", it's a great place for bugs to hide.
3. The holes aren't that symmetrical, and look exactly like woodpecker holes. The woodpecker had a 50/50 chance of them being even numbered. Take another picture later on, and there might even be a couple of more. Besides, I've never seen a round staple.