This month our beloved aspen trees have had their bark completely stripped by grey squirrels. So if you thought they were cute animals, think again – they are one of the greatest threats to native woodland, after deer. We loved the aspens’ quivering leaves and they had grown well for eight years with no attacks until now. The trees won’t survive as they are – but we can try coppicing them, or planting more – and maybe spraying the bark with chili or peppermint every spring.
In the past, squirrels have killed the tops of several of our oaks, and have barked many of the hornbeams in the hazel coppice – we will have to fell some of them in the autumn.
After the picture above, the pests came back and cleaned off any remaining bark – see below.
