I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
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I am no arborist but I think you may be encouraging insects, and/or rodents, that can damage the tree. I also wonder if moisture will build up against the trunk causing rot. I would also be concerned that the weight of the stack will damage the roots.I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
More likely to attract Copperheads and kill you
Worst green thumb you ever saw. 3 of the 4 trees I planted in our yard when we moved into our current house have died. Having said that I can’t think stacking wood under and around the trunk would be a good idea. Insects, lack of sun, disease from the other wood types?I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
Of course the breeze and verticals from heat and cooling go right through the stack, as does rain. Others mentioned insects, but I build these stacks next to living trees all the time, and the living trees are not infested.Pretty sure the bark needs to breathe!
Haa! If that were so, I would already be long dead. I have 8 or 10 of these on the property at all times, just not built around trees.More likely to attract Copperheads and kill you
Bingo. Mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and more will nest in the stack, bringing in grasses, leaves, and more. That will encourage fungus, molds, insects, and more. The animals may also chew on the bark. Not good for the tree.I am no arborist but I think you may be encouraging insects, and/or rodents, that can damage the tree. I also wonder if moisture will build up against the trunk causing rot. I would also be concerned that the weight of the stack will damage the roots.
All those critters live in the other stacks NEXT to live trees. No bark chewing.Bingo. Mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and more will nest in the stack, bringing in grasses, leaves, and more. That will encourage fungus, molds, insects, and more. The animals may also chew on the bark. Not good for the tree.
And a stacked circle will not have as good air circulation as straight stack. More disease issues.
I bet about now he's thinking to himself... "I wish I asked this question before I stacked the wood around the tree."Bingo. Mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and more will nest in the stack, bringing in grasses, leaves, and more. That will encourage fungus, molds, insects, and more. The animals may also chew on the bark. Not good for the tree.
And a stacked circle will not have as good air circulation as straight stack. More disease issues.
Haa! If that were so, I would already be long dead. I have 8 or 10 of these on the property at all times, just not built around trees.
All those critters live in the other stacks NEXT to live trees. No bark chewing.
I dont care if it will 100% GUARANTEED kill the tree, I ain't moving it.Dem, it appears you are seeking support for what you have already done and are not getting it. I can't blame you for trying because moving that wood stack will be a major pain in the arse. Perhaps an arborist will chime in, but I suspect if they agreed it was a bad idea, you would seek a second opinion.
I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
Powder post beetles find their way to every stack, sooner or later, at my place. We were pretty careful not to damage the bark. It is a wild shagbark hickory which was growing here when we built the house in 97.I don't see much of a problem, if you're going to be taking it away for burning in the next year. The insects that come after cut wood are different than the insects coming after live trees. Powder post beetle is about the worst you'll find and they come after the dead wood. You'll see piles of sawdust if you have them.
The problem you might have is if you barked the tree. If you did it in the spring when the sap starts flowing, the bark can sluff off pretty quick. That allows rot and insects to come into the open wound.
I would think you'll do less damage than banging that tree with your mower or hitting the bark with your string trimmer.
My advice is to ignore 100% of the advice in the thread.I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
Nay. He spells his last name wrong.Larry, are you the same Shultz that creates the Peanuts cartoons?
I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
Well, I did. But mice, chipmunks, squirrels, etc are in ALL the stacks. Where I live is not a suburb. It is the woods. All the animals are here.I bet about now he's thinking to himself... "I wish I asked this question before I stacked the wood around the tree."
I was actually envisioning another scenario that had nothing to do with animals and didn't translate well in my post.Well, I did. But mice, chipmunks, squirrels, etc are in ALL the stacks. Where I live is not a suburb. It is the woods. All the animals are here.
And here is another shocker. I have 60 ACRES of trees here. The animals do not chew on the bark of the trees. It's not a f#cking beaver colony lol.
alleged murder hornets, innocent until found guiltyOr Murder Hornets that will murder you.
It was more idle curiosity than anything, cuz as I told fair,I ain't moving that stack until it goes to the woodstove, earliest fall of 2021. If the tree dies its going in the woodstove, too. I got one guy in this thread who's a forester (Gump), and he says not likely to be problem, which is what some timbercutters told me before I did it.I was actually envisioning another scenario that had nothing to do with animals and didn't translate well in my post.
I envisioned you sweating your a$$ off for several hours stacking the wood (hard labor). Then, you grab a nice big glass of iced tea, sit down on the rocker on the shaded porch, staring at your work, and the question enters your mind "I wonder if that will kill the tree, maybe I should ask the experts on the BWI board".
After seeing the responses, it occurs to you in order to save the tree, you are going to have to unstack and restack the pile elsewhere. "Damn - there's another couple of hours of back-breaking work."
Oh well...best of luck to you whatever you decide.
I built a wood stack around a living tree. Will it draw insects and kill the tree?
Cool. While I was at PSU I roomed with a horticulture major and he’d give lectures on the trees we’d pass while walkIng to town. I don’t remember any specifics but he did love his trees.Might daughter is a Professor of Forestry and a certified arborist, so FWIW, while she would not recommend doing this, she believes it's unlikely to harm the tree in the short term. So if you are planning to use the wood this winter, I would not worry about it!
Now we are getting down to it. I WILL be leaving it there until fall 2021, but i suppose I could change it if it looks like the tree is impacted. This is just outside my driveway, downhill from the house, and the driveway water flows right to it. These were all the same concerns I heard from the timbercutters I spoke with ahead of time, so it should be fairly obvious this fall (if the leaves drop early) or next spring (if the new growth is late or otherwise retarded).Might daughter is a Professor of Forestry and a certified arborist, so FWIW, while she would not recommend doing this, she believes it's unlikely to harm the tree in the short term. So if you are planning to use the wood this winter, I would not worry about it!
and then there's also rattlesnakes
I had a buddy who was a Horticulture major. He was the best Hackey-Sack player ever and, he also had the best weed!Cool. While I was at PSU I roomed with a horticulture major and he’d give lectures on the trees we’d pass while walkIng to town.