Tree damage, what is the cause

   / Tree damage, what is the cause #1  

Code54

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Aug 20, 2005
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Location
Putnam Co. West Virginia
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Kubota MX5100, Kubota BX25D,1957 Farmall Cub Lo-Boy Kubota KX91-3, BCS 853
Was down in the woods today and ran across this tree. The damage goes up almost 8 ス- 9 feet on the tree. The tree is dead but I did not find any insects in the wood, nor any tracks around the bottom.
I was thinking maybe a black bear (know there is one running about) but didn't see any tracks or claw marks so I was looking for other ideas?
 

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   / Tree damage, what is the cause #2  
Appears to be dry rot. Tree has been dead for a long time. Rotting out from the inside. Possibly termites have had a good meal.
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #3  
Could possibly be one of the smaller woodpecker species (Downy, Hairy etc)...

The debris pile looks like what a larger woodpecker leaves but they also would leave signs in the trunk...
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #4  
Appears to be dry rot. Tree has been dead for a long time. Rotting out from the inside. Possibly termites have had a good meal.

+1 What he said.
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #5  
Seems similar to damage I've seen from Pine Beetles (in pine trees) in Mississippi and Colorado.
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #6  
Probably wood peckers, but I have seen similar damage lower down on a tree from raccoons and possums tearing the wood apart to get at bugs. They both leave sizable chunks.
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #7  
The three vertical trenches in the trunk and chips below look similar to the work of pileated woodpeckers. In wood that soft, that is not a long job for a pileated woodpecker. :D
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks - we have a LOT of woodpeckers so that would make sense. It is also very dry and rotted so the two together maybe the cause.
When I first seen it from a distance I was thinking our resident bear got to it but when I got closer that got ruled out so I was at a loss.
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #9  
The three vertical trenches in the trunk and chips below look similar to the work of pileated woodpeckers. In wood that soft, that is not a long job for a pileated woodpecker. :D

My suggestion also.
 
   / Tree damage, what is the cause #10  
Wood peckers go after bugs, worms that are found in diseased/infested trees. They do us a service by attacking the bugs. When they tear into a tree- the tree has already been dead for sometime.
 

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