Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Evergreen Trees and Shrubs > Fir > Bark chewed or removed
Fir > Trunk/Branches > Bark chewed or removed
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Deer feeding/antler rubbing
- Long lines of shredded or peeled off bark along main trunk up to 3 feet off the ground from antler rubbing; wood may appear shiny or "polished"
- Needles and small branches (
- Feeding occurs from the ground up to 6 feet or slightly higher; ragged edges, same as above; if the bark is removed by a deer there will be no teeth marks
- More information on Problems with deer
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Porcupine damage
Erethizon dorsatum
- Bark chewed or removed on trunk and branches at any level
- Higher branches snipped off with clean, smooth, slanted cut
- Snipped-off twigs on ground
- More common in northern Minnesota during winter and on young trees with thinner bark
- More information on Porcupine damage
