Squirrels like rabbits oft do stuff out of shere nastiness IMHO although it may be boredom or they are hungary....I like to think they are just JERKS. A while back here someone had what I believe is the BEST solution ...find someone with a good high power pellet gun and have 'em WHACKED...there is really no other way... you could try to live trap them and make them someone elses problem but I think wacking them is your best solution and SOONER rather than later!! David

Maple bark for the most part tends to be thin and pliable and squirrels will often strip it for nesting material. This is a very common problem with Japanese maples and we get countless questions about this each season. In general, stripping of the bark does not cause significant damage to the tree - damage is more likely to occur with the bark being removed from around the trunk circumference. I'd not say the squirrels are the source of the problem and I'd be inclined to look further - there may be other, cultural issues that are affecting the health of the tree and the squirrel problems are just coincidental. If you value the trees, your best move is to call in a qualified certified arborist for an evaluation.

And I'd also consider NOT feeding the squirrels. They are overpopulated in many areas, carry a number of diseases and are overly aggressive and destructive. They are not far removed from other rodents.......like rats. This is also a bit early in the season for them to start harvesting nesting material. I wonder what that may say about our upcoming winter.

We didn't have any gray squirrels here for a number of years, so I think someone may have taken your advice David....live trapped them and made them MY problem. I have another problem tho........I just simply can't kill anything....even if it's destroying something that is very meaningful to me. I do own a Havahart trap and might end up taking your advice to save my trees. I feed them so much, I can't believe they are hungry! And it's not like there are hundreds of them. I think there are only about 6 or 7 that go between our place and our closets neighbors, about a quarter of a mile from here. Boredom? Why has it taken them more than 5 years to grow so bored they'll destroy my trees? To gardengal48.......they are not stripping the bark from the circumference, just the limbs.........at least as far as I can tell from the ground. I can't see way up to the top, but if I stand really far back, I can see many dead or dying branches up at the very top. I do know that these are NOT Japanese maples......I have one of those and so far they are leaving it alone, but it's close to the house where there are many cats and a couple of dogs. What sort of diseases are maples prone to? This tree looks incredibly healthy aside from all the dying branches that we can see have big hunks of bark missing. Well, it's not actually missing, it's on the ground! And if they were using it for nesting material, why do they leave it laying on the ground? I've never seen one in action stripping the bark so is there some other creature that could be doing this? I can't think there are any birds capable of doing this. We have quite a few woodpeckers and they can certainly make some good size holes, but they only seem to work on the dead trees and stumps. Your suggestion on having an aborist come out is great, and I'd do that in a heartbeat, but I'm sure they aren't cheap and I'm poor as a church mouse! Can you tell me how to take a cutting like the one my moms friend gave to me? I realize if the tree itself is "sick" then all I'll be doing is perpetuating the problem, I'm just so worried that I'm going to lose it and there is now no way to get another cutting from either of the other trees. (My moms or her friends) I will call the county extension service and see if they can perhaps tell me something and I'll ask about the cost of an aborist. Maybe the cost isn't as prohibitive as I'm fearing. I really appreciate your advice and if anything else pops into your head, please pass it along. I wonder if the UW aboretum has someone I could talk to? Hmmmmmmm And David........if it looks like the squirrels are indeed the culprits, maybe I could find a "gun for hire" if that's what it's gonna take to save my maples! Thanks to you both!
Linda