| Rabbits can present a major hazard for small coast redwood seedlings. The seedlings in the adjacent picture were all bitten off by rabbits. Rabbit damage is recognized by the smooth cut at about a 45 degree angle. A frayed stem usually indicates deer graze. These seedlings were found Oct. 11, 1997. Prior to this time, only about one seedling per year had been cut down by rabbits at this site. |
Redwood Seedlings Cut by Rabbits |
| Squirrels strip bark from redwoods that are large enough to have bark suitable for nests. The worst damage that we have seen was on a 25 ft. tall coast redwood at the Auburn University Arboretum. Unfortunately, I do not have a good photograph of this damage. The squirrel nest shown in the adjacent photo was located about 60 ft. up in a 90 ft. tall dawn redwood. Although dawn redwood bark is not as thick as coast redwood bark, squirrels like to strip it too. |
Squirrel Nest in Dawn Redwood |
| Many of the southeastern insect varieties are not indigenous to California. Therefore, we can expect to find damage that does not occur in the native habitat. The adjacent photo of one of the coast redwoods in Williamsburg, Virginia, shows a considerable amount of white sawdust at the base of the tree that was removed by some type of boring insect. The white color indicates that it comes from the outer sapwood. The heartwood is protected the tannin content which also gives it the red color. This photo was made by Bill Baker, a photographer employed to photograph the Williamsburg redwoods for the booklet Growing Redwood Timber in the Southeastern United States. |
Williamsburg Redwood Damaged by Insects |
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Dawn Redwood
