moles and tree
 

Hi, we just moved in this house. We have a tree in the front yard. We
found it is sick. It looks very dry and the inside is all dried up.
And the leaves are falling. We have no clue. Some people said the
ground was too dry. Some people said too much water. Today, I found a
mole built all his tunnels around the root of the tree. I some how
digged it out but did not catch it. Could the reason for the sick tree
be the mole? And how to get rid of the mole?

Thank you very much.

qq

moles and tree
 

--
Many tree problems are associated with the following: They are Case
Sensitive.

Troubles in the Rhizosphere
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html

Unhealthy Trees from the Nursery / Improper Planting
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub1.html
and
Look up "Tree Planting" http://www.treedictionary.com

Improper Mulching - http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub3.html
and
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/ Look up "Mulch"

Improper Pruning
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/tree_pruning

Improper Fertilization (See A Touch of Chemistry)
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/CHEM.html

Tree Farming and Related Problems
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/SOUND/

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

"finecur" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, we just moved in this house. We have a tree in the front yard. We
found it is sick. It looks very dry and the inside is all dried up.
And the leaves are falling. We have no clue. Some people said the
ground was too dry. Some people said too much water. Today, I found a
mole built all his tunnels around the root of the tree. I some how
digged it out but did not catch it. Could the reason for the sick tree
be the mole? And how to get rid of the mole?

Thank you very much.

qq

moles and tree
 

finecur wrote:
Hi, we just moved in this house. We have a tree in the front yard. We
found it is sick. It looks very dry and the inside is all dried up.
And the leaves are falling. We have no clue. Some people said the
ground was too dry. Some people said too much water. Today, I found a
mole built all his tunnels around the root of the tree. I some how
digged it out but did not catch it. Could the reason for the sick tree
be the mole? And how to get rid of the mole?

Thank you very much.

qq


I've never heard of a mole hurting a tree. If there is a connection
between the mole being in that place and the tree being sickly it might
be that moles subsist almost entirely on insects and invertebrates (some
actually are said to eat small mammals like mice so I qualify my
statement). But they certainly do not eat plants. But if you had an area
with too many insects, which might be damaging the tree, it might well
attract moles wishing to eat them.

Now, on to the tree. What does "and the inside is all dried up" mean?
The inside of the tree is dried up? Or something else. Unless the tree
is some sort of hardy desert species it could very well be in need of a
consistent source of moisture. But if it has been heavily stressed
already there may be nothing you can do for it on your own. If you value
the tree it might be well to call in an arborist to either diagnose it
or give it the last rites.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com