All but three of my figs are grown in containers.   Of the three grown outside, one has been in the ground about 10 years and the other two are espalier experiments, only two years old.  

Two days ago I went to check on one of the espalier figs and was horrified to see that it had been completely stripped of all its bark.   The other espalier fig was also stripped clean, and below ground level...     I also noticed that the leaf packing inside was mostly gone.     Last year they were untouched.  

For these two figs, I cover them with tarps and stuff them with leaves.  The edges are sealed with bricks.

Today a fig friend was visiting.  We went out in the yard to take some cutting from the oldest fig tree.  This was my second fig plant and my first fig to be grown in the ground.   I had built a plywood box that is held together with wingnuts (a lot of trouble, but okay for one fig).    It has been protected for at least 8 of those ten years without trouble.   I was completely horrified to see that "the varmint" had somehow gotten inside and had really had a feast, girdling the figs down to the ground...   Also, the box was stuffed with leaves and only about 25% remain.  I had never seen the disappearance of packing leaves before.

I've read about other folk's issues over the years and have had various encounters with damage on other fruit trees including the packrat fig branch thievery incident last fall.   I also remember Bass' disaster a few years ago.    All frustrating moments.   

So, in the future I will need to consider a repellant, poison or a trap.   That will be on the list next fall.   Recommendations will be appreciated.  

I have not seen the creature.   Does anyone have any ideas about which specific varmint might be responsible?   Mice?  Packrats?  ???   I've included some photos below. (The largest trunk on the old fig is almost 3 inches in diameter)

I know that the old fig will recover.  The two smaller figs might also come back...   Arghhhh.
Ingevald

I wonder if the unchewed tops could still work for cuttings?

So far, fingers crossed, a wad of cat hair wrapped around the bases of trunks has worked for me.

Hate to see that.  I'll be checking my wrapped tree this weekend.

Norweigen rats or voles.  Both are serious problem where I live.

I did some reading on the characteristics of voles.   I am thinking that this might be the culprit.   The fig that was covered by the wooden box, sits on top of cinder blocks and is fairly well sealed.   Voles burrow in the soil and could have come from below.   They also live on tree roots (gulp).   So, they may have completely finished off those figs trees...   Now I am wondering if there is anything left at all.    

Vole removal appears to have its challenges.   Trapping is not effective.   Deterrents might work but send them to other areas.    I found one site that recommended gassing them with internal combustion engine exhaust.  Gads...

What has worked well for getting rid of voles?

Ingevald

Definitely a vole damage. Had the same issue just few weeks ago. Last week I declared war on them once I saw two of my young Pin Oak were leaning very close to the ground. Most of the roots were eaten and the bark were chewed off. I used Apple and mouse trap to trap them. Also Peanut Butter works as well. Caught two of them in one week.

Something useful;

http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/vole-damage-to-oak/

Navid.


Edit; My experience with these pests- http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/I-gave-up-6174105

Thanks for the links - I also just found this one from the other week that I had missed http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/Underground-Exterminator-6192666?highlight=voles    I should have looked there first.     Now that I have the vole problem, I am noticing that many of our forum members have also had the issue.   

Thanks for your posts and information.
Ingevald

I would recommend performing a bridge graft to the older tree to try to save the tree in its current state. If you can at least try, it may save the canopy, and make you a descent crop of figs this year. Here is a link to get you started, but do your research and you can save tree, then worry about the daggum vole!
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/dg0532c.html

Ohhhh no..... It's not my tree, but caring for a tree of TEN YEARS would horrify me too. Sorry to hear

@Ingevald, hope you catch the culprits. Looks like I would need to check the one tree
that was protected.

Same thing happened to me before. It's a shock to see all that years growth gone while your waiting for spring.
I was told to use "scoot" which is used to stop rodent chewing and bobcat urine to keep the rodents away.
Also if you want to use a natural method, Lavender, Mint and Garlic is suppose to repel them. I'm in the process of trying the garlic this winter.
Last time I checked everything was ok, I need to check things this weekend again.

Seeing the bark made me sick to my stomach. How sad for you. I'd be heart broken. I agree with the comment about getting cuttings from the tree. Do it now while they are still viable. A graft, if doable, sounds like a great idea. Like a medical transplant for trees!

The tops of the branches are alive.  I got a few cuttings.  It was horrifying to see ten years of growth wiped out like that.

I have fought voles for years here in Virginia. I use black plastic drain pipe. I cut it into 8 inch to foot and a half pieces depending on how low to the ground the first branches appear. I split the pipe so I can get it around the tree. I work the pipe a couple inches into the ground and then add very course gravel both inside and around the pipe. This allows me to weed whack around the trees without ripping them up and it keeps critters off the bottom of the tree.
I do not fill the pipe up completely as I don't want to give the critter anything to sit on while he tries to eat the bark.
I've used this method on over 1200 trees and it seems to work extremely well, but I 've never used it on trees I've had to cover up. There used to be a bark wrap product that was designed to protect bark from being chewed. 
I also very aggressively encourage predators. With the exception of feral house cats (which I trap and dispose of) I put perches for owls, encourage black snakes, etc,
I've had this system save several orchards.
Example. 5 years ago I moved onto an organic farm. There was a small peach orchard. One day I came home and for some reason (farmer's intuition) I went up and checked the peach orchard, - something I rarely did. The trees were extremely close to being "ringed" completely. I used this method and the problem disappeared. 

I have no idea if this will help but, . . . 
Good luck. mgg

MG yup that should work it stop the rabbits over here in 1990 when i planted many young tree's .
It used to be cheap back then at HD not sure how they price it nowadays.
In 89 they chewed right thru the bark of some seedlings never to again now there decent size tree's.

Martin,
I haven't used lately as everything fig wise is in pots, but for the money the above method used to be dirt cheap. I did an 1100 tree Filbert orchard for less the 2 bucks a tree back in '99 and it stopped my critter problems. Well, except the occasional deer that went over the 10 1/2 foot electric fence. I also did a 100+ tree fruit orchard that year. One of the reasons I don't chase off the foxes is they are great at munching on voles, even if they used to nab about 1 chicken per month - a small price to pay. The local falconry guys used to come up to hunt bunnies for me also.
mgg

I'm adding that black plastic drain pipe idea to my list of critter defense items.  My neighbor across the street has seen voles run across the street from our new yard to his.  Often vineyards use tube protection against rabbit damage for new vines.  Weeds seem to grow like crazy, and even the voles don't want them!

Sorry about your trees!  Good luck with them!  If they have roots, maybe shoots will spring up from below.

Suzi

Also, that grey flexible cable works too but the black drain pipe stuff is thicker.  You can get a bag of the grey flex cable from IKEA for next to nothing.  It's about an inch in a half in diameter.  It looks like a grey snake in a bag.  You can cut it with a pair of sccissors.  It use it on smaller diameter trees.  Voles are a problem in my area too.  You know, we try to do the right thing by growing our own and have so many obstacles that pop up like this.  It's just not right!

When I protected my tree last year I put a small jar of mothballs with holes in the lid next to the trunk.  I didn't have any damage but I also have a cat that patrols the backyard.  Ingevald, seeing your trees though is worrisome.  Does anyone else know how effective mothballs are as a deterrent?  I just want to make sure for the future that I have taken precautions that will work.

Steve

Wow!   Thank you very much for the suggestions for dealing with this problem.  They are greatly appreciated.
Ingevald

Wow, my heart sank when I saw those photos. Sorry to see that. Absolutely encourage predators. They are the best defense.

I used mothballs too this year. They are protecting the trees in the garage with good results so far. I also have mouse traps set and I caught 3 this winter. Spring is just around the corner, we're on the home stretch now. It won't be long before we start to dance with the fig trees doing the fig shuffle!

Ingevald,

Folks have offered a lot of good suggestions so there's not much left to recommend. I'll just add this though.

First, Cajun made a great suggestion. I would try the bridge graft if it were me. Since everything is still dormant, the material above the damage could still be alive.You can dig up some roots from the same tree and bridge them from the ground to the trunks above the damage. You could even dig up the whole tree (if you're so inclined) and re-bury it a little deeper. This would close the gap a bit on how much root you'd have above ground. You could then cover the bridge area with mulch.

The pipe around the trunks is also a great idea.

Here's my biggest contribution. If you want to continue using the same winter protection method you've been using, I suggest that you stop using the leaves and switch to mulch. I know this would be a little more of an expense but the mulch is more dense making it not as easy for the critters to burrow around in. A friend of mine reported the same issues as you when he used leaves. I've been using mulch for a couple of years now and haven't had a problem yet.

If you know of a saw mill nearby, you may be able to get loads of mulch pretty cheap. I found one about 4 miles from my house. They sell pick-up loads of pure bark mulch for $20. They really load my truck trailer down with their big front-end loader too :) . I thought the tires were going to pop a couple of times when the mulch was wet!

Hope this helps.

wow that's messed up i hope you get them critters.

AUSTIN

If it was me, I would prepare a huge airlayer to allow the upper growth to root into a new pot. someone has a split pot on top of another upside down, so there would be enough support for the new tree. 

Or if you have a way to build a box around it to put more soil up to the tree to ger roots happening while still supported by the main tree.  This breaks my heart...


the link posted by Navid is very good, I woul think a mesh like that, would allow the upper trunk to send roots down... (like it's sister strangler!)