I'm unpacking my potted figs from winter storage and found a bunch girdled by mice. Some are just partly damaged but others will not make it. I am going to root the tops again but it's 3-4 years work down the drain for these varieties. I'm not done accessing the damage, but among the victims is my 3 year old Smith! 2 leaders 5' tall. I'm so pissed off!

That sucks! Sorry for your loss, hopefully you will still have a great season.

After going through all the work of protecting from the weather.  I feel for you.

Sorry to hear that - very frustrating.

I wish I could send Chester over. He's my neighbor's cat and he lords over my property with ruthless efficiency.

You have to set traps. I get about a dozen  in my garage every winter

If the crown has been eaten below the soil they won't come back. You can try grafting onto the root system though, it could save a little bit of work.

The first winter with the greenhouse I put out a couple traps. When I opened the door in the spring, and before I could say "be careful..." my 2 year old put his hand right into one of the traps. That was the end of that. I think I'll do bait next year. Maybe a repellent spray.

Grafting is not a bad idea. Never done that.

Try sticky glue traps next year for mice and other vermin. Very effective and safe. Place around perimeter of space and/or near plants.

Check out how to make a bucket trap for mice, it has been doing a great job for me.

If you graft roots just keep in mind the cambium is deeper, or in other words the bark on roots is thicker, the darker line shown below. You can do cleft grafts where both sides line up because roots are much more flexible. Whip and tongue works well also if you practice and get the hang of it.

 

That really sucks.  It's similar to what happened to some of my lightly covered in-ground trees.

I'm a big fan of sticky traps, but I never used them deliberately to protect fig trees.  I think next year I'm going to put 1-2 traps per tree inside the winter covers.

This is horrible! I'm so sorry for you. It wouldn't be quite as bad if it were some itty, bitty trees. Maybe the rootstock can still be of use.

could you air layer them with a bottomless pot at the base and root hormones.