Try to do a patch graft (like skin graft). If it works you will feel good.

Sounds like voles. Look for little turds. Voles killed 2 of my peach trees that i had buried under snow. They will ring the trunk. I've noticed they don't seem to bother bigger trees.. I even had the trunks wrapped in Aluminum foil (ran out of hardware cloth).

Next year everything gets hardware cloth and nothing is getting buried intentionally. I may even clear snow away from the trunk a little.

For what I have noticed, rabbits will just it twigs and buds.

Voles will make tunnels under the snow. I've had a horrible time with them over the year even after killing 20+.

Athena,

I have an option for you. Save some scions (cuttings) from your trees before its too late. Then graft them onto some new rootstocks. I'm teaching 3 grafting classes (you get 2 rootstocks included with registration) and hosting 2 scion wood exchanges in WI.

3-19 Sheboygan (w/ SW Exchange)
3-26 Green Bay
3-27 McFarland (w/ SW Exchange)

Contact me if you're interested. Save your money on new trees and make your own!

Good luck either way,
Little John

I think Frank has it. Voles do far more damage than rabbits. My trees and bushes are either wrapped or eaten. I wrap small trees with 3 foot lengths of drainage tube and larger trees and bushes are wrapped in hardware cloth. Poison also helps but, you will never get rid of them all.

Tube
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100212428/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I'd be surprised if it is voles. My dogs normally take care of the voles so I don't have many around. My husband saw rabbit poo around one of the trees.

I think the peach has too much damage to be saved by a patch graft. It's a wide area that got eaten.

I'll think about grafting my own, Little John. Didn't you do a demo at the Gardenexpo in Madison? I missed it unfortunately, had another seminar at the same time.

Yup, that was me at the Garden Expo...... I guess I'm just obsessed with grafting. Everywhere I go I'm talking about it, especially this time of year. Good Luck! -LJ

athenainwi, would love to rent your dog for a weekend. We have two dogs and feral cats around here (not mine) and still have a huge problem.
A young falcon was sitting on the fence last year, I said to myself "hmm that's cool", just about that time it launched itself off the fence and snagged a vole and landed in the cherry tree about ten feet from my viewing spot. I was sad to see it leave after it finished it's lunch.

Would love to find a "cure all" for these buggers

Voles are a terrible pest here.
Cut off the top scions, put in zip locks and store in fridge. After sap starts flowing bark graft back onto stump below stripped area. Some nice tutorials on you tube. Joe Real and Lon Rom have some nice ones. Lots of fun seeing something saved or sort of created!
Bberry

Voles do all the damage under the snow, agree they do more damage
then rabbits....here anyway. Some people trample the snow down around the trunk, it gets hard and stops the voles from reaching it.

When it comes to Rabbits they don't care snow or not. They are driving me crazy. They destroyed all my young plants of Cucumber, pepper and Cantaloupe. Also they damaged three young apricot trees. I bought a pellet gun and I shoot them with rubber bullets. But they come and cause their damage while I am sleep or not at home. A friend is telling me about a special chain link fence (Rabbit proof)around my garden and orchard area oh boy is very costly.

I too have had extensive damage, over the winter, to our blueberry shrubs. It was definitely rabbits, it is happening above the snow, there are rabbit tracks, and rabbit poop scattered about. These are well established shrubs, most of them 5 or 6 years old. My efforts at discouraging the rabbits with hot pepper spray and Bonide thiram(fungicide) have been ineffective.

Mine too with blueberries. But some eating was 5 ft. high. I thought it couldn't be bunnies. And I don't believe Deer get to my suburban home. But they are 1/2 mile away.

If bunnies, would netting or wrapping them work?