alexbug: Don't apply sealant or try to wrap the damaged area of your trees. This would be more likely to hinder than help them recover. There is a high likelihood that the little trees will recover completely in one season on their own. Insulation from cold is not a consideration. I have had young apple trees 3/4 stripped by buck deer with that unfortunate habit of antler rubbing, and they recovered fully. Now, several years later, you can't even see where the rubbing occurred. You have already done all you can by installing wire cages, now it's just wait and see. Bad dog. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Hi Brute, Just had similar issues and discovered we have Fruit Rats. Our mango had fruit for the first time this year and when they were almost ripe, they started disappearing. I found half of one with teeth marks in it. They seem to come out at night, however I saw one this week up a tree in the late afternoon. The are now gnawing the stalks of other plants and eating the fruit of the areca palms. Gotta get those buggers! Cherie

Melissa, I don't know if you have them in Italy, but here in the USA we have ugly little bugs called "earwigs". I.ve found them in pots of hostas which have had the roots chewed up. Not sure if they are what is causing your damage, but now whenever I repot something I cover drainage holes with a small square of wire mesh screen (the kind window screens are made of. This keeps any nasty bugs from crawling into my pots through the drainage holes. Let me know if this works or if you ever do figure out what is doing the damage.

When hungry, rabbits will gnaw the bark of young tender trees. They love fruit trees such as apples. you reported the gnaw ring was 3 ft above the ground - think snow depth. If it is the work of a rabbit, the gnaw ring will be about 10 inches above the snow crust at the time of the gnaw. One winter, I lost 5 new fruit trees to rabbits. Rabbits prefer the thin bark of young trees to that of a mature trees with thick, dead bark scales. The damage usually occurs after snow has covered the bunny's food sources. I have experience with red squirrels, too. One harsh winter, red squirrels killed my lilacs. They stripped the bark off the limbs starting on the upper part of the twig and worked downward. I have never seen gray squirrels eat bark. They will nip the tips off evergreen trees. They like spruce and arbor-vitae. Porcupines will girdle evergreen trees especially pine. Beaver can bite deep enouth to eventually fall a tree. They prefer young tender decidious trees for food (up to 6 inch diameter), although they will take pine as well. However, given enough time, they can fall a mature tree. I live in a small town (population 10,000) with big cities nearby. I've been here 33 years without beavers, but 3 years ago, a pair moved into a small creek that drains the town and established a dam and beaver house behind a rental property. I discovered them when I noticed that group of small trees by a drainage ditch had been fallen. Froma distance, I though that vandals had been at work with hatchets, but on closer inspection, I saw it was the work of a beaver and that was confirmed when I discovered the beaver dam and two beaver huts. This was surprise. We do have beaver in remote areas. It is rare to see them take up housekeeping in an urban setting.