I’m a bit confused over the time of your move and planting -- but your new trees are being attacked! …and DelaWhere..? " title="Wink" /> Most of us are on the West Coast, in or near the Willamette Valley and its neighboring ‘finger valley’s.’ We don’t always get the same diseases and insects ‘you do’ back East, but I hope someone will take their best guess as to what’s doing the leaf chewing…

And – we don’t have ground hogs … which sounds like a good thing! We do have porcupines, and they like to eat bark, not to mention beavers…

Something that’s worked extremely well for me is slathering on a coat of Roofing Tar around the base of my trees - forest or fruit trees. Even smearing -- actually cleaning off my rubber tar-coated gloves on said tree has kept deer off it for at least one season. Of the many rodent chewers around here, none cared for the taste of petroleum. It doesn’t ‘run off’ and easily expands with the trees growth – needing further applications every two or three years if you still think necessary.

I suspect the gnawed tree will pull out of it; when they’re that young, with small diameters, the bark doesn’t have as far to reestablish before completely healing the wound. Just make sure whatever you wrapped it with will expand; or better yet – un & re wrap it once a year. Or, just try the thick roofing tar…

As for ants, “Tanglefoot” http://www.tanglefoot.com/products/barrier.htm works great. If there’s no other access into the tree, smear some of this ultra-sticky stuff around their trunks ... the ants just pile up on either side; top side ants full with aphid juice, bottom ones empty… I nearly feel sorry for them – but the tree’s much better off.

Maintain your enthusiasm – that alone can win the war