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Choosing and Pruning Trees to Support Wildlife · Talking Trees with Davey Tree

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Davey Tree Expert Company's podcast, Talking Trees.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Doug Oyster.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Each week, our expert arborists share advice on seasonal tree care, how to make your trees thrive, arborists' favorite trees, and much, much more.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Tune in every Thursday to learn more because here at the Talking Trees Podcast, we know trees are the answer.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, today I'm welcoming back Michael Sudberg.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: He is a district manager for the Debut Tree Expert Company in the Denver area.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: And today we're talking about choosing and pruning trees that support wildlife.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the show, Michael.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks for having me back.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Before we get going on that, how is the end of winter and beginning of spring out there?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: We have just been incredibly dry and warmer than usual.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh chapstick season extended, I guess.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we finally got some rain today, but it might have been the first rain we've really had in like months, but then also it wasn't snow like you'd expect in March.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: So a little weird here.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, whenever I hear that, uh that's the worst thing anybody that loves plants can hear is that uh it's dry.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're not getting what we need.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: So let's hope hand watering.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's hope that doesn't perpetuate.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: So for for the topic, uh when I'm looking at it, choosing and pruning trees that support wildlife.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Do all trees support wildlife in some way?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: I would think so, right?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess that's kind of the main thing is when talking about choosing trees or uh pruning approaches for wildlife, is like it really starts with actually putting in trees and intentionally going to the max with your landscape because uh in every single way trees can help wildlife.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's just the more the merrier, really.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Are there certain trees that we consider better for wildlife?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's there's some that are maybe more um, you know, food producers.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you've got things that produce berries or acorns, things that just provide food supply to wildlife, but then there's also kind of some secondary ways that the um trees can support wildlife.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, let's say you have trees, they have some caterpillars, but it's not crazy, it's not something where it's causing you troubles, but that's food supply for birds, and so then you're gonna bring birds to the landscape because they're going for the caterpillars, and you know, there's lots of indirect relationships than just is it eating something my tree is producing?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: So if I'm in the Denver area, I come to you and I say, Michael, I want to grow trees that are gonna help wildlife, the palate would be wide, right?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you I guess you could steer them, certainly.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: We know uh with uh the sunlight and uh soil conditions, we're looking for the right tree, right place.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: But where would you go if somebody wanted to, you know, specifically said, like, I'm just really into wildlife, and that's why I'm gonna be growing trees?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think things that come to mind for maybe your berries that can be produced for birds, I'd be leaning more towards like hawthorns, you can get um, you know, plums, cherries, service berry is a real popular one that's tough out here, but also supports a lot of birds with its berries, uh, crab apples, you can get some of that fruit production.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: But then also, if you're just talking like other wildlife, maybe not necessarily birds, you might go with uh oak trees.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna be a big acorn producer for squirrels and deer and things that can eat acorns and get the food supply from that.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and they're also just good trees for Colorado.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um then I'd also look at evergreens, you get your pines and spruce, like the seeds from those.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: You can get some bird activity just from what the cones produce, but also they provide uh good thermal coverage, so habitat for the birds for the wintertime, you know, they're better off in like a pine or a spruce.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it could be a good place to house wildlife as well.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's funny that even out east here, service berry is a favorite tree too.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: So that's gotta be a tough one if it's growing all the way across the country.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh now I know those berries are edible for us too, but the birds always get them first in my landscape.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a fight with mine for me and the birds.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh I can usually get my hands on some, but if I sleep on it too much, they they take them all.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: When you're planting a service berry, is it like a single tree or multi-stem?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Mine's like multi-stem, so that's mostly what I see.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can get both out here.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've found the multi-stem to be way easier.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like you have kind of more eggs in the basket if something goes wrong with a stem, it's you can live with losing it or a new shoot might pop up.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: But a single trunk one, like they're pretty in their own right, but it's I don't know, I haven't seen as many as successful with a single trunk, so I I go clump with those.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's good to know.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when I'm planting a service berry, are there a bunch of different service berries, or for the most part, it's like like the native service berry, you buy it and you put it in, or are there lots of different ones?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I just go with like the native standard stock service berry.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I believe like the single trunk, they'll have you know an autumn brilliance, something that might have a fall color to it, or something that's a little bit more refined.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: But truly, if you're just trying to support wildlife, they don't care about the fall color so much.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but we do.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's true, that's true.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: But they still have nice fall color anyways.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think the clumps are great.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that kind of brings another point when you talk about service berries like pretty widespread across the country.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when you're talking about what supports wildlife well, anything that's kind of more on the native or you know, typically there in the natural landscape is also what's kind of co-evolved with your wildlife.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so they're they're used to that as a food supply, and it's not like they're trying to figure out how to open a coconut in your yard, and you know, you live up north somewhere.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: So matching it with native plants is another good way to tailor your wildlife habitat.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: And let's talk crab apples because I've got an old crab apple that's on its last legs.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's been hit by other trees that have fallen like two or three times.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Every time Davy comes, or they're like, let's just take it out of here.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: I said, No, no, this is one of my favorite trees, and there's not much left of it.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think this will be the last year.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: But this plant, since it's an old one, it always gets uh apple scab, it always drops leaves at the end of the season.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: There are lots of other varieties though of crab apples, newer ones and cool ones that aren't quite as prone to the disease, right?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, with anything that's in the plant disease world like that, they have different susceptibilities based on the cultivars, and it always seems like an inverse relationship, the more like boutique and uh you know modified they've made some cultivars, they seem to be a little bit more susceptible to problems than some of the tried and true ones that are a little bit more vanilla.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: But so I think this is interesting that we've got two trees that we can both grow, even though we're on opposite sides of the country.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: How about when you talk about oaks?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Are you planting a different oak than we'd have out here east?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: On the east, we'd have a white oak, a red oak, uh, I'm sure some other varieties that I don't know anything about.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're pretty similar with the oaks.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: We've had a little bit of an issue with uh a scale insect called Kermes scale that's kind of made red oaks a little bit more problematic.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I think people have been a little bit more towards like white oaks, burr oaks, swamp white oaks are popular, especially with like tougher soils out here.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and they all they all make acorns, so it's it's nice, good way to enhance a landscape with a hardy tree that's reliable and and also produces some food for anything.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've even even read some research about oaks that just you know, caterpillars are gonna be up in there and and you know, lots of different types of caterpillars, so you've got different types of birds coming in.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: But like you said, those acorns, those are that's a reliable source uh for squirrels and other wildlife.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: How about pruning uh for wildlife?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't sure about that.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't sure where where you were gonna go with that.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's kind of an interesting take.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think a couple ways to look at it for pruning and wildlife is uh, you know, let's say you have a part of your yard that you're not so worried about, like a dead branch comes down and hits something, you know, maybe it's a thought of leaving um some functional dead wood for like bird perching or bird nesting.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you'll see some of the birds of prey way at the top of a tree on like a dead, a dead top of a cottonwood, let's say, and you know, the arborist in you is always like, guy, I gotta prune that out, gotta prune that out.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh if it's maybe not a safety hazard and you're more interested in seeing how it works with your wildlife dynamics, is leaving something like that in.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, those kind of like big dead sections of old, old trees also can be, you know, nest cavities for birds and uh or or they're like mammals can nest inside of a hollow of a tree that typically you'd be like, oh, it's got this hollow, it's got to go.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: But if it's not threatening property and it could, you know, it could safely fail, then you might look at keeping it.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then maybe it's not exactly pruning, but also if you talk about tree removals, if there's an old hollow log, maybe you can leave it on the property and uh you know, animals can nest in it or overwinter inside of it.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So you can be intentional with what you do with your debris to help with your wildlife.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think maybe the last thing, maybe on more of a forested property, is if you're trying to get light penetration down to understory plants to get a more diverse kind of forest profile, that's another approach to get some light in and just uh add some different layers to the property.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I think, you know, I don't I wouldn't look at fine pruning a tree to give like exact bird spacing per branch or something like that.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'd go that far into the weeds, but I think it's just uh yeah, how you how you work the space depending on how your property is laid out to prune for wildlife.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it's really hard as a homeowner, at least it was for me, to leave these things, to leave something that's not a danger, but it's something that the woodpeckers are going to enjoy.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, also a place for nesting, not just birds, but mammals too.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: But once you I think you have that mindset and the tree is not going to uh have any targets around it, why not if you love wildlife?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh why not just just leave this stuff there?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: I know that we're kind of conditioned to to have the perfect space, you know.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: But in my case, I'm on four acres.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: I love helping the wildlife, and it's just part of part of the landscape that I enjoy now compared to just being completely all cleaned up and everything perfect.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm like I'm kind of on the other side of the struggle.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have much in my yard yet.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm trying to like grow in all kinds of stuff, but I you know, definitely going into like an established yard.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, sometimes you have to fight the urge to just get it all overly pruned out and cleaned up when it could be where you know animals are using the space.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, it's it's an interesting balance between arborist perfection and natural habitat and how you can get kind of the best of both worlds.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: So talk a little bit about your journey and adding plants to your landscape.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: When is the ideal time in Denver to be doing your planting?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for us, spring and fall is your best weather for planting.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's just, you know, we're trying to catch gaps between being really hot and dry and new plants struggling.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it gives them some time to get their roots established before the heat really tests them.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: I we found spring is kind of your best plant availability.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: You get lots of restocks at the nursery and fresh plants.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Fall is a phenomenal time to plant as far as the weather is concerned, but sometimes something you're looking for could be gone by fall.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of the two things we fight for spring versus fall.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, either time you plant them, it's it's uh just a matter of keeping things well watered, get some mulch down for them, keep them well cared for so the transplant shock is minimized.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and yeah, in my own yard, I've I've you know probably planted eight or ten trees.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: And just being the arborist in me, I'm trying to get some good diversity of species.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: That way, you know, you just don't lose everything all at once to an event or a pest or a disease.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: But um I put in some birch, some maples, some oaks, service berry.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I put in a tulip tree just for experimental purposes.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and uh it's been great.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't have a ton of wildlife around uh my neighborhood, we're kind of a newer build, but I've got the bird feeders up and I'm just trying to kind of foster it all right now.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully one day it happens more organically that birds are just visiting because there's seeds and fruits, and um maybe the the mammals will follow.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so when you decided to choose these trees for your landscape, how big were they when they were going in the ground?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: You have access to and knowledge about planting that we don't.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: So when you were looking for specimens, discuss a little bit about how you shop for uh trees for your own property.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh first of all, I love love the shopping experience as an arborist walking through a nursery.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's like uh kid at the candy store, I guess.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I typically will just go for you know manageable container sizes that I can plant myself and you know, transport myself.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then anything that's smaller is typically a little bit easier on the establishment curve.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So if I can dig the hole at the shovel and plant it with my own bare hands, it's typically a smaller tree size that it might look dinky at first, but then after a year or two, it's really popping and filling out.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I've I've generally been in like the probably 10 and 15 gallon containers.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I did a couple trees up in the front of the house that since they're curb side, I was able to do more delivery with like two-inch ball and burlap.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Neighbor had to help plant kind of style, but uh it's all filling in slowly but surely.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's fun to see.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: And certainly having patience is important, and we've talked about this in the podcast all the time about choosing smaller things to plant because they catch on so much quicker.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: But as you said, before you know it, those plants are gonna be you'll be surprised how fast they'll be growing.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And like I think the best adage is just that the you know, the best time to plant a tree is yesterday.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: So there's just just don't don't wait, don't delay.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: And before you know it, you're like, oh man, this thing needs to be like climbed now for pruning, and it's a big tree.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that's you know, all the appointments we ever go out to look at yards and help folks with is like I never imagined it would get this large, or you know, I planted this from Home Depot and it's now 50 feet tall, and it's like you just time flies, but the trees are always growing.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's fun, isn't it?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: It is, it is, and I it's cool to see just like the start to finish like that.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because I've been to some properties where it's like my grandpa planted this, and it's at the the house has been in the family for multiple generations, and that it maybe even the grandpa's there, and he's like, Yep, it was one inch diameter when I planted it, and now it's like a you know 40-inch oak tree, and it's pretty cool to see.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm assuming that your choices of diversity in planting that also will be a positive for wildlife because every different species is gonna attract different wildlife, is that right?
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Correct, and different timing too.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: You might have something that flowers early spring, so that's like your first source for nectar for bees or hummingbirds that you know they wouldn't otherwise have if you didn't plant it.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, same goes for like fruit production.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Some stuff might bear fruit in the summer and provide food, or some things maybe more late in the fall.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know so like our hawthorns out here are pretty popular because they'll hold the fruit into the winter, and so it's like it's a winter food source.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's not much other tree material that provides that.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you throw in all the different, you know, and I within insects, it's like obviously you're balancing aesthetic thresholds, and when do you need to step in and do something because you got a complete infestation?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: But the kind of whole integrated pest management approach of you treat when it reaches a level versus just treat because you saw a caterpillar, is where you can have some stuff that ends up intentionally bringing in animals for food source because it isn't just like you're trying to kill every single bug on a property.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another train of thought.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great point.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and and we know from being gardeners and for being stewards of the land that oftentimes nature does a pretty good job at balancing, and it's oftentimes when we step in and you do get a situation because there are people, it's it's understandable.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: We're kind of taught this through, especially when we get to the spring, all these ads about bugs and how bad bugs are.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: But like you said, as long as it's not an infestation, that that's just part of the cycle of nature.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you think about how often some things just get taken care of by the circle of life.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay, there was a little aphids popping up here, but all of a sudden, you know, a couple weeks later you just see ladybugs everywhere, and you say, Oh, well, this is kind of taking care of itself.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't really need to step in.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm I'm kind of more thinking in terms of bugs you don't really want is I don't I don't think I would want woodpeckers at my ash tree because I have emerald ash borer.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like I might be wanting to prevent a pest that's gonna kill my tree, but something that's just snacking on foliage and it's still aesthetically pleasing.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, okay, well, this is food for something else, and it's all kind of kept in check and balance on its own, which is it's great.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly something we look at is on a case-by-case basis, as you said, you know, nobody wants emerald ash borer, but a few caterpillars up there in the oak tree that can uh feed the chickadees.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: So, Michael, for your landscape, what are you hoping to attract as far as wildlife or help wildlife-wise?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, for sure.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: I for me, I love birds.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got bird feeders out.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping ultimately it's like my service berry just becomes huge and gets a whole flock of birds coming in.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: Bird nesting will be great to see too if we ever get you know the tree size that they might be more comfortable throwing a nest in uh as the trees grow.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I don't know, they just bring a lot of like joy to the landscape seeing all different birds moving in and out for taking a snack.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, upgraded my birdbath this spring, you know.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh small wins, I guess, but it's been cool to see all of them enjoy it.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because otherwise, like in a newer area, there's just not a ton of like established wildlife.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm even, I guess I'm kind of fortunate I don't have a squirrel problem with my bird feeders, but it's kind of because we don't really have that like full, full, diverse wildlife yet all around us.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: And one day I will, but it probably also means I have cool uh coyotes or hawks around.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's all that kind of check and balance thing, I guess, and maybe some more deer might be showing up to browse uh as more stuff grows in.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: So uh that's kind of the big one for me is just kind of liking to look at the birds when I'm at home and peek out the window at them.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh that's my ultimate tree goal, I guess, is shade coverage, all that's there.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: But side benefit is I should be able to get some good bird activity over the years.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're kindred spirits when it comes to that.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: I love feeding the birds.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: I just, you know, was did a uh TV spot here locally about making your own suet for the birds, and one of the hosts was telling me kind of the same story you were saying.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's like it's a newer development.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: She's had a feeder up, she hasn't seen any birds yet.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, just give it time, just leave that feeder full, make sure you're sure you clean it, and the birds will come eventually, even in uh an urban environment and even in like a new construction.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's it's amazing that they just find the food.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you think about how many houses are around me, but there's not a lot of just native areas where you see the birds coming from, and they just they find our little postage stamp yard, and I get all kinds of birds if I keep the feeders full.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Was the um the Builder O and Suit?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Were they talking about adding hot pepper for squirrel prevention?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: Or I was talking about that, and this is kind of a funny story of a host that I used to work with who has since passed away.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: I took on uh this the stuff I put on my seed to keep the squirrels off it, and I mean it is the it's it's so hot that when you it just open it and pour it on the seed and mix it up, you get the hot pepper.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, he actually drank it live on TV, and I had to finish the segment.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, yeah.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: He was just the funniest guy, and he he just I said, Don't don't do it, John, don't do it.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he he says, I love hot things, it's not even food grade.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: And he he he took a drink of it, and like I said, I had to finish the segment, and that's not usually how it goes.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the guest, but I had to get us out of the segment to the next thing.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, for the squirrels, for the most part, I keep my feeders at least 10 feet away from a tree, and they all have baffles on them because I live in a Disney movie.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm dealing with the deer, the rabbit, coyotes, uh, squirrels for sure, and the the feeders that are close to the house, that's where I treat the seed with the hot pepper stuff because.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: The birds can't taste hot pepper and it doesn't hurt the squirrels.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually feed the squirrels separately, uh, but it doesn't hurt them.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: They get sometimes they won't even taste it, they'll just smell it and they get to know that like I don't want this.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but you know, it you get a few rains and then the squirrels are back.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: And in my house, that means that my little dog just goes nuts when those squirrels are out there.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: When we're talking about wildlife, there is a a wonder to seeing the birds, but the squirrels, not so much.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's you have to kind of be prepared for what you can get because you know, let's say you do have this great great tree, it has a hollow honey bees set up shop because they have this great home to build their nest.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: It could mean you get a bear visiting, you know.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: You just it's it all comes with the territory if you have a really good diverse landscape and you bring the woods to your house, it's it's generally good, but you do have to be ready for those potential drawbacks.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: And before I let you go, I just gotta throw out another story there.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Last April we had bad storms, cracked open a big black cherry tree, and what was in there?
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: A beautiful honey beehive.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was they were flying at the end of the season, so I I hope that that they made it through the winter, and uh because we certainly I can use honey bees right next to the vegetable garden that I don't have to take care of, that they're on their own.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, that's that's great if they end up like kind of surviving all that and being self-sufficient and get a stay at the property.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: We've had a few trees that we've like taken down, and after it's down, we're like, oh, there's a a hollow and there was a honey bee nest, and we've worked with some local beekeepers to be like, hey, if I bring you this log, can you take it and you know rehive them and do the whole nine yards?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got this great guy we've been working with, he probably has 12 or 13 hives at his property.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, I mean he he loves us for that same reason.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure, sure, sure.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Any relationship.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Any beekeeper, they'll they'll take the bees if they can find them, especially a nice, healthy, feral colony.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Michael, that was fun.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love this topic.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: That was great information, and uh as always, thanks for coming on.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: And we will talk to you next time.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope you guys get some rain.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: I I always hate to hear about droughts and dry, and as a plant lover, uh, more rain is better than not enough.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: So absolutely, fingers crossed.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for coming on.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll, like I said, we'll talk to you next time.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds good.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: That was fun.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: I know that sometimes I head off on a tangent, but that's one of the wonderful things about having a discussion.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: And to hear more conversations like that, you should be tuning in every Thursday to the Talking Trees Podcast from the Davy Tree Expert Company.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Doug Oester, and I need you to do me a favor, subscribe so you'll never miss a show, and let us know what we should be covering.
• 24:51
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• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: Send us an email to podcasts at dvy.com, P-O-D-C-A-S-T-S at D-A-V-E-Y.com.
• 25:02
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• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Your ideas could be on a future show, and we'd love to hear from you.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: And as always, we'd like to remind you on the Talking Trees podcast, trees are the answer.