tree bark removed – will it live?

Question

We’ve got a 40 year old beech tree with trunk diameter about 18″ at chest height. Today, some vandals have removed nearly all the bark between about 2ft to 6ft above ground level. They’ve left a strip intact which is only about 3 inches wide. Can the tree survive this and what can we do to help it?

Answer 1

Sounds like your tree lost a lot of bark, which is very serious. Here is information on what to do:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/repairing-tree-bark-damage.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/how-to-fix-girdled-trees.htm

Answer 2

Thanks Susan.