Squirrels are eating your bark off the tree. Put hot sauce in a bottle with some water and spray it on the tree limb. There is a spray at your nursery but it is expensive and it is nothing more than hot sauce anyway. So you mine as well make your own for 15.00 cheaper.
"Squirrels can cause damage, from nipping off the tips of limbs to stripping the bark off trees. Squirrels may be eating tissue under the bark, drinking sap or making nests. You can put hardware cloth or chicken wire around the trunk of the tree to prevent this destructive behavior. Spraying the trunk with a taste repellent also might work. Hot-pepper sprays and products such as Ro-pel are available and easy to use."
