Does Stacking Or Leaning Dead Branches On Pine Trees Harm Them?

Stacking Vole

Q: Does stacking or leaning dead branches on or between two pine trees do any harm to the trees? 

A: No major harm that I can think of. I guess it could become a shelter for voles that could chew the bark. I saw this happen once when pine straw mulch was piled around the trunk of a mature cherry tree. Within a few months, voles had made a cozy home and chewed a ring around the base of the tree, which caused its death.

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