Have You Seen These Silver Bands Around Your Michigan Trees?

If you couldn't tell from all the freshly blossomed flowers and the bugs already finding their way into your house, spring is in full swing. If you're out mowing the lawn and you've noticed your neighbor has adorned their trees with a metal sheet around the trunk, you're probably wondering what would possess someone to get their tree a weird scarf.

This isn't just some wacky sci-fi-inspired fashion statement, it serves an actual purpose.

What is the purpose?

As this Redditor asked many years ago, what the heck is up with putting metal around your tree? Turns out, the reason is pretty practical. To stop squirrels, raccoons, or other pests from climbing/settling into trees that they shouldn't be, people put baffles, or sheets of metal, around trees to prevent the animals from getting a foothold on the trunk, keeping them off the tree.

These metal sheets around these trees.. what are their purpose?
byu/alienbrayn1 inwhatisthisthing

The other reason could be to keep your cat from climbing trees, as another Redditor points out:

A classmate of mine had something like this rigged because as the mom put it 'the dang thing beelines straight up the tree if she gets out and the fire department no longer does cat rescues'.

If you're looking to add a metal sheet to your trees, here are a few tips:

• Put the metal 4 to 5 feet up the tree and at least 18 inches wide.
• The band should be tight enough not to fall off but not tight enough that it digs into the tree. The tree can grow and you want to give it room to "breathe".
• If your tree touches power lines, do not put the sheet on. Metal conducts electricity (use your imagination about why this would be detrimental).

Even though the baffles can look a little silly, they are proven to work and are a cheap solution.