I have a tulip poplar (fast grower) that the dear rubbed their antlers on maybe 2 years ago. They scraped it up pretty bad on one side. I put some of that black tar looking stuff (tree pruning sealer) on the wound. This has been very helpful on some other trees I have and the wounds slowly disappear...covered up by new/growing bark. This one seems to be having more trouble. There are little worms getting behind the sealer killing off even more bark. I took a stiff platic brush and scrubbed the wound with soap and water, this time putting no sealer back on it. It seemed to be holding in moisture that the bugs liked.
Has anyone had trouble like this and what are the recommendations for letting this heal? The tree is only about 6 years old and is in good shape otherwise. I'm hoping this wound will get covered with new growth soon. I was worried about leaving it unprotected because of rot and bugs...but the bugs came with the sealer on it anyhow.
