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ibby458
02-22-2006, 06:41 AM
I did a mid-winter Maple tree survey, and discovered quite a few trees with limbs debarked by a porcupine. (He also likes cherry trees)

Yesterday while we were picking up a few firewood piles, I saw him at work high in a big maple. On the next trip, I brought the scattergun. We gave him a 12 gauge and Double ought Buckshot salute. He was so excited he fell off the limb.

I've read a lot of posts concerning squirrel and deer chews on tubing, but nothing on porcupines.

There's a bunch of young maples with limbs almost completely debarked. Would it be better for the tree if I pruned the whole limb off, or just leave them be? Obviously - the ones 50 feet in the air are not gonna get pruned, but theres a lot of them I could reach with a step ladder or by standing on the tractor. These are young sugar/black maples 10-15 inch diameter that I was going to tap for the first time this year.

Maple Hill Sugarhouse
02-22-2006, 02:59 PM
ibby- how fluffy was the hedgehogs fur :lol: :lol: :lol: /Oops quills ??

mcsap
02-22-2006, 03:03 PM
It likely won't matter if you prune them or not. But, I'd take those off that you can reach easily, just reduces the surface area for various tree pathogens to take hold on. They'll heal over the pruning cut alot faster than the whole surface of a branch.

John

ibby458
02-23-2006, 06:07 AM
Well - That Porky wasn't as soft & silky as I'd like for a fur coat, so we put him under a pile of rotten wood chunks to ripen a bit. Likely the coyotes will dig him out before I get back to him, but I can live with that.

Pruning off the severely damaged limbs made sense to me, too.

ibby458
03-15-2006, 08:03 AM
While tapping, we found a maple completely girdled by that porky. No sap was leaking out, (It was running the day we tapped) but I know it won't live. I stuck a tap in it just to see if I'd get any. Will I?