if a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it

[davey]

it sounds like tubing being destroyed. I was lucky all winter and then a week or so ago we had 75 mph+ winds and it took down a few trees and a lot of tubing. As I was doing the repairs I noticed several drop lines that were missing the spiles, no obvious damage to the line, and the spile was no where to be found. All I could think of was deer had chomped down on them and pulled them out. I had found a few others where the tree side of the spile was pressed flat. Thoughts?

[mapleack]

The flat spiles sound like deer to me, I usually find a couple a year like that, in fact I found one yesterday while checking tubing.

[jemsklein]

well just before i put in tubing in the one part of the bush that i did this year my dad and i whent in and logged all the dead trees all the beech with bark pealing of all the deised maples with that huge lump in the middle of them so toke almost every thing out beside the birch and the maple and the last 3 wind storm nothing fell in that spot but in the other spots that don't have any tubbing yet about 2 trees fell and lots of branches so all together throught out the hole bush there was about 5 trees that fell so there is some more fire wood

[gmcooper]

As for the missing spiles most of ours have been victoms of squirells.(sp?)
They often chew the tubing right close to the fitting and haul them off some where. I think they sell them on EBAY. LOL

Deer damage we have seen is usually chewing on the tubing and you can usually see the teeth impressions. Sometimes they bite thru usually not.
Porcupines are usually not much of a problem for us but when they get the urge they can chew up fittings and tubing with ease. They do not seem to travel far chewing tubing but in that area they can ruin a bunch.

[jemsklein]

i have had almost no damege with animals i have had a tree fal on the line witch brouht it down to the ground and 3 spiles wear eaten but that is it i find as long as it is in the are most samll animals whont touch it

[davey]

The funny thing was that there isn't a mark on the drop line, just no spile. I think I'm gonna check e-bay and see if mine are on there. We don't have porcupines around here so it can't be that and I've seen teeth marks on some of the laterals, but not the drops. It really does look like some silly deer figured out if it tugged hard enough they would get a nice tasty chunk of plastic. I think I'm going to spread spiles all around my deer stand this fall.

[jemsklein]

i will keep an eye out for any on the black market you know those animals are preety sneaky i will keep you posted

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If it is an animal that chewed them off, there is usually some rough edges on the tubing or teeth marks always evident. Fortunately for us they don't have knives or other sharp instrument.

[jemsklein]

but when my brother (10) is whatching his cartoons those anamals all ways have sharp claws the could cut a tire up with there claws which stronger then are tubbing
any way ai will still look on ebay and the balck market