That would be more squirrels. All day today with chewed up lines.
That would be more squirrels. All day today with chewed up lines.
I can't put into just words, how much I agree & feel your pain.
35 years making syrup.
President of Ohio maple producers
4000 taps today...hopefully 5000 soon with some high yields tapped in 10 years?
Leader Dealer
Mountain cur for a woods partner
They are instruments of the devil for sure. If all dogs go to heaven all squirrels should certainly go to hell. My sap run was less than I expected this morning so I walked line....two complete chew throughs.....arrrrggggg. It's at the same trees all the time so I loaded em up with hot sauce today,
125-150 taps
Smokey Lakes Full pint Hybrid pan
Modified half pint arch
Air over fire
All 3/16 tubing
Southern Ohio
buckeye, your going to have to elaborate on the hot sauce method. I have been paying local youth $0.50 a tail for tree rats shot around my sugar bush. I have had some success but I also still have some of the little rodents
Matt,
Minehart Gap Maple
I think it was Maple flats who I first saw mention hot sauce. What I use is sriracha sauce, it's thick and will stick to trees and tubing. Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/Huy-Fong-Srir...ords=shriracha
When I have a certain tree that gets chewed over and over I put the sauce on the tubing around it and some on the tree above and below. This sauce is thick and will last longer than other hot sauces and the cap screws loose and squirts right from the bottle. I keep a bottle in my work bucket with my repair fittings and two handed tool. It's not a permanent cure, but it helps during season. I had one tree that got chewed every day and I practically painted that thing with it. I have not had a chew since on that tree in 3 weeks. Rain will wash it off, but it seems they quit using the tree to travel on. I noticed in the snow about a week after dosing up that tree there weren't even tracks.
125-150 taps
Smokey Lakes Full pint Hybrid pan
Modified half pint arch
Air over fire
All 3/16 tubing
Southern Ohio
It was my brother in law who came up with it. The hot sauce he came up with was called Vicious Viper Hot Sauce. He puts just 10-12 drops in a blend of water and vegetable oil, puts it in a spray bottle. To use it you need to shake the bottle before each spray to mix the ingredients. This has worked quite well for us. Be sure to wear rubber gloves (nitrile works good) and have eye protection on. He only sprays near trees, does not seem to need to spray everything. It will last up to about 10-14 days except if you get lots of rain. We never get even a hint of it in the syrup.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
Matt,I can help you save money. Follow my link. https://www.mepps.com/squirrel-tail/
1960 - 1970s 70 taps on galvanized buckets with Dad and Grandpa.
1970s - 1985 Acted crazy!
1986 - 2005 20-30 buckets.
2006- 2017 70 buckets and bags
2017-2019 100 bags and buckets
2020 Finally retired!!! 75 buckets, 50-75 on tubing. RO Bucket, New 12 X 16 Shack and a 42X42 flat pan.
2021-Adding another 125 taps along with a second RO bucket.
2022- Shooting for 350 taps, with 100 on lines.
Lots of Family and Friends and dogs named Skyy and Nessy!
Does it work for the other dumb-*** tubing chewer, usually brown, sometime seen with antlers, and who roams the woods in groups? These animals have been taking down my lines the past two days. I was thinking this called for the 30-06 solution-but nobody is hunting here anymore.
Gary / Zena Crossroads / 42˚ 00' 24" N / Hobby in Early '70s, Addiction since 2014
175+ taps on 3/16 (60 of which are on two Lunchbox Vac/Releasers)
12x34 timber framed sap house w/attached 10x34 shed roof for storage
2 x 6 Smoky Lake hybrid pan on Corsair arch with AUF/steam hood/preheater/concentric exhaust
7.0 KW Sun Power PV System, Smokey Lake Filter Press/Steam Bottler, Modified NGMP RO - 2 4x40 posts 200 gph
Mrs. Sis Puffenbarger of Puffenbarger"s Sugar Orchard of Blue Grass Virginia told me about reading in a Magazine about squirrels avoiding Ginger, she tried it hanging some in a cloth type bag on the tubing where they was always having squirrel damage, squirrel or Squirrel's did not bother that section of tubing during the season, just another option.
Mark 220 Maple
1100 taps on low vaccum, 900 on gravity.
900 plus taps leased and on high vacuum
35 cfm Indiana Liquid Ring Vacuum Pump
80% Sugar, 20% Red MAPLES
http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/g...Maple%20Syrup/
Heh! They never chew on my buckets.