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Thread: An UnBearable early end.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Grawn Michigan
    Posts
    199

    Default An UnBearable early end.

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    I went to collect sap Thursday after work and was greeted with this when I got to my 4th bag. It seems Yogi has decided to awake from his long winters nap early this year. I have never had an issue with the bears on our property before. They have always stayed asleep until syrup season was over. I pulled all my taps on Friday not wanting to engourage any more of this kind of activity.

    Latitude:N 44° 50' 25.0463"
    Longitude:W 85° 38' 57.8906"

    New for 2022 (My 10th year) a 9" CDL Vacuum Filter Press
    2016/2017 12' X 16' Sugar Shack 6/12 pitch roof W/ 3' X 4' Cupola.
    John Deere HPX 4X4 Gator (Pop's left it to me when he died)
    New for 2020 HB10 RO In A Bucket, a game changer.
    2015 Purchased 50 used Bag holders.
    2016 Purchased a home made evaporator and "everything" that went with it.
    20 acre Sugar Bush

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    214

    Default

    I like your thread title.

    That's a bummer. I have wondered what the damage from bears was like for the guys that run up north. Down in southern Michigan, we really only have to worry about squirrels. The squirrels are definitely bad but not rip apart bags bad.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Grawn Michigan
    Posts
    199

    Default

    I did pull all the taps on our property but I still have 8 taps on buckets on sugar maples in my dad's yard a few miles away. No sign of his bears yet so the season is not over with. I was able to collect 125 gallons of 3 1/4 % sap between the 2 locations so am working hard to keep the fire raging in the evaporator to get through it all.
    Last edited by Lethalbowman; 03-24-2019 at 08:52 AM.

    Latitude:N 44° 50' 25.0463"
    Longitude:W 85° 38' 57.8906"

    New for 2022 (My 10th year) a 9" CDL Vacuum Filter Press
    2016/2017 12' X 16' Sugar Shack 6/12 pitch roof W/ 3' X 4' Cupola.
    John Deere HPX 4X4 Gator (Pop's left it to me when he died)
    New for 2020 HB10 RO In A Bucket, a game changer.
    2015 Purchased 50 used Bag holders.
    2016 Purchased a home made evaporator and "everything" that went with it.
    20 acre Sugar Bush

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Oneida NY
    Posts
    11,547

    Default

    That looks like a good case for nuisance permits for bear, just be sure it's not a sow with cubs.
    I had not experienced a problem with deer chewing the maple tubing, until this year. We have had to repair several sections where they chew the tubing for a 6-10' stretch. I will have nuisance permits for deer there next year. I already get them for deer in my 4.5 acres of blueberries. Too late for this year, they only go thru April 8 and I certainly don't have the time to shoot them. In my blueberries I get hunters to shoot them while I'm working maple.
    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.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Middlesex Vermont
    Posts
    655

    Default

    Rather than pull taps I grab a 12 gauge shot gun and used rubber bullets. A well place shot to butt and bear won't be back.
    110 taps W.F Mason 2x3 and two turkey friers for finishing

    2011 expanding to a Mason 2x4 with a blower increasing taps to about 200
    2011 Hurricane Irene rips thru my small sugar bush cost me to lose 20% of taps
    2014 I have reworked my lines for 2014
    32 taps on 5/16 line with check valves
    57 taps on 3/16 line with check valves
    55 buckets with total tapped trees of 144

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