10 Mar · Tue 2009

Danged Little Varmit!

The last few days have brought us wonderfully high sap runs. Each evening when I get home from work, I head out into the woods to check the taps and carry the sap back to the house. Two nights ago as I was approaching the last tree, I noticed that one of the sap sacs was empty while the rest were full.

A quick inspection revealed that a small hole near the bottom had allowed all of the sap to run out onto the ground. I went back to the house, retrieved a new sac and replaced it. I figured that I must have snagged the bag on a bramble while I was emptying it on the previous day.

Last night as I was completing my rounds, I found the same bag in the same condition, dripping the precious liquid on the ground again! This time I looked a little more carefully and realized that the punctures were in pairs! Little rodent teeth had worked their way along the bottom of the sac until they managed to pierce it.

I had read that squirrels have been known to bite holes in these sacs to get a taste of the sweet liquid. They also reportedly will nibble twigs on maple trees in the early spring to do the same thing. Luckily I already knew a remedy for the problem.

I headed back to the house to retrieve another replacement sac. This time I covered the

bottom edge with duct tape to make it more difficult to puncture and so that it would taste unpleasant.

This evening's tour of the woods found the new sac intact and bulging with sap. I didn't see any evidence of gnawing this time so I'm not sure if it deterred the critter or not.

I guess this is one of the drawbacks of using plastic bags instead of buckets!