How do i get the maple sap out of a maple tree and when?

Question

i just moved to a house with 2 acres of maple trees and i was told that if i didn't drain them they will die

Answer 1

get some wood peckers.

Answer 2

I have never heard of trees needing to be tapped, in order to survive.  The sap you take from the tree to make syrup is used by the tree for growth, so they will simply grow faster than trees which are tapped.

If you are interested in doing it for yourself anyway, it needs to be done in the spring - usually March.  Perfect maple tapping weather involves nights below freezing, and days above freezing.  A hollow tube is inserted into the tree and it allows the sap to drain into a bucket.  

Have fun.

Answer 3

Sounds like someone is pulling your leg. If that were true, how did maple trees survive before people discovered that the sap makes great syrup?

Maple sap is harvested from the trees pretty much in early spring. V-shape grooves are cut through the bark of the tree into the outermost rings at various spots on the trunk of the tree. A "spout" is inserted at the corner of the "V" and a pail hung on the end of the spout to catch the sap. The sap then needs to be processed into sugar and syrup.

All of this would be quite an endeavor by someone with not experience.  You also need to live in a area with very cold winters so that a spring thaw can be predicted and the trees tapped at the right time.

Answer 4

You can obtain sap by driving a hollow tube into their trunks in the fall.  The will live regardless.

Answer 5

First, that is nonsense; trees do perfectly fone without people coming buy to tap their sap.  Second, the sap runs in the fall.  You drill a hole, stick in a small pipe (they sell them in yor local hardware store), and hang a bucket to catch the sap.  About 20 gallons of sap will give you a gallon of syrup after you boil it down.