How to Tap a Maple Tree Video

In this video Mark Donovan of HomeAdditionPlus.com shows how to tap maple trees for producing 100% pure maple syrup.

One of nature’s sweetest treats is maple syrup. Nothing tastes as good on pancakes, French toast or crepes as 100% pure maple syrup. If you have maple trees in your yard, and live in a cold climate where you have below freezing temperatures at night and above freezing temperatures during the day for much of later winter and early spring you’re sitting on a golden opportunity. Or should I say a golden maple syrup opportunity.

With a little effort you can produce your own maple syrup. Okay, maybe a bit more than a little. It takes approximately 40 gallons of maple sap to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup. To produce maple syrup you need to first tap the maple trees to obtain the sugary sap from them. The best time to tap the trees is in early February to early March, depending upon where you live. However, the key ingredient is to have below freezing temperatures at night and above freezing temperatures during the day.

With the above freezing temperatures during the day the sap flows and is ideal for collecting. The best sap, with the highest sugar content, occurs early in the sap collecting season. So don’t procrastinate with tapping your maple trees.

Tree Selection

Though sugar maples are the best trees to tap for producing maple syrup you can also tap Black Maples, Red Maples and Silver Maple trees. It is best to select and tag the trees in late summer or early fall, before the leaves change, so that you can properly identify them by their leaves.

Make sure to tap maple trees that are healthy and have a minimum diameter of 12 inches. As a general rule, you can install one tap on a tree between 12 and 20 inches in diameter. Trees between 20 and 26 inches in diameter you can install two taps. Trees greater than 26 inches in diameter, you can have up to three taps.

Make sure they are thoroughly rinsed after washing them with a dish detergent or bleach solution so that there is no residue of chemicals on them.

Tapping the Maple Tree

To actually tap the maple tree, drill a hole into the tree approximately 2 to 2.5 inches deep with either the 5/16 inch or 7/16 inch drill bit, depending on the diameter of the spile. The drill hole should be 2 to 4 feet off the ground and the drill bit should be slightly pitched upward when drilling into the tree. This will ensure that the sap flows downward and through the spile and into the bucket. Also, drill the hole on the south facing side of the tree and preferably over a large root or below a large branch of the tree. In addition, make sure you drill the hole at least 6 inches away from the previous year tap hole.

Make sure to clean the drilled hole of any sawdust debris. Then gently tap the spile into the tree using a hammer. If you are using metal spiles make sure to place the bucket hook onto the backside of the spile before tapping it into the tree. Make sure the hook is positioned such that a bucket can be hung off of it.

Lastly, place the bucket onto the tree and put the lid on top of it. With that you’re ready to begin collecting maple tree sap.

At the end of the season, after the sap has stopped flowing, remove the taps from the tree. Typically the sap stops flowing by late March or early April depending upon where you live. You don’t need to do anything else to the tree. The tap hole will heal on its own over time.